Our story begins when…

 

1910

John & Susan Clesen migrated from Luxembourg to Evanston, Illinois where they focused on growing produce and flowers. Together they raised seven children, five sons and two daughters.

1944

Frank Clesen, son of John & Susan, rents greenhouse space in Chicago’s Roger’s Park neighborhood at Lunt and Bell.




1946

Frank purchases the original greenhouses located on Florence Ave in Evanston and launches Frank Clesen & Sons. He expanded his growing crops, extending his offerings from cut flowers to include bedding and potted plants, serving a customer base of garden centers, landscapers, florists and outdoor fruit stands.

1966

Dick Clesen, Frank’s oldest son and the second generation of the Clesen family business who had been working for his father since he was big enough to handle a shovel and wheelbarrow and brave enough to feed the original Evanston coal boilers, manages control of the family business as his father retires.



1970

With the advent of cut flowers being shipped via planes and trains across the country and the globe, Frank continues to diversify his product offerings to include in-demand holiday plants: Christmas poinsettias, Easter lilies and azaleas, fall potted mums and more. Florists began offering potted plants, as well as cut flowers and Frank Clesen & Sons responded with more potted plant offerings like kalanchoe and cyclamen. As their four season demand grew, Frank and his sons purchased and built additional greenhouse space in South Elgin IL.


2001
The third generation of the Clesen family, Tom and Tim, assume control and responsibility to continue growing the family business, under the name Clesen Wholesale, as their father Richard embraces retirement. Tom had received his degree in horticulture and assumed responsibility for the greenhouses and growing, while Tim focused on sales and marketing.
2003
Clesen Wholesale is quickly outgrowing the space in the Evanston greenhouses, so the brothers, Tom and Tim acquire additional greenhouses and land in Lake Villa, IL to meet the demand of their four season garden center & landscape customers. Dawn Clesen Pollack joined her brothers, working in Purchasing, Spec Planning and ultimately Sales. 
2013
Ten years later, with the demand for Clesen Wholesale quality plants rising, the brothers acquire a third growing location, purchasing additional greenhouses & land in Grays Lake, IL
2016
To meet the demand of timely deliveries & consolidate plants grown at 3 separate locations, Clesen Wholesale acquires a centralized distribution and transportation facility in Northbrook, IL. This facility is managed by Troy Clesen, the fourth generation of the family business.


After purchasing the Northbrook location, with its expansive warehouse space and loading docks, they transitioned their winter business from the Evanston greenhouses to Northbrook, as they could more easily accommodate the ongoing stream of semi-trailer trucks arriving from the Pacific Northwest, laden with our winter greens, garland and wreaths, as well as the necessary storage space for all the fabulous winter accents.


Many customers have witnessed this winter wonderland firsthand when they pick up their winter greenery and accents. The massive warehouse and surrounding land is completely transformed, with refrigerated trucks and storage to keep our winter greenery cold and fresh for our customers, while the warehouse shelves overflow with branches, berries, and winter ornamental décor.


Present Day

Clesen Wholesale continues to exceed the demands of our garden center, landscape, and container gardening customer base. We are thrilled each year to toast our Garden Center customers who have been recognized in the exclusive ranks of the nations top 100 IGCs, and the awards and accolades received by our Landscape and Container Garden customers.

We will continue to offer the quality, variety, and 24/7 availability that our customers have grown to expect from Clesen Wholesale and look forward to meeting the challenges of the future, always keeping our customers’ needs at the forefront of our decisions and strategies.