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The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company committed $1 million to help restore the White House South Lawn after Sunday’s UFC event at the White House.
Following the June 14th Independence Day 250 event — the centerpiece of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration — the company will provide funding, products and technical expertise to the National Park Service as it restores the historic lawn.
For investors, the high-profile White House project serves as a showcase for Scotts’ research and development division. It comes as the $3.3 billion company navigates a stagnant U.S. housing market where traditional lawn ownership faces challenges from low homeownership rates and a changing urban demographic.
“The level and breadth of our R&D department is impressive,” Nate Baxter, chief operating officer of Scotts Miracle-Gro, told FOX Business, noting that the company is using its research framework to expand into organic and biological alternatives to synthetic fertilizers. “I believe Scotts Miracle-Gro has the horsepower in terms of the investment we’re making in R&D, to bring nature and the environment, to bring organics.”
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The White House South Lawn will try to reverse this weekend’s UFC Freedom 250 event. (Courtesy of Scotts Miracle-Gro)
The upcoming mixed martial arts event has drawn a lot of attention about the physical impact on the White House grounds, which currently has a large, 92-foot-tall temporary structure known as the “Claw” built on the grounds.
Because the grounds are managed by the National Park Service, the Scotts are planning the donation as a charitable donation.
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President Donald Trump is pictured with members of the Scotts Miracle-Gro team in the Oval Office. Scotts plans to provide funding, products and technical expertise to restore the White House South Lawn. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
Restoration is more complicated than a typical landscaping project. Washington, DC’s climate has unique challenges, with cold winters and hot, humid summers.
To navigate these conditions, Scotts brought his team of researchers to the White House to review the options of ownership with President Donald Trump, who brought his experience of managing turf to the meeting.
“The president knows a lot about grass. I think his history and the game of golf,” Baxter noted. “It was very interesting to watch our travel scientists, and President Trump, discuss each of these.”
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Scotts Miracle-Gro researchers are reviewing turfgrass samples as part of the company’s effort to create a custom seed mix for the White House South Lawn. (Scotts Miracle-Gro)
Scotts introduced a number of seed varieties before settling on a four-seed blend specially designed to withstand heavy landing equipment and helicopter landings.
“Creating a proprietary blend in the unique circumstances of the White House presents a different set of challenges,” said Matthew Koch, R&D Lawns Research Fellow at Scotts Miracle-Gro, in a press release. “It’s a functional lawn that has to withstand hundreds of events and thousands of people each year.”
Physical rehabilitation will begin in phases over the next year. The National Park Service will first dismantle the UFC infrastructure, followed by a previously planned public infrastructure project on the grounds.
In July, the Scotts will begin the restoration by applying mature sod to quickly stabilize and re-green the area before moving on to custom seed mixes later in the year.
| A ticker | Security | Finally | Change | change % |
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| The SMG | This company SCOTTS MIRACLE-GRO CO. | 61.67 | -0.21 |
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“We’re going to work, we’re going to pick a soya, and it’s not the same as a mix, but it’s got the same cultivars, we’re going to help them start over, and they’re going to get a plot,” Baxter said.
Once cool fall temperatures arrive, experts will oversee the lawn with four custom seed blends selected for the project. A final round of monitoring and fertilization in the spring of 2027 will complete the restoration.
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Although the White House blend is a one-time donation to the National Park Service and will not be sold, the Scotts have confirmed that the cultivars are present in their retail products.
By the spring of 2027, the company expects the restoration to be complete, returning the South Lawn from UFC fight weekend to its regular role of hosting national festivals, community events and the arrival of Marine One.
