When nature runs in the family

It all begins with the legacy of grandfather Pierino: fourteen cows and a farmstead with olive, almond and carob trees, laying the foundations of a traditional farming business.

Faced with milk quotas, Stefano reinvents himself. He leaves livestock farming to grow and sell young plants, falling out with his father in the process; he registers his own business and grows plants in yoghurt pots to keep costs down, focusing on olive trees.

In 1989 Stefano hires his first employee and is reconciled with his father. That same year his first son, Leonardo, is born. A passion for unusual plants leads him to create the Botanical Garden in 1990. His second son, Simone, is born in 1992. The first greenhouse is built in 1994, and in 1996 comes the first catalogue, "Spunta il Colore in giardino".

By 1999 the breadth of the range attracts the largest Italian nurseries. The youngest child, Delia, is born in 2004. From 2005 Leonardo and Simone begin working alongside their father, learning from him day by day. In 2006 Stefano co-founds ANVE, the Italian national association of nursery growers and exporters, serving as vice-president. The business expands to 35 hectares and 60 employees, investing to prepare for international contracts. 31 May 2008 is a turning point: Stefano dies suddenly. Leonardo, having finished his studies, takes the helm together with the family and all the staff.

Despite the tragedy, under Leonardo's leadership the company closes 2009 with substantial growth. The first national day of Mediterranean nursery production is held, with the Stefano Capitanio scholarship. In 2014 Simone returns to Apulia to work alongside Leonardo, taking charge of production. In 2015 the Xylella outbreak leads the company to work with the University of Bari on a protocol for growing plants free of the bacterium. In 2016 Farfalia opens, the first house of native butterflies in Italy, and Stefano, Leonardo's son, is born. The Xylella epidemic of 2018 prompts the acquisition of a new production site at Bitonto, in a disease-free area, to keep the range at its best. That same year Leonardo is elected president of ANVE, the association his father co-founded. In 2019 Francesco, Leonardo's second son, and Alessandro, Simone's first, are born.

A new Vivai Capitanio production site opens in Albania, designed to make the most of the richness of Mediterranean flora. Then the COVID pandemic brings the world to a halt, and the company finds itself fighting to put plant sales back among people's priorities, reminding everyone how essential greenery is to physical and mental wellbeing. Despite the difficulties, growth does not stop. If anything, the market reveals a new sensibility: awareness grows of the need for nature and for green wellbeing. This path is recognised internationally too: in September 2022 Leonardo is elected president of AIPH, the world association of ornamental plant producers.

The company acquires new growing areas and a new showroom is taking shape. Its commercial reach widens: thanks to the breadth of the range it becomes a point of reference for major sites and public works, and the team, now more than 120 people, grows with the arrival of a human resources specialist.