Aubin Nurseries…A History
In 1927, Gerald Aubin purchased 72 acres of land near the Boyne River in Carman, MB. The good soil and access to water and two railroads made the plot of land the ideal location to start his nursery. Aubin Nurseries started out selling fruits, vegetables, livestock, and nursery stock
Over the first 30 years Gerald's business flourished. Aubin Nurseries was a pioneer in the concept of ‘you-pick’ fruits. Eventually in 1946 Gerald hired 7 door-to-door salesmen to keep the business growing. The original plot of land is still home to our main office, greenhouses, cold storage and shops as well as Family homes.
In 1959, Lawrence officially took over as president at Aubin Nurseries after the untimely & tragic passing of his father Gerald Aubin.
During his time as president of Aubin Nurseries, Lawrence pushed innovation and continually invested back in the business. In 1961, Lawrence installed one of the first irrigation systems of its kind. Aubin Nurseries became the first nursery on the prairies to create a viable system to reproduce plants from mist propagation.
In the 60’s and 70’s Lawrence added new shipping and storage buildings, poly greenhouses and built a new office in 1975, which we still work out of today. In the 70’s Aubin Nurseries started growing container stock, until this point container stock had not been grown on the prairies. The shift to container stock was a pivotal time that ensured the long-term success of the nursery.
By the end of 1975 the nursery had increased in size to over 227 acres including container production, bareroot, and greenhouses. In the 80’s 2 large cold storage buildings were erected. These buildings serve as storage for bareroot trees and certain container grown shrubs and perennials during the winter months. The addition of cold storage facilities meant the nursery could start shipping earlier in the season, and more plants were surviving through the winter.
Throughout the 90’s Lawrence continued to push the growth of Aubin Nurseries, including the construction of a potting shed, a mechanic shop, the purchase of a new potting machine, and the expansion of the container farm.
In 1994 Aubin Nurseries began production in Vineland, ON. The market demand was for a straight tree with a large bushy crown. The extended growing season made Vineland the perfect location. Tree seedlings were dug up in Carman and shipped to Vineland, field planted and allowed to grow for 2 years before being dug up and the bareroot product was shipped back to Carman to be potted and sold. While it was a cumbersome process it produced a high-quality product that sold well. Operations at Vineland continued until 2004, when it was closed as the nursery switched away from bareroot trees, and the decline of green ash in the market.
In 1998, Lawrence Aubin went into semi-retirement and his son Gerry Aubin officially took over as President & General Manager at Aubin Nurseries. Gerry took a page from both his father and grandfather choosing to focus on finding innovative and effective ways to grow the nursery. Gerry brought new ideas using modern technology and equipment combined with time-honored traditions and years of knowledge.
In 2002, Aubin Nurseries celebrated 75 years in business! This same year construction began on our first set of Gutter-Style climate-controlled greenhouses. These upgraded greenhouses would provide the perfect conditions for growing perennials, seedlings, and cuttings allowing us to start production earlier in the year and allowing us to ship sales ready perennials in early spring. As our perennial sales grew so did the demand for more greenhouse space and in 2023 a second set of Gutter-Style greenhouses was built giving us over 60,000sqft of greenhouse production space.
Currently, Gerry runs Aubin Nurseries with the help of the 4th generation of Aubin, his twin sons, Garth & Jared. We sell our products under the Rooted Living brand name to around 350 garden centres, greenhouses, and landscape professionals across the prairies.
We at Aubin Nurseries look towards the future with excitement, our unique combination of tradition and innovation have successfully carried us for 98 years and we look forward to many more. 2027 will mark 100 years in business and we can’t wait to celebrate this momentous occasion with our valued customers and staff.