Marysville, Ohio
December 10, 2002

The Scotts Company (NYSE