Founder Profile
Otto Stern
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Otto Stern?
Otto Stern is a founder of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, which was founded in 1868 with Orlando McLean Scott and Horace Hagedorn.
- Company founded
- The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
- Founded
- 1868
- Co-founders
- Orlando McLean Scott and Horace Hagedorn
Background
German-American businessman.
Founding Story
Otto Stern co-founded Stern's Miracle-Gro Products in 1951 alongside Horace Hagedorn. Running a small nursery business in New York, he partnered with Hagedorn (a brilliant advertising executive) to mass-market a revolutionary water-soluble fertilizer formulated by an orchid expert, laying the foundation for the massive Miracle-Gro brand. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Sources
This profile does not yet cite a source specific to Otto Stern. The sources below document the company company rather than the person, so check them against the claims above.
- Scotts Miracle-Gro FY2025 results (The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company)
- Scotts Miracle-Gro 2025 Form 10-K (The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company)