About Fitzroy Nurseries: Rockhampton Quality Wholesale Plants

Fitzroy Nurseries was established in 1952 after two European immigrants, Horst Dargel, a German and Wilhelm (Bill) von Allmen (a Swiss) became friends whilst working at Langbeckers Nursery in Bundaberg. Both Horst and Bill were professionally qualified nursery tradesman who began looking for a site to build their own business.

Bill knew of a Swiss emigrant, Fred Shannon who lived in Rockhampton, just a short 3-hour drive away, so they drove up to Rockhampton to meet Fred. Fred had seen a 20-acre block of land for sale at Pink Lily, a suburb of Rockhampton. From here, Fred, Horst and Bill formed a partnership to create Fitzroy Nurseries in February 1953. The business began as a vegetable and rose growing business before transforming into a fully stocked nursery. In the early 70’s, the business shifted onto a similar neighbouring property so that they could have access to better water and room to grow more plants.

The property the three men bought in the 70’s is the property we still own now, which covers seven acres of bush. In 2020, the business is still family run, with third generation Dargel still operating the business. We currently have 40 staff working who come from a range of different backgrounds, and we enjoy giving work opportunities to backpackers travelling throughout Australia.

We pride ourselves on growing an impressive range of high quality, beautiful plants and trees sold at a competitive price. We are able to do this because Rockhampton’s sub-tropical climate is optimal for growing plants, meaning that we are able to grow plants that many other nurseries struggle to grow. While we stock a wide range of plants, we specialise in selling fruit trees, deciduous trees, flowering and ornamental plants, stocking around 400 varieties of different plants.

Our Process

Having operated for over 68 years, we’ve been able to develop a streamlined process for ordering plants both online and in-person when you visit our nursery. We sell plants to wholesalers and the general public, so our sales process differs for both. If you’re not a wholesaler and wish to purchase some plants for your home, we welcome everyone to visit and browse our range of plants and trees.

When you arrive, our staff will be available to answer any questions you have and offer advice as to what will work best in your garden. From here, it’s as simple as making a purchase and taking your new plants home. On the other hand, if you’d like to place a phone or online order to be shipped, we ask our customers to decide what they want to order based on our list of plants, and our staff will be available to answer any questions over the phone.

Our only limitation is that we have a minimum spend of $250 for any orders that need to be shipped.