Company's roots founded in seed business MARYSVILLE, Ohio, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- A century ago, a company now synonymous with lawns and gardens planted its roots into American culture with the debut of its lawn seed mail-order catalog. In 1907, The O.M. Scotts Company, known today as The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, launched its mail- order seed business and now, 100 years later, is the world's leading supplier and marketer of consumer products for lawn and garden care. From the beginning, the Company has helped define quality lawn care and transformed the lawn into an American icon and source of pride. ScottsMiracle-Gro continues to maintain its strong presence in the lawn and garden market because of its dedication to product innovation, forging partnerships with retailers, responsiveness to consumers' needs and a commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability. "Drawing on our heritage and 100 years in the business, we're helping shape the next century of lawn and garden care," said Jim Hagedorn, chairman and chief executive officer, ScottsMiracle-Gro. "We continue to anticipate how to better meet the needs of lawn and garden enthusiasts. Nothing attests to this better than the continued growth and success of Scotts' seed business." ScottsMiracle-Gro's heritage is rich in innovation. At a time when Americans' desire to create beautiful green spaces extended beyond the farm and into homeowners' own front yards, Dwight Scott capitalized on this opportunity and made it possible. Through Scotts' mail-order catalog, consumers could purchase Scotts lawn seed by mail. As the concept of residential lawns took off, Scotts focused its efforts on ways to grow the business and offer the concept of a homegrown lawn to a wider audience. Once its lawn seed became available at retail outlets in the late 1920s, Scotts developed a bulletin to educate consumers about the ingredients of a great lawn. This bulletin -- still in publication today -- foreshadowed the Company's creation of a dedicated consumer helpline, introduced in 1972, to answer lawn care-related questions. The consumer helpline fields more than 1.5 million calls each year. After the Company's research division officially formed in 1946, it set the stage for Scotts' push into research and development. Recognizing the increasing importance of application techniques, weed control and the role fertilizer plays in promoting a healthy lawn, over the next 60 years the Company began expanding its product offerings to better serve the market demand. With a national customer base, the Company made a foray into marketing seeds specific to the types of grass that thrives in particular regions and climates, such as Kentucky Bluegrass seed. The Company later made a name for itself overseas with the introduction of its International Business, offering turf and gardening products to consumers in Europe. Today, the Company continues to maintain the largest research and development efforts related to lawn care, including state-of-the art greenhouses featuring innovative technology. When Scotts merged with Stern's Miracle-Gro Products, Inc., in 1995, the leading brand name in gardening joined forces with the leading name in lawn care. Not only did this move solidify Scotts' market position, it was a catalyst for continued innovation and category growth. Ortho(R), the leading brand in the lawn and garden pest control industry, joined the ScottsMiracle- Gro family in 1999. Followed by the addition of Roundup(R), courtesy of an exclusive marketing agreement with Monsanto, ScottsMiracle-Gro began offering consumers options for weed control. Also in the late 1990s, recognizing consumers' increasing desire for "do- it-for-me" services, ScottsMiracle-Gro introduced Scotts LawnService to its portfolio. Since then, Scotts LawnService has emerged as the second-largest residential lawn service business in the United States. "Lawn care is one of the most popular outdoor activities in America today," said Warren Schultz, noted lawn historian and author of A Man's Turf and several other popular books on the subject. "Starting a century ago with lawn seed and now today with naturals and organics, ScottsMiracle-Gro has evolved alongside customer needs and interests, weaving lawn and garden activities into the very fabric of American culture." Adding the concept of outdoor living into the Company's array of offerings, in 2004 ScottsMiracle-Gro acquired Smith & Hawken, a leading brand of garden-inspired products. Today, Scotts continues to partner with leading grass seed breeding institutions and universities to deliver the highest quality seed to both homeowners and professional customers. As evidenced in the development of its revolutionary heat and drought tolerant grass varieties, the Company's ongoing research into seed development will help ensure that Americans enjoy their lawns for the next hundred years. For more information on the Company's history, as well as advice on how to maintain a healthy and beautiful lawn and garden, visit: http://www.scotts.com/. About Scotts Miracle-Gro With more than $2.7 billion in worldwide sales and more than 6,000 associates, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Scotts Company LLC, is the world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care, with products for professional horticulture as well. The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S., the Company's Scotts(R), Miracle-Gro(R) and Ortho(R) brands are market leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup(R) brand, which is marketed in North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. The Company also owns Smith & Hawken(R), a leading brand of garden-inspired products that includes pottery, watering equipment, gardening tools, outdoor furniture and live goods. Additionally, the Company owns Morning Song(R), the leading brand in the wild bird food category. In Europe, Scotts' brands include Weedol(R), Pathclear(R), Evergreen(R), Levington(R), Miracle-Gro(R), KB(R), Fertiligene(R) and Substral(R). For additional information, visit us at http://www.scotts.com/. DATASOURCE: The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company CONTACT: Su Lok of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, +1-937-578-5169 Web site: http://www.scotts.com/

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