Editor's notebook: Monrovia's Centennial Celebration

One of the highlights of the GIE Media Horticulture Group's recent trip to the Pacific Northwest was attending Monrovia’s 100^th anniversary celebration.

The nursery put its best face on all week for visitors, with a Centennial Celebration Expo including demonstrations on everything from propagation automation to grafting. We toured the Breeder's Showcase, where nearly 400 new varieties were on display, and after much deliberation, placed our votes for the plants we thought were the cream of the crop. Check out the photo gallery below to see some of our favorites.

The 100th anniversary also offered a chance to recognize outstanding individuals who have shaped the industry, as Monrovia honored four "Landscape Legends" during a private luncheon.

Each Landscape Legend was chosen for their historic contributions to the industry and their impact on the future of horticulture. To mark the occasion, Monrovia is making a donation in their names to Seed Your Future, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring young people to pursue careers in horticulture.

Learn more about the Landscape Legends here.

Find out the top 10 selections from the Breeder’s Showcase here.

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Monrovia Nursery Company has changed greatly since it was founded in 1926 by Harry E. Rosedale Sr. The young Danish immigrant started on just 10 acres in Monrovia, California. The nursery moved to Azusa, California, in 1954, then 50 years later, moved to Visalia in the Central Valley. In the 1980s, the company acquired a nursery in Cairo, Georgia, and built another in Dayton, Oregon.

Learn more about how Monrovia streamlined its three nurseries to operate as one unit in the June 2026 Nursery Management cover story.

Today, Monrovia remains family-owned. Harry Rosedale’s son Miles served as CEO until 2020 and continues as co-chair of the board. Monrovia plants can be purchased online or at independent garden centers, Lowe’s home improvement centers and through re-wholesalers nationwide.

“100 years is a long time to grow anything,” Monrovia president and CEO Jonathan Pedersen said at the event. “A tree, a company and a legacy. This anniversary, of course, is one for us to look back and think of all the craftsmen that came before us. It takes stock of the milestones, the plants and above all the people that have helped Monrovia grow over that last century.”

To cap off the Centennial Celebration, Pedersen and the entire Monrovia team threw a huge party for nearly 900 guests. I was impressed with how smoothly the nursery turned into an event space. So many people who normally work in plant production or sales switched gears to parking cars or pouring beers for guests.

With the catered BBQ dinner and multiple dessert trucks, it was like a super-sized version of a wedding. Anyone who’s had to plan one of those knows it’s not easy.

So, kudos to Monrovia for making it to 100 and planning a party that lived up to the number.