Our History & Present Day

When Olin Nelson started his nursery business in Apopka,FL over 65 years ago, he envisioned a company that would focus on the special needs of Florida. After Nelson’s established themselves with a variety of hardy foliage plants, O.F. and his sons (B.P. and Earl) began to diversify. Before 1955, people said you couldn’t grow roses in Florida. To prove that theory wrong, Nelson's decided to experiment with a wild rose that was found throughout the state of Florida and the Southeast. Along with the University of Florida, we developed a way to graft onto Fortuniana Rootstock. We take pride in our craft and if cared for properly, your roses will last an average of 15 to 20 + years! 

In 2020, we moved from our Apopka home to Winter Garden. The area was becoming more and more industrialized and our roses were feeling the strain from the environment. We built an all new facility from the ground up, and are slowly working to grow into the space we have available.

In January 2023, the 4th generation of Nelson’s took over, along with our head grower in Winter Garden, FL.  

In October 2023, we had the exciting opportunity to expand our business by breaking ground on a second nursery in Thomasvile, GA. We created Nelson's Southern Roses - as a sister company who's focus is designed to cater to the needs of our retail customers, ensuring that each rose is grown and shipped with the utmost care and attention to detail.

Thank you for choosing Nelson's Southern Roses. We look forward to helping you create a garden filled with beauty, elegance, and the timeless charm of roses.