At the end of wwii, tom and ray, the two eldest kitayama brothers, came to san francisco’s east bay and worked for famous flower pioneers, yoshimi shibata of mt. Eden nursery and dan shinoda of san lorenzo nursery. They loved growing flowers, and three years later opened their own greenhouse on less than one acre. They were soon joined by their two younger brothers, ted and kee, forming kitayama brothers in union city, ca.
Quality. Integrity. Growing.
By the late 1950’s, we had 40 acres under glass - the largest carnation growers in california. Over the next two decades ray and kee opened our colorado and watsonville, ca locations. By the late 70’s, we were the largest greenhouse grower in the usa at over 5 million sq ft - mainly producing roses.
Since the 1980’s, over 70% of the flowers used in the usa are now grown offshore. As a result, more than half of california’s flower growers have closed their doors. We also downsized to our current location in Watsonville, CA.
We began expanding again in 2008, and continued our growth in 2010, opening kitayama brothers san jose and kitayama brothers hayward. Our continued success is a result of continuing to grow competitively priced, excellent quality flowers, while increasing efficiency.
Still a family-owned and operated business, we’vedeveloped deep relationships with many local growers, large and small, over theyears. As one of the largest flower brokers on the central coast, we can sourcealmost anything from our network
Central California has a rich tradition of agriculture and floriculture and is the heart of world technology innovation. Innovative people and processes are as much a part of the kitayama brothers’ culture as our silicon valley neighbors. We’re constantly working to increase maximize our existing resources and leverage new technology in flower production, transportation, and communication. We’re excited about the next generation of the flower business and flower growers.
