Babikow Greenhouses

Wholesale Perennials, Grasses, Annuals & Pansies
Located in Baltimore, Maryland since 1875 --- The mission of Babikow Greenhouses is to enhance the quality of people's lives by producing sustainable plants that thrive in local landscapes. Understanding the aesthetic and healing virtues of gardens, our committed owners and cherished employees work dilligently to grow the highest quality plants and serve our customers with reliability, experience and continuity that emanates from 135 years and four generations of professionalism. Looking to the future and recognizing the tenuous state of our environment, the Babikow Family is dedicated to contributing to the health of our planet and the happiness of our customers.

Address:     7838 Babikow Rd. Baltimore, MD 21237 Email:    Babikow@babikow.com Contact:   Paul Babikow   Phone:    410-391-4200    FAX:  410-574-7582

Native Perennials

Try out some of our new native perennial varieties for 2021! We've trialed these stand out plants in our own gardens and in containers before offering them for sale...and they're awesome!

These new native perennials will be available in quarts and/or gallons, and some will be available early in the spring season. They are:

Arisaema triphyllum or Jack in the Pulpit

~A lovely spring ephemeral that comes up early, blooms, and then goes dormant for the remainder of the year. Highly sought after by creative designers, homeowners and native plant professionals, Arisaema does best in damp woodland settings with mostly shade.

Callirhoe involucrata or Winecups

~Callirhoe is a plant for tough,rugged conditions, preferring a dry full sun location. Winecups grow low to the ground and produce a long tap root, but the lovely magenta flowers pop up throughout the foliage as it grows.

Geum triflorum or Prairie Smoke

~This geum doesn't have an exciting flower - the real magic happens afterwards! The fluffy, pinkish purple seedhead is the best feature of this funky plant. As the common name implies, the plants do best in native prairie settings, so full sun, medium to dry soils.

Phacelia bipinnatifida or Fern leaf Phacelia

~A lovely purple blue flower is produced in spring by this biennial that readily self seeds. Phacelia does best in part sun/shade, and slightly moist soil, although it's pretty tolerant of most conditions. 

Carex rosea or Rosy Sedge

~Carex rosea was frequently requested by our customers because it tends to spread, and can tolerate a wide range of conditions - sun, shade, wet and dry (including the tough to fill spots in dry shade!). The common name comes from the small reddish tips on the seedheads it produces in spring.

Carex socialis or Social Sedge

~Social Sedge is a short, fine textured grass that does best in part sun to shade with moist to wet soils. The plant spreads through rhizomes to form large colonies in the right locations. 

In addition to the new varieties for 2021, we also carry the following native perennials, grasses and ferns:

Native Perennials:  Actaea, Agastache, Allium, Amsonia, Anemone, Aquilegia, Asarum, Asclepias, Aster, Baptisia, Boltonia, Chelone, Chrysogonum, Coreopsis, Dalea, Delphinium, Echinacea, Erigeron, Eryngium, Eupatorium, Filipendula, Gaura, Geranium, Helenium, Helianthus, Heliopsis, Heuchera, Hibiscus, Iris, Liatris, Lobelia, Lysimachia, Mertensia, Monarda, Oenothera, Pachysandra, Packera, Penstemon, Phlox, Physostegia, Polemonium, Polygonatum, Pycnanthemum, Rudbeckia, Salvia, Sedum, Silene, Smilacina, Sisyrinchium, Solidago, Spigelia, Stokesia, Thermopsis, Tiarella, Tradescantia, Verbena, Vernonia, Veronicastrum, Viola and Zizia.

Native Grasses:  Acorus, Andropogon, Bouteloua, Carex, Chasmanthium, Deschampsia, Elymus, Eragrostis, Equisetum, Juncus, Muhlenbergia, Nassella, Panicum, Schizachyrium, Sorghastrum, and Sporobolus.

