Meet Bennett Saunders

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!”
― Richard Branson

In the Fall of 2011, our company was faced with a daunting challenge. A little-known boxwood disease had somehow crossed the Atlantic from Europe and was found in North Carolina. Boxwood were our nursery’s number one plant, and so we investigated. The more we learned, the more troubled we became. Would Boxwood Blight be the end of our company?

Our company never intended to get into the genetics business. But over a period of 60 years, we had casually accumulated hundreds of cultivars of boxwood from nurseries, hobbyists, and other acquaintances to see if they were superior to the ones we were already growing. We immediately put these cultivars into test sites and surprisingly found some to be fairly tolerant of the disease.

And so, NewGen™ boxwood were born from this challenge.

As Saunders Brothers approaches 105 years in business, we more than ever realize that we must change in many ways, particularly to address a world where destructive diseases and insects travel as fast as jets fly. But we are aware that science and common sense offer many answers to these challenges.

It is my hope that Saunders Brothers can provide answers to the challenges facing the boxwood that we love so much!