Growing What’s Next®
From our breeding facility near Athens, Georgia, we are driven by our commitment to bring the highest quality, most unique plants to market through our extensive Bailey Innovations™ breeding and trialing programs. We scour the planet seeking new, and fostering partnerships to bring genera-defining creations in woody plants.
Endless Summer® and First Editions® plants are prime examples of our commitment.
Check out the latest Bailey Innovations™ bred plants.
Our program incorporates a number of breeding methods depending on the genera and our objectives. From breeding to evaluation, the process is intense — we often end up with thousands of seedlings to monitor for uniqueness.
For a plant to graduate from our program, it must have truly unique, marketable and desirable characteristics. Improved flowering and habit, outstanding foliage and disease resistance, and plants that will perform in both production and gardens across the globe are characteristics we insist on and evaluate for on a daily basis.
To be worthy of introduction, a Bailey plant must persevere through rigorous trials. Our Bailey Innovations™ breeding facility allows us to develop young plants in containers as well as those in-ground so we can fully understand how they perform. That means our customers can be confident knowing we have put serious time and resources into developing something special that they won't have to test themselves.
TRIALING AND TESTING, NATIONAL TRIAL SITES
In addition to Bailey production sites, we also partner with many universities and public gardens across the country to ensure we know how our plants will perform in your area. It's just another way Bailey plans its plants for you.
Director of Plant Breeding
David Roberts wants to generate a passion for plants. As the Director of Plant Breeding at Bailey Innovations, David leads breeding direction and coordinates breeding objectives. With a Master’s Degree in Horticultural Science with a Concentration in Ornamental Plant Breeding, David is driven to inspire “weekend gardeners.” David came to Bailey Innovations in 2015 after studying under Dr. Dennis Werner and Dr. Tom Ranney, where he cultivated his passion for plant breeding and propagation.
Plant Breeder
Since he was a kid, Oren McBee has loved plants. Already an avid seed collector, dirt digger and plant grower, in the second grade he even titled a science project “Plant Propagation.” That passion for plants led to a horticulture career in which he’s been Greenhouse & Nursery Manager at the Atlanta Botanical Garden in Gainesville, and at Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum. He’s now a Bailey Innovations plant breeder at our Georgia-based facility. He’s obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Horticulture from the University of Georgia — Athens, under the guidance of Dr. Michael Dirr.