Paul Ecke Ranch

Last updated
Paul Ecke Ranch
IndustryHorticulture
Founded1909
FounderAlbert Ecke
Headquarters,
ProductsPoinsettias
Website ecke.com

Paul Ecke Ranch is an American florist. Located in Encinitas, California, with production facilities in Guatemala, Ecke has grown to become the world's largest poinsettia (christmas star) producer with 50% market share. [1]

German emigrant Albert Ecke began cultivating poinsettias in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles in 1909. Paul Ecke Jr. took over the family business in 1963 and expanded it heavily. Paul Ecke III took over Ecke Ranch in 1992 and started the business in Guatemala. [2] Over the years, Ecke donated substantial money to the Encinitas Union School District. He also donated 92 acres of property to the North Coast Family YMCA, Quail Botanical Gardens and the California Department of Parks and Recreation for a beach park in Carlsbad, California. [3]

In August 2012 it was announced that the company would be sold by the Ecke family to the Dutch Agribio Group. [4] The regional Leichtag Foundation received a purchase option for the Encinitas, California location, which was implemented in May 2013. [5] Paul Ecke III withdrew from the company after the sale, but it continued to be run under the Ecke brand for a time. [1]

In February 2013, it was announced that Agribio would merge with German company Dümmen Group. [6] The family-run Dümmen Group is the European market leader for poinsettia cuttings and young plants as well as one of the most important in the field of bedding and balcony plants. [7] The merger was completed by April 2013, with the combined company operating as the DNA Green Group with headquarters in De Lier, Netherlands. [8] The company was re-branded to Dümmen Orange in 2015. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange County, California</span> County in California, United States

Orange County, often known by its initials O.C., is a county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, and more populous than 19 American states and Washington, D.C. Although largely suburban, it is the second-most-densely-populated county in the state behind San Francisco County. The county's three most-populous cities are Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine, each of which has a population exceeding 300,000. Santa Ana is also the county seat. Six cities in Orange County are on the Pacific coast: Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, and San Clemente.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anaheim, California</span> City in the United States

Anaheim is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most populous city in California, and the 55th-most populous city in the United States. Anaheim is the 2nd most populous city in Orange County in terms of land area, and is known for being the home of the Disneyland Resort, the Anaheim Convention Center, and two major league sports teams: the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Encinitas, California</span> City in California, United States

Encinitas is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California. Located within Southern California, it is approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of San Diego, between Solana Beach and Carlsbad, and about 95 miles (153 km) south of Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a population of 62,007, up from 59,518 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorba Linda, California</span> City in California, United States

Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poinsettia</span> Species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae

The poinsettia is a commercially important flowering plant species of the diverse spurge family Euphorbiaceae. Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, the poinsettia was first described by Europeans in 1834. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used in Christmas floral displays. It derives its common English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States minister to Mexico, who is credited with introducing the plant to the US in the 1820s. Poinsettias are shrubs or small trees, with heights of 0.6 to 4 m. Though often stated to be highly toxic, the poinsettia is not dangerous to pets or children. Exposure to the plant, even consumption, most often results in no effect, though it can cause nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irvine Company</span> American real estate company

The Irvine Company LLC is an American private company focused on real estate development. It is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with a large portion of its operations centered in and around Irvine, California, a planned city of more than 300,000 people mainly designed by the Irvine Company. The company was founded by the Irvine family and is currently wholly owned by Donald Bren.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chatsworth, Los Angeles</span> Neighborhood of Los Angeles in California, United States

Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley.

<i>Pacific Surfliner</i> Intercity rail service in California, US

The Pacific Surfliner is a 350-mile (560 km) passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo.

Donald Leroy Bren is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and owner of the Irvine Company, a US real estate development corporation. With a net worth of $16.2 billion, he ranks number 112 on the 2022 Forbes Billionaires List.

