navigation search this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article relies too much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . april 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message this article may contain improper references to self published sources . please help improve it by removing references to unreliable sources where they are used inappropriately . april 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message gurney s seed and nursery company type privately held industry mail order seed and nursery founded 1866 monticello iowa usa headquarters greendale indiana usa products vegetable seeds vegetable plants shrubs fruit trees perennials berries shade trees ground covers website www.gurneys.com gurney s seed and nursery co. is a mail order seed and garden plant company based in greendale indiana . founded in 1866 gurney s specializes in vegetable and flower seeds gardening supplies and nursery stock including trees shrubs perennials fruit trees and berries fertilizers and plant foods . 1 gurney s distributes catalogs throughout the nation and maintains a considerable web presence . contents 1 history 2 products 3 references 4 external links history edit charles w. gurney born may 13 1840 a lieutenant colonel during the american civil war opened his first nursery hesperian nurseries in 1866 in monticello iowa . 2 the business remained in monticello until 1882 when the business was moved to dixon county nebraska . after realizing the trade potential in towns near rivers gurney moved hesperian nurseries to yankton south dakota in 1897 . 3 c.w. gurney s seven sons were very involved in the family seed business and in 1906 c.w. gurney and his sons and one nephew had the nursery incorporated as gurney s seed and nursery company . 1 the company started listing products on a generic price list for mailing purposes until 1910 when gurney s published its first large seed and nursery catalog with a full color cover . 3 upon charles w. gurney s death in 1913 his sons and nephew continued the seed and nursery business . in 1919 deloss butler gurney one of the colonel s sons became ceo . the company diversified and grew quickly . by 1924 the gurney seed house was one of the largest in the world receiving orders from 46 of the 48 states and many foreign countries . 3 in 1925 john chandler gurney deloss butler s son made a name for himself as a radio announcer and programmer for the yankton radio station wnax . 1 in 1927 john chandler chan gurney convinced his father to buy the radio station which became known as wnax voice of the house of gurney in yankton . 3 the station was used to promote gurney products and services making gurney s a household name . in the early 1930s the large gurney s seed house and storefront became one of yankton s first shopping centers housing a retail greenhouse a barber a grocery store a jeweler a medicine store and a restaurant hotel . 3 these products and services were all promoted by chan at wnax . the company also experiment in the fuel industry in the 1940s and later it was active in the home front war effort during world war ii . 1 d.b. gurney died in 1943 but the business sustained . d.b. s son john chandler gurney became involved in politics and served as a u.s. senator for the state of south dakota from 1939 to 1951 . in 2001 gurney s was acquired by gardens alive when then parent company foster & gallagher went bankrupt . 4 products edit focusing on continuing the legacy and objectives of c.w. gurney gurney s targets home orchard enthusiasts and beginners alike . the horticulture experts at gurney s regularly seek out vegetables and fruits that combine taste with disease resistance yield and ease of planting . some of gurney s popular exclusive home gardening produce varieties available only to gurney s customers include gurney s got ta have it sweet corn gurney s burpless hybrid cucumber gurney s giant magic hybrid pumpkin gurney s pride hybrid zucchini and gurney girl tomatoes . today gurney s continues as one of the leading seed and nursery companies in the united states having provided customers with seeds and nursery products for over 130 years . 5 many of gurney s best sellers are unique hybrid seeds and gurney s promises not to sell genetically modified seeds . 6 references edit a b c d gurney s company history company archives . col. charles w. gurney biography a b c d e gurney seed and nursery company victory horticultural library . jim tierney november 1 2010 . how gardens alive is digging a new niche . multichannel merchant . retrieved january 10 2014 . deloss b. gurney biography 1 external links edit http gurneys.com retail site http www.facebook.com gurneys social page 2 gurney s seed & nursery co. nursery catalogs at the mertz library of the new york botanical garden retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title gurney % 27s seed and nursery company & oldid 670629007 categories agriculture companies of the united statescompanies based in indianacompanies established in 1866seed companies1866 establishments in iowahidden categories articles lacking reliable references from april 2012all articles lacking reliable references navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 9 july 2015 at 04 50 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view