This family business began with a love for farming and growing plants.

In 1958, Ray Stockslager had a desire to join with his father and brother in farming. Roy, Ray’s father, suggested that Ray purchase a greenhouse and grow flowers and vegetables, and the story begins!

Ray was at the time, working at the Ohio Bell Telephone company. Ray and his wife Joyce purchased their first greenhouse from Rough Brothers Greenhouse, Cincinnati, Ohio, and opened for business in the spring of 1959.

+
Years serving Miami Valley
Team members
+
Acres of growing for you

Duke Stockslager

Co-Owner

Barb Stockslager

Co-Owner

Jacob Stockslager

Head Grower

Vicki (Stockslager) Bussard

Scott Banner_facebook

A Family-Owned Garden Center with a rich Dayton History

While Ray worked during the day at Ohio Bell, evenings and weekends all winter long were spent in the greenhouse growing for spring sales. Joyce would care for the plants during the day, transplant seedlings, wait on customers, and take care of three children-Vicki, Duke and Scott-and, still manage to have dinner ready!

The Dayton greenhouse was open each season until the first of July, and then Ray put all of the earnings right back into the business by building another greenhouse. The second greenhouse that Ray and Joyce put up was a used greenhouse, 30ft by 50ft. It was a glass greenhouse, which Ray dismantled glass by glass and hauled in his station wagon to New Lebanon. Joyce washed each glass pane, Ray reconstructed the greenhouse, and the growing area more than doubled.

The Stockslager boys decided to grow up to work in the greenhouse.

Duke graduated from high school in 1974 and went to Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, studying Political Science. Scott graduated from high school in 1978, and showing an interest in the greenhouse, he attended the Ohio State University in Wooster, Ohio, studying horticulture. Scott’s plans were to work at the greenhouse with mom and dad. After graduating from Ohio Northern, Duke went to the University of Dayton, where he received his Masters of Public Administration, and most significantly met his wife to be, Jennie. As Scott finished at OSU, he had also met his future wife, Barb.

After much discussion and long thought, Duke decided that he too would like to join Scott, so in 1980, the same year that Ray retired from Ohio Bell, the boys were now officially “employed” by the greenhouse.

While Ray passed away in 2009, Joyce still lives in the family homestead, visiting with employees and customers as she takes her “almost” daily walk through the greenhouses!

Stockslagers is one of the Miami Valley’s largest and longest running family-owned greenhouse operations.

We are proud to grow the largest variety of quality flowers and vegetable plants in the Miami Valley.

Locally grown plants are cared for by a tremendous team of folks who not only care about the plants offered, but also that their customers get the plants and service that they deserve.

Today, Stockslagers has over nine acres of indoor and outdoor growing area. The greenhouses and garden center are open year-round, growing spring bedding plants, fall mums, and of course, those beautiful poinsettias for Christmas.

Growing for over 65 years, Stockslagers thanks and appreciates their customers, their friends!