U.S. Commercial Service Aids West Virginia Business in Saving European Gardens

Little Plants is a small, rural business in West Virginia which develops blight resistant boxwoods to replace historic formal garden plantings. In order to successfully export their boxwoods, Little Plants sought to understand France’s export potential, as well as how to ensure the plants would safely arrive without factors like shipping delays affecting their health. 

As the company was looking into French markets, they also traveled to historic gardens across England and France to evaluate their plant’s resistance, discovering that most of the native boxwoods had been utterly destroyed by box blight. This greatly expanded their export horizons, and they turned to the U.S. Commercial Service (CS) Charleston, West Virginia office for assistance. In May 2023, CS Charleston, along with representatives of two WV state agencies, met with the owners of Little Plants and provided extensive information about local, state, and federal export assistance. Having faced exporting hurdles in the past, the company was counseled on a number of resources, tools, and were connected with the Foreign Agricultural Service to assist with possible shipment delays. Upon the company’s return from Europe, CS West Virginia established a connection with the Foreign Agriculture Service in Paris, which provided Little Plants with tried-and-true plant shipping methods and provided in country contacts. 

In April 2024, Little Plants confirmed that a French partner purchased $50,000 of plants and would grow 30,000 cuttings of their boxwood variety for eventual installation in the Roseraie du Val de Marne near Paris, where box blight has decimated the boxwood hedging. The company has also received excellent feedback in trial sites and are awaiting final word for additional orders. Aided by the continuous support of the Commercial Service at every turn, Little Plants was able to realize its full export potential while helping save historic gardens from an existential threat.

“We are so glad to have Leslie Drake and other contacts with the DOC and other additional agencies helping us navigate the international export process. It’s been a huge learning curve but with their ideas and guidance, we have been able to get up to speed quickly and are headed for success.” Missy Coles, Co-Owner of Little Plants