What’s Derita?

Derita Floral Supply Co. is named after its surrounding community of Derita. It is in Mecklenburg County about six miles North of uptown Charlotte bordered by I-77 and I-85, close to UNC-Charlotte. The area was long recognized by the railroad that runs through. Southern Railway tracks connected Derita to downtown which was a useful connector for the distribution of agricultural goods. Today, freight trains simply pass through.

Derita was known as a farming village when the Ratcliffe family purchased land for greenhouses to supply their downtown retail shop, Ratcliffe’s Flowers. Louis G. Ratcliffe moved to Charlotte in 1917 from Richmond, VA to replicate his father’s floral business in a new city. In 1989 Ratcliffe’s Flowers closed its doors downtown and shifted to the wholesale business only. Today, Derita Floral Supply Co. operates on its original farmland and is one of the few agricultural businesses still in the area. Our fresh products are imported from some of the most well-known flower farms in the world and then supplied to local retailers and floral designers. When you visit our warehouse to browse fresh product, be sure to grab lunch in the old village at Derita Dairy Bar on your way!

Ratcliffe Greenhouses - Sugar Creek Road West and Graham Street