Larkman Nurseries

Larkman Nurseries was established by Barry Larkman in 1984 as Delagoa Tubes. It has grown to become a major Australian tubestock nursery. It is a NIASA accredited member of the Nursery and Garden Industry of Australia. In 1986 the nursery moved to a larger and more suitable location in Lilydale. This was the start of a rapid growth phase where it w... ent from less than one acre with two small igloos to a five acre site with thirteen plastic igloos and three brick glass houses. In 1989 Barry died and his oldest son, Clive returned from overseas and joined his mother, Stephanie in running the young nursery. The business growth stalled at this point due to the onset of the recession and the change in management. In 1990 Clive, married Di Campaign and with the combined talents and experience of the three principles, the business soon started to grow again. They quickly expanded their customer base, range of plants and propagation area. In 2000 they purchased 26 acres at Wandin. At the same time Simon Larkman joined the business in the growing section. In 2003 they bought a small tissue culture laboratory and moved that into the large shed on the site. Over the next 5 years they built a 4000 m2 shade house and 2500 m2 of outdoor growing area. In 2007 the family took on the Renaissance Herbs brand in Victoria under the name of Romantic Nursery and Simon took on the role of Sales Manager for Larkman Nurseries. The nursery propagates over 2.0 million plants annually. Due to the variety of genera done, the nursery utilises many different propagation environments, including; fog, mist, cold frame mist/hot bed, tissue culture and straight heat. At anytime the thirty staff have to look after 400 000 tubes and 300 000 cuttings. So as to offer an even broader range they have contracted the services of several specialist propagators for those plant varieties that need particular skills, stock conditions or growing environments. They also import particular varieties in from Europe as tissue culture every year. Clive has a ...Read More