The company was founded in January of 2000 as the sales and marketing arm of the Rootmaker® Root Branching System. In 2000, the company set up offices in Huntsville, Ala., where it continues to operate.

The company has grown steadily to serve a constantly expanding customer roster. Through catalogues, trade show appearances and a Web site, the company markets more than 100 products ranging from plant containers to propagation products. The company also administers the Rootmaker® Certified Growers program, which certifies plants grown at commercial nurseries and tree farms using the Rootmaker® Root Branching System.

Dr. Whitcomb, inventor of Rootmaker® Products, holds a Ph.D. from Iowa State University and was a professor at Oklahoma State University for 13 years. An expert on plant root systems, he has been published in hundreds of trade and technical magazines. He is the author of four books, including "Know It and Grow It" and "Plant Production in Containers." He holds 26 patents, including "Dynamite Crapemyrtle" and many container designs.

A distinguished researcher who discovered air-root-pruning, Dr. Whitcomb has received dozens of honors from groups such as the American Association of Nurserymen, the Oklahoma Horticultural Society, the International Society of Arboriculture, the Association of Garden Writers and Nursery Business Magazine.

Wayne Hinton met Dr. Whitcomb more than a decade ago while operating a nursery in Tennessee. With Wayne handling the marketing aspects the two forged a partnership that led to the creation of Rootmaker®.