Everything is coming up roses at Otto & Sons Nursery

By Michele Willer-Allred,
June 04, 2016 — Ventura County Star

Thousands of colorful roses as far as the eye can see dot
the more than 40 acres of property that make up Otto &
Sons Nursery in Fillmore.
The setting is so serene and the fragrance of roses so
pleasant that visitors say the nursery is like no other.
“It’s really like heaven here,” said longtime customer
Teresa Reese.
At one time, though, the business known for roses that
Otto and Jeanne Klittich opened 40 years ago in
Chatsworth, didn’t sell roses.
Otto Klittich, a German immigrant who came to the United
States after World War II, became a landscape contractor
in the Los Angeles area, and the business primarily sold
shrubs, trees and day lilies.
“The day lily people weren’t as enthusiastic,” their son
Scott Klittich said with a laugh.
“It really became something special when we started
selling roses.”
Needing more room, Otto & Sons Nursery moved in 1978
from Chatsworth to its current location at 1835 E.
Guiberson Road, and has thrived ever since.
The business supplies numerous independent retail
garden centers, landscapers, builders and designers
throughout the region, and its roses can be seen at places
known for beautiful gardens, such as Disneyland and the
Huntington Library in Pasadena.
But it also sells to the public, and Otto & Sons is one of the
region’s best-kept secrets as far as home gardeners are
concerned.
There are more than 160,000 plants and 800 varieties of
roses there, including the fragrant David Austin English
roses, and roses with catchy names such as Light My Fire,
China Doll and Coco Loco.
The nursery also has a diverse collection of fruit trees and
berries, but roses seem to be the biggest draw.
“They have an amazing selection,” said Jock Stalker, who
traveled to the nursery from Templeton after seeing the
website.
Otto & Sons recently hosted its annual Rose Days, when
hundreds of visitors drove several miles down the rural
road to reach the nursery.
It also has Rose Care University in January, and events
throughout the year, including a summer rose care class in
June.
Scott Klittich, 56, grew up working for his father’s
landscaping business while going to college, and took
over running the nursery with his wife Cindy after his
parents retired.
He said he’s pretty sure customers won’t find a larger
selection of roses anywhere, except for where they’re
actually grown in Bakersfield.
The roses are brought to Otto & Sons as a bare root plant,
and they potted and cared for until they’re big and
beautiful.
“There are other nurseries that sell small pots, and they
might have a large variety of roses, but they only have
maybe 10 or 12 plants of each, whereas we’ll have a
couple hundred or a couple thousand of each variety,”
Scott Klittich said.
He said the rose collection at the nursery was not
impacted by the drought because the business receives its
water from two wells on the property and the Santa Clarita
watershed runs through the valley.
However, sales were affected right after the state declared
a drought because customers were hesitant to buy roses
due to limits on watering their lawns.
While roses are not classified as a drought-tolerant plant,
they generally only need to be watered thoroughly once or
twice a week, depending on conditions where they are
grown.
Scott Klittich said the key for healthy roses at the nursery
is their “magic Mix” of soil, which includes redwood
shavings mixed with native soil, sand and rice hulls from
the Central Valley.
“You really have to give the plant the nutrients that it
needs, including water and fertilizer,” he said.
Having worked in the family business for so long, Scott
Klittich knows mostly every rose by name and tries to help
customers when they have special requests.
“There’s over 30,000 different varieties of roses around
the world, so sometimes it’s a little bit of a challenge, but
we definitely try our best,” he said.
He said his personal favorite is the Perfect Moment rose.
“It would be a perfect rose if it had a fragrance, but it has
really nice, sturdy stems and opens really nice. When the
sun shines on it, it’s almost like it’s on fire,” he said.
The biggest seller at the nursery is the Iceberg rose
because it’s a “municipality-friendly” variety that doesn’t
take a lot of water and fertilizer.
Jorge Saines, 20, is one of 25 employees at the nursery
and helps care for the roses and assists customers. His
father, Isauro Saines, 50, has worked at the nursery for
more than 35 years.
“I love working here. It’s beautiful and we try to keep it
very nice,” Jorge Saines said.
Otto Klittich’s old Ford truck was recently rebuilt and
repainted, and a picture of it is now on the nursery’s new,
modern logo.
The business still continues to grow, and Scott Klittich said
his parents are pleased with the success after all these
years.
Scott Klittich said there can be up and down moments like
any business, but, while looking at the roses, he did admit
that work at the nursery can be “heavenly.”
“The beauty is wonderful,” he said.