MARYSVILLE, Ohio – The Scotts Co. today reported Tuesday that Horace Hagedorn, founder of Miracle-Gro(R) plant food, former executive and director emeritus of The Scotts Co. and beloved philanthropist passed away on Jan. 31 at the age of 89 at his home in Long Island, N.Y.
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Mr. Hagedorn was the marketing and business driver behind the popular Miracle-Gro(R) brand. After building this successful business, he merged Miracle-Gro with The Scotts Co. in 1995 to create the world's largest lawn and garden company. Since his retirement in 1997, Mr. Hagedorn has supported dozens of grassroots and charitable organizations, many in the Long Island area, with a particular interest in causes that help children, families and education.
Although Scotts was founded in 1868, its associates considered Mr. Hagedorn to be one of the company's founders.
"Horace was a creative genius, and the success of this business, as well as the lawn and garden industry, is due to his energy, drive and insight," said Jim Hagedorn, one of Mr. Hagedorn's sons and chairman and chief executive officer of The Scotts Company. "He thoroughly enjoyed growing his business, which today employs more than 7,000 people. He also was zealous about returning his good fortunes to those who needed a helping hand. His passion will be missed in the lawn and garden industry and by the many people he touched."
Born on the upper west side of Manhattan on March 18, 1915, Mr. Hagedorn lived in New York City until relocating to Port Washington, N.Y. He was a fierce sailing competitor and sailed until age 84.
Mr. Hagedorn attended the University of Pennsylvania and began his career selling radio time for the National Broadcasting Corp. in 1936. He later followed his interests to advertising, which included having his own advertising agency. Among Mr. Hagedorn’s advertising clients in 1950 was Otto Stern, who owned a nursery business in Geneva, New York. Through their business relationship and later friendship, Mr. Hagedorn and Mr. Stern became partners in a business to promote gardening products and plants.
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The two men invested $2,000 to introduce a new water-soluble plant food that provided "miraculous" plant growth. To extend the health of their mail-order plants, they shipped a small packet of food with each plant. Mr. Hagedorn convinced Mr. Stern that, while nursery stock is only bought once, a water-soluble fertilizer would ensure more sales because it is used over and over again. This was the start of the Miracle-Gro business.
Understanding that his product could have a profound and positive influence on the gardening industry, Mr. Hagedorn worked to build trust, loyalty and recognition for the Miracle-Gro brand. "Miracle-Gro doesn't have customers," he would say, "it has fans."
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Through his leadership, Mr. Hagedorn took Miracle-Gro from a small mail-order company to a mainstream profitable corporation, making it the No. 1 and most well-known plant food around the world with approximately $125 million in sales by the mid-1990s. In 1995, at the age of 80, he again advanced the gardening business by merging Miracle-Gro with The Scotts Co., creating the leading consumer lawn and garden business in the world.
"Horace wanted to make a difference," said John Kenlon, who worked for Mr. Hagedorn for 40 years. "He knew Miracle-Gro had unique properties that would make gardening easier and more successful. He put everything he had – ideas, energy and money – into making this product a household name. His legacy was much more than the business, however. He leaves us with his principles of doing what's right, finding pleasure in work and treating others with respect."
In 1997, Mr. Hagedorn resigned from the day-to-day operations at Scotts to focus on his charitable work. Although Mr. Hagedorn was a natural-born entrepreneur, perhaps his greatest gift was his spirit and sense of caring. His personal philosophy hinged on one belief – sharing. That year, he expressed his philosophy this way: "You can't keep taking all the good things out of the earth; you've got to put something back. You can't continue to reap material success without giving back to the community." To fulfill this philosophy, He created the Horace and Amy Hagedorn Fund within the Long Island Community Foundation to assist children, families and the greater community.
Mr. Hagedorn was predeceased by his first wife, Peggy, with whom he had six children: Peter, Susan, Jim, Katherine, Robert and Paul. Mr. Hagedorn is survived by his wife of 19 years, Amy, and also leaves four stepchildren, 22 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
His son, Jim Hagedorn, is chairman, chief executive officer and president of The Scotts Co. His daughter, Katherine Hagedorn Littlefield, is a member of the Board of Directors of The Scotts Co. His daughter, Susan Hagedorn, is the chairperson of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation.