At one time, Florida Grown Specialties, Inc was a subsidiary of Phillip Rucks Nursery, Inc, which was established by Phillip Rucks in 1997. With over 36 years of experience Phillip Rucks Citrus Nursery is the largest screened commercial citrus nursery in the US with propagation of one million trees annually. Florida Grown Specialties grows many specialty crops with a dedicated staff and facilities. Bamboo is our latest commercial crop in setting the standards in farming of bamboo shoots and culms to be developed into diversified markets for decades to come.
Phillip Rucks
Founder of Phillip Rucks Citrus Nursery
Phillip graduated from Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida and has over twenty-five years of experience managing and developing three modern, high-tech citrus nurseries including operations for Becker Groves of Ft. Pierce, Florida and Jack M. Berry, Inc of LaBelle, Florida.
He has owned and operated Phillip Rucks Citrus Nursery, Inc. in Frostproof, Florida for the last twenty-two years.
Phillip Rucks innovative efforts in the area of improved nursery practices and standards have become a model for the citrus industry.
Phillip has served as President of the Florida Nursery Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA) Citrus Nursery Division and served as President of the Florida Citrus Nurserymen’s Association (FNCA).
Phillip Rucks maintains a high level of personal commitment and a relentless focus on quality and integrity that serve as the core values for one the largest and most efficient nurseries in the world.
Over the last twenty years he directed his efforts at developing a self-sufficient, self-contained nursery by establishing plant supportive material including registered high yielding seed and budwood blocks. A screened insect-proof mother budwood house constructed in 2002 supports a disease-free quality citrus tree. To insure future protection a state-of-the-art laboratory houses tissue cultures for the most popular citrus, peach, eucalyptus and bamboo rootstocks.
Understanding the right way to begin the Journey
Information based on experience, scientific research, knowledge and hard work!
At Florida Grown Specialties, we brought in international experts to Florida for consultation to understand how bamboo grows in the types of soil and climate found in Florida. We wanted to ensure we incorporated the best strategies and knowledge to grow bamboo and make it successful.
You now have a choice!
At Florida Grown Specialties we offer the knowledge education and continued support you need to succeed. To inquire more information, contact us at info@floridagrownspecialties.com.
Beth Lamb
Rucks Citrus Nursery and Florida Grown Specialties
Beth a graduate of University of Florida is our Scientist behind the tissue culture lab. She has a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science that’s specializing in Plant Pathology and Virology. Since 2010, she’s involved with maintaining the on-site lab, creating new cultures and producing clean starter plants for experimental and commercial citrus, eucalyptus, blueberry, peach and various bamboo species. Beth has experience with planting conventional tissue culture, pathogen tested propagation, breeding and flowering plants, and contract research for plant patents and plant breeder rights.
It all starts in our State of the Art Tissue Lab
Beth Lamb also helped create a state-of-the-art tissue culture lab where she also oversees an amazing lab team.
When propagating Asper, and other types of Bamboo, selected plants are evaluated in the field or in the nursery, and cultures are started using tissue culture methods done inside Florida Grown Specialties clean-air laboratory.
Plant tissue culture is a collection of laboratory techniques to use to grow and maintain plant cells and tissues under sterile conditions on a defined nutrient culture medium. The environmental conditions inside FGS laboratory are kept stable and conducive to rapid year-round growth of micro propagated bamboo. FGS Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, utilizes sterile culture methods to evaluate, maintain, and most importantly, reliably propagate vigorous juvenile young plants to support the nursery’s production of Asper bamboo which are correctly acclimated before taken to the field for planting.
Patent Pending Commercial Asper Bamboo
In order to have quality Asper Bamboo plants, you should start with clean source plants assuring its pathogen free and has no diseases. At Florida Grown Specialties, we make sure to have the proper protocols and strategies in place to ensure the best quality for our customers. Commencement in planting bamboo starts with “Quality Bamboo Plants Return Optimum Yields”. Buy from Americans you know, not from people who you don’t know. Buy from “Florida Grown“.
Our Plants
New growth and success 1 week after planting.
Pictures speak volumes when it comes to growth and quality! Looking at the shoot picture you can see amazing growth after just one week from planting. Equally as impressive is the 100% success rate of the plants themselves. No plants have been lost that initially went in the ground.
How can this be?
What is the difference?
Commencement in planting bamboo starts with “ Quality Bamboo Plants Return Optimum Yields”. Buy from Americans you know , not from people who you don’t know. Buy from “Florida Grown “. Phillip Rucks
You now have a choice!
At Florida Grown Specialties we offer the knowledge, education and continued support you need to succeed.
Understanding how to propagate as well as when the plants are ready to be planted in the field and the entire process of preparing the plants for planting. Our goal is simple: Help Florida Farmers create an American Bamboo Empire!
To do this we are committed to planting over 50,000 acres of commercial bamboo over the next 5 years.
Only labeled USDA Certified inspected processed bamboo shoots in the world.
- An American owned company that insures the highest standards in American grown produce.
- Our exclusive wholesaler has 25 years in marketing bamboo shoots
- Our cloned, clean source bamboo selections are superior in production over all leading competitors’ available commercial bamboo in being pathogen free with no diseases and optimal productive lines.
- Our bamboo clones have continued to be selected in confirming productive traits for optimum returns.
- Our team is the leader in providing the first production guide in addressing sound practices from leading professional horticulturist/scientist for Americas newest commercial crop.
- We offer services supporting optional oversite in managing and providing plants, production guidance, harvesting and marketing.
We know bamboo! At Florida Grown Specialties we offer the knowledge education and continued support you need to succeed.
When propagating Asper, and other types of Bamboo, selected plants are evaluated in the field or in the nursery, and cultures are started using tissue culture methods done inside Florida Grown Specialties clean-air laboratory.
Plant tissue culture is a collection of laboratory techniques to use to grow and maintain plant cells and tissues under sterile conditions on a defined nutrient culture medium. The environmental conditions inside FGS laboratory are kept stable and conducive to rapid year-round growth of micropropagated bamboo. FGS Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, utilizes sterile culture methods to evaluate, maintain, and most importantly, reliably propagate vigorous juvenile young plants to support the nursery’s production of Asper bamboo which are correctly acclimated before taken to the field for planting.
Our goal is simple: Help Florida Farmers create an American Bamboo Empire!
To do this we are committed to planting over 50,000 acres of commercial bamboo over the next 5 years.
Only labeled USDA Certified inspected processed bamboo shoots in the world.
· An American owned company that insures the highest standards in American grown produce.
· Our exclusive wholesaler has 25 years in marketing bamboo shoots
· Our cloned, clean source bamboo selections are superior in production over all leading competitors’ available commercial bamboo in being pathogen free with no diseases and optimal productive lines.
· Our bamboo clones have continued to be selected in confirming productive traits for optimum returns.
· Our team is the leader in providing the first production guide in addressing sound practices from leading professional horticulturist/scientist for Americas newest commercial crop.
· We offer services supporting optional over site in managing and providing plants, production guidance, harvesting and marketing.
We know bamboo! At Florida Grown Specialties we offer the knowledge education and continued support you need to succeed.