Native Ferns:  Adiantum, Asplenium, Athyrium, Dryopteris, Matteuccia, Onoclea, Osmunda, Polystichum and Thelypteris.

Native Climbers:  Clematis and Lonicera.

Revamped Favorites

Here are some new varieties from your favorite annuals, like Lantana, Vinca, Marigolds and Coleus that have some new colors or features added to their already consistent performance in the landscape.

Coleus Heart Breaker

~Cheery bright pink centers surrounded by a purple margin with a neon green edge, this coleus really packs a punch! Outstanding in sun or shade, Coleus Heart Breaker gets about 14" to 16" tall, and would do well in containers or in the ground.

Lantana Landmark series

~Several individual varieties are available from this series - including Citrus, Gold, Rose Glow, Sunrise Rose, White and Yellow. All are deer resistant and like full sun with medium to dry soil. The flowers fall off as they age, so no need for deadheading! The Landmark series is a more compact grower and excellent for the landscape.

Marigold Fireball

~Fireball packs a fiery punch, with flowers opening dark red, fiery bronze and fading to gold before producing seeds. Marigolds want to be in full sun with medium moisture, and are resistant to most insect pests, rabbits and deer.

Marigold Strawberry Blonde

~Several colors in one! The flowers open a deep pinkish-orange with a yellow crest, then fade to a straw yellow. On the shorter side, these plants stay 8 to 10 inches tall with a nice mounding habit. Marigolds do best in full sun with medium moisture.

Vinca Tattoo series - American Pie Mix, Blueberry and Papaya

~The Tattoo Series features blooms that look like they are airbrushed with soft dark purple brush strokes.  American Pie is a mix of red white and blue vinca! A colorful addition to the vinca varieties we already grow. Blueberry has a dark purple/blue flower color, and the Papaya is a dark orange with a darker center. All vinca does best in full sun with medium moisture.

The mission of Babikow Greenhouses is to enhance the quality of people's lives by producing sustainable plants that thrive in local landscapes. Understanding the aesthetic and healing virtues of gardens, our committed owners and cherished employees work dilligently to grow the highest quality plants and serve our customers with reliability, experience and continuity that emanates from 135 years and four generations of professionalism. Looking to the future and recognizing the tenuous state of our environment, the Babikow familiy is dedicated to contributing to the health of our planet and the happiness of our customers.

        

Our Rich History

Longevity in a family business is a sign of high quality, hard work, and the wisdom to adapt to change. Russian émigré William E. Babikow arrived in America just after the civil war. He and his large family raised fresh produce on 32 acres north of Baltimore and sold it at local Baltimore Markets.

In 1875, the Babikows shifted their attention to growing fresh cut flowers, grown in cold frames, finding the demand and reward higher than for vegetables. Early in the twentieth century, greenhouses were built and flowering potted plants were added to the mix. By 1950, bedding plants were added and the market changed to emerging retail garden centers.

By the end of the 1960’s, partly due to a technological revolution, the Babikows became aware of the "Greening of America" and focused their attention on the emerging Landscape Industry and homeowners wanting aesthetics in their yards - something to soften life and take the edge off.

By 1995, growing areas and facilities were expanded to utilize the entire 32-acre farm. Production and sales of annuals, perennials, ornamental grasses, hardy ferns and fall pansies more than doubled.

Today, Babikow is recognized not just for quality plants, but also for reliability, continuity and experience. Management is cogently aware of our environment and the stewardship of our planet. With this in mind, "greener" growing procedures are being implemented and the use of North American native plants is encouraged.

Customers consist of landscapers and landscape contractors (74% of sales) and independent retail garden centers (26% of sales). Babikow delivers to the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. Shipping occurs March through December with April, May and October being the busiest. Orders are pulled, placed on racks that are then loaded onto trucks for delivery. Only the best quality plants are shipped. Babikows employs full and part-time people to continue this cycle of producing top quality plants and providing excellent distribution. Employees are recognized as the most important ingredient in this process and are cherished.