Miracle-Gro, a water-soluble fertilizer, was developed after Horace Hagedorn met nurseryman Otto Stern and learned of Stern's troubles shipping plants in 1944.[1][2][3] They hired O. Wesley Davidson, a Rutgers University professor, to develop the fertilizer.[1] In 1950, the company was formed after Hagedorn's wife Peggy named the product.[1][4] Hagedorn is largely credited with the company's success due to his effective marketing – employing advertisements in various media and working with emerging hardware chains.[1] However, he maintained the company was "in the right place at the right time". In 1963, he became the company's first full-time salesman.[2] He bought out Stern in the 1980s.[citation needed]
In 1995, the company merged with Scotts for $200 million in stock, creating the world's largest maker of lawn and garden products, and making Hagedorn the majority investor with 42% of the company and 3 of 11 board seats.[1][5] Hagedorn's son Jim became CEO and chairman of the merged company.[6] His father retired from Miracle-Gro in 1997.[7]
Co-founder Otto Stern was the uncle of noted historian Fritz Stern. In The Five Germanys I Have Known, Fritz Stern mentions his "very rich cousin Otto, who invented Miracle-Gro".[8]
