Veitch Nurseries
Veitch Nurseries was a major British family-run horticultural business that introduced more than 1,200 plants and cultivars to cultivation, especially orchids and other exotic species.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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History
Veitch Nurseries developed from a horticultural business founded by John Veitch in England sometime before 1808. The original operation expanded over the nineteenth century as the Veitch family built a reputation for propagating and selling unusual plants. Growth eventually made it impractical to manage the entire enterprise from one location, leading to the establishment of separate Chelsea and Exeter businesses. A nursery also operated at Coombe on Kingston Hill. The company's significance rested not only on nursery production but also on its international network of plant collectors. The Veitch family employed twenty-two recognized plant hunters, including three members of the family itself. Collectors travelled widely across the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific islands, bringing back plants and seeds for cultivation. William and Thomas Lobb were especially prominent, while Ernest Wilson, Charles Maries and John Gould Veitch also became closely associated with the firm's collecting history. Veitch nurseries were noted for their success with exotic plants that required specialized greenhouse cultivation. The firm became particularly famous for orchids and introduced a substantial range of tropical and subtropical plants. Its work also included plants from many non-orchid groups, among them the pitcher plants Nepenthes rajah and Nepenthes northiana. Nepenthes veitchii commemorates the Veitch family in its scientific name. The firm supplied material that supported botanical description and illustration. William Jackson Hooker's account of Verticordia nitens referred to the Veitch cultivation of the species, and the business provided a specimen for its illustration. By the beginning of the First World War, the nurseries had introduced 1,281 plants into cultivation, including previously unknown plants and newly bred varieties. The total comprised 498 greenhouse plants, 232 orchids, 153 deciduous trees, shrubs and climbers, 122 herbaceous plants, 118 exotic ferns, 72 evergreen and climbing plants, 49 conifers and 37 ornamental bulbous plants. The Chelsea branch closed in 1914. The Exeter business survived under Peter Veitch and later his daughter Mildred. In 1969, Mildred sold the firm to St Bridget Nurseries. Veitch continued as a separate operation for roughly twenty years before becoming a subsidiary of St Bridget. The business is therefore historically important as both a commercial nursery and an institutional force in Victorian plant exploration and acclimatization.
- 1969
Exeter business sold to St Bridget Nurseries
[1]Mildred Veitch sold the continuing Exeter firm to St Bridget Nurseries.
- 1914
Chelsea nursery ceases trading
[1]The Chelsea branch stopped trading during the year the First World War began, while the Exeter business continued.
- 1914
More than 1,200 plant introductions recorded
[1]By the outbreak of the First World War, the firm had introduced 1,281 plants into cultivation, including new species and bred varieties across numerous horticultural categories.
John Veitch establishes the original nursery
[1]John Veitch began the nursery business sometime before 1808 in England, creating the foundation for the later Veitch horticultural enterprise.
Business divided between Chelsea and Exeter
[1]The expanding family operation was divided into separate Chelsea and Exeter nurseries after a single-location model became impractical.
Veitch becomes a St Bridget subsidiary
[1]After operating separately for approximately two further decades, the Veitch business became a subsidiary of St Bridget Nurseries.
Products and positioning
A specialist Victorian-era plant nursery and international plant-introduction house distinguished by botanical exploration, cultivation of difficult exotic species and large-scale distribution of ornamental plants.
Ornamental plants
Orchids
Orchids were Veitch Nurseries' best-known horticultural specialty. The firm's collectors and growers helped expand the range of orchid species and cultivated varieties available to British and European gardeners. Orchids accounted for 232 of the 1,281 plant introductions recorded by the outbreak of the First World War.
Exotic ornamental plants
Greenhouse plants
The company cultivated tropical and subtropical plants requiring protected conditions. Greenhouse plants formed the largest recorded category of Veitch introductions, with 498 entries listed by the beginning of the First World War.
Carnivorous plants
Nepenthes introductions
Veitch Nurseries was associated with the introduction and cultivation of notable tropical pitcher plants, including Nepenthes rajah and Nepenthes northiana. The related species Nepenthes veitchii was named in honour of the Veitch family.
Woody ornamental plants
Trees, shrubs and climbers
The nursery introduced deciduous trees, shrubs and climbing plants collected overseas or developed through horticultural breeding. These plants broadened the firm's catalogue beyond tropical greenhouse specialties and contributed to the diversification of Victorian ornamental gardens.
Garden plants
Ferns, herbaceous plants, conifers and bulbs
Veitch's recorded introductions also included exotic ferns, herbaceous plants, conifers and ornamental bulbous plants. Together these categories demonstrate the breadth of the firm's commercial nursery activities and plant-introduction programme.
Brand decisions
1969
Sell the Exeter business to St Bridget NurseriesM&ABackground
The Exeter nursery remained under Veitch family control through Peter Veitch and later Mildred Veitch.
Action taken
Mildred Veitch sold the firm to St Bridget Nurseries.
Aftermath
Veitch operated separately for approximately twenty years before becoming a subsidiary of St Bridget Nurseries.
1914
Close the Chelsea branchOtherBackground
The Chelsea nursery had operated as one of the principal Veitch businesses during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Action taken
The Chelsea business ceased trading in 1914.
Aftermath
The Exeter operation continued under the Veitch family, preserving part of the business after the London branch closed.
- Split the expanding nursery operation between Chelsea and ExeterStrategy
Background
The original family nursery grew to a scale that made it impractical to operate from one location.
Action taken
The business was organized into separate Chelsea and Exeter nurseries, with an additional nursery operating at Coombe on Kingston Hill.
Aftermath
The division enabled the Veitch family to continue operating a large horticultural business across multiple sites.
Sources1 sources
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