Porter Ranch is a suburban-type neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles in the northwest portion of the San Fernando Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irvine, California</span> City in California, United States

Irvine is a master-planned city in southern Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 1971. The 66-square-mile (170 km2) city had a population of 307,670 at the 2020 census, it is the 63rd most populous city in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. J. Whitley</span> American businessman and land developer

Hobart Johnstone Whitley was a Canadian-American businessman and real estate developer. Whitley is best known for helping create the Hollywood subdivision in Los Angeles. He is among those known as the "Father of Hollywood."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlsbad Poinsettia station</span> Railway station in Carlsbad, California, United States

Carlsbad Poinsettia station is a commuter rail station in Carlsbad, California that is on the NCTD COASTER commuter rail line. The station serves the Poinsettia and La Costa communities of Carlsbad, and is the southernmost of the two COASTER stations in Carlsbad, the other being Carlsbad Village station about four miles to the north. It is also located about four miles away from the LEGOLAND California Theme Park and five miles from McClellan-Palomar Airport; there are transit services that are provided for transport to those destinations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newhall Land and Farming Company</span>

The Newhall Land and Farming Company is a land management company based in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California, United States. The company is responsible for the master community planning of Valencia and previously developed other areas such as Canyon Country and Newhall which together with Saugus and Valencia would merge to create the city of Santa Clarita in 1987. The company is also responsible for the management of farm land elsewhere in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rancho Los Alamitos</span> Historic house in California, United States

Rancho Los Alamitos takes its name from an 1834 Mexican partition of the 1784 Rancho Los Nietos, a Spanish concession, covering an area in present-day California's southwestern Los Angeles County and northwestern Orange County. Los Alamitos means the Little Cottonwoods or Poplars in Spanish, after the native Fremont Cottonwood trees there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Allan Hancock</span>

George Allan Hancock was the owner of the Rancho La Brea Oil Company. He inherited Rancho La Brea, including the La Brea Tar Pits which he donated to Los Angeles County. He also developed Hancock Park, Los Angeles. He was vice president of the Los Angeles Hibernian Bank, treasurer of the Los Angeles Symphony Association, and president of the Automobile Association of Southern California. He owned the Santa Maria Valley Railroad, established Rosemary Farm, and developed the Santa Maria Ice and Cold Storage Plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janss Investment Company</span> California real estate company (1895–1995)

The Janss Investment Company was a family-run, Los Angeles–based real estate development company that operated from 1895 to 1995.

Rancho Niguel was a 13,316-acre (53.89 km2) Mexican land grant in the San Joaquin Hills, within present-day Orange County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valencia, California</span> Community in Los Angeles County, California, United States

Valencia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area, with major commercial and industrial parks, straddles State Route 126 and the Santa Clara River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Spanos</span> Owner of the Los Angeles Chargers football team

Dean Alexander Spanos is the chairman and owner of the National Football League (NFL)'s San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers franchise. He is the son of Alex Spanos, who purchased majority interest in the team in 1984. Dean Spanos took over daily operations from his father in 1994, becoming president and CEO, until he passed operations to his own sons in 2015. Spanos took over full ownership after his father's death in 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 Cox, Lillian (19 August 2012). "Paul Ecke: Selling Ecke Ranch "Hardest Decision I Ever Made"". Patch.com .
  2. Kragen, Pam (3 February 2014). "University to launch Ecke history project". The San Diego Union-Tribune .
  3. "Paul Ecke Sr., 96; He Perfected Poinsettia and Began a Tradition". Los Angeles Times . 24 June 1991. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  4. "Firmenakquisition: Ecke Ranch Jetzt Bei Agribio" [Company Acquisition: Ecke Ranch Now at Agribio]. Taspo.de (in German). 26 August 2012. Archived from the original on 18 January 2016.
  5. Medford, Marlena (6 April 2012). "Leichtag Foundation to Purchase Ecke Ranch Property". Patch.com .
  6. "Dümmen Und Agribio Group Kündigen Fusion An" [Dümmen and Agribio Group Announce Merger]. Taspo.de (in German). 21 February 2013. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015.
  7. Brück, Mario (26 November 2011). "Weihnachtssterne: Billige Blüten" [Poinsettias: Cheap flowers] (in German).
  8. "Agribio und Dümmen: Fusion abgeschlossen" [Agribio and Dümmen: merger completed]. Gabot. 2 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016.
  9. Drotleff, Laura (29 April 2015). "Dümmen Orange Is The New Name For DNA Green Group". Greenhouse Grower.