A century-old Bay Area nursery that was nearly destroyed by back-to-back hurricanes last year is celebrating its recovery with the return of its Poinsettia Festival this Saturday. Orban's Nursery in Bradenton was devastated when Hurricane Helene's storm surge flooded the entire property in September 2024, followed by Hurricane Milton's damaging winds just weeks later.
The family-owned business located at 9601 9th Avenue NW Bradenton, FL 34209, lost hundreds of thousands of plants and suffered millions in damage.
"We had to pick up 200,000 poinsettias and 100,000 annuals," said Tyler Orban, the nursery's owner. The destruction was so severe that Orban wondered if the family-owned nursery founded in 1914 would survive on his watch.
"Yeah, for sure, that was a concern going through my head," Orban said. But the community rallied around the nursery during its darkest hour. Hundreds of volunteers helped clean up the debris after Helene, finishing just before the next storm.
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