Alexandre Raab, a young French nursery-man, with wife, Jeanne, and baby son, emigrated to Canada in 1953. The business he founded, White Rose Nurseries, would, by 1990, become the fifth largest in the world with sales exceeding one hundred million dollars.

Raab set up a garden maintenance business in Toronto and purchased ten acres in Unionville to start a nursery. Growing four acres of pansies, he allowed customers to dig their own plants: this provided an immediate cash crop. The family garage served as an office and store (the first) for three years.

A mail-order catalogue business followed, and Raab could claim he had customers on record in every post office in Canada. Unfortunately, two lengthy strikes by post office workers caused nursery stock to rot before it could be shipped. Based on the company’s unconditional guarantee, all money was refunded.The decision to pursue a strictly retail operation was made. Raab believed in absolute integrity in business; he also believed that one can always build on disaster. As a result of those two postal strikes, the phenomenally successful White Rose Nurseries was begun.
 

1.Alexander Raab, Founder of White Rose Nuseries Ltd.  2.Contrast today's 20,000 square foot stores to the lean-to on the house as shown in 1953.

In 1967 an ambitious expansion was charted; a 500 acre farm purchased near Goodwood provided the inventory for the pro- posed chain of stores. A larger facility was built in Unionville and, in 1970, a prototype store was opened in Scarborough. This 10,000 square foot retail store was the first Canadian mass merchandiser of nursery-related products ranging from plants, pots and tools to fertilizers and soil. In order to operate fully staffed year round, the company introduced a craft line. Seventeen more locations were opened in southern Ontario over the next eighteen years. Today, White Rose stores boast 20,000 square feet of the most innovative selection of garden and floral supplies, indoor plants, patio furniture and the most complete craft and hobby line. Outdoor yards are filled with a wide selection of trees, shrubs, evergreens, roses and, in spring, a spectacular display of annuals.

In the mid ’80s White Rose became a truly international company with a 160 acre farm and eight retail locations in Florida. White Rose has introduced many innovations to the nursery field. Selling container-grown products permits planting at any time of year and improves quality and growth rate of trees and shrubs. White Rose imported rose root-stock from France, then tested to insure for winter hardiness. The development of Iron Plus fertilizer has allowed the company to fully utilize the poor soil on the Goodwood farm to produce award-winning roses. This revolutionary product added “Chelated Iron” to the fertilizer formulated by Raab. The secret was shared and it soon became a best seller.

In the early years Alex Raab made a commitment to return a percentage of the profits to the community. Major charitable donations have been made to hospitals, the United Way, the Salvation Army and Christmas funds. White Rose sponsors children’s sports teams and has aided in the preparation of many memorial gardens and parks. Proceeds from the sale of the Kinsmen Rose aid Cystic Fibrosis research.

Two generations of the family are actively involved in the company along with a staff of over 1,000 who are committed to carrying on the traditions and promises of White Rose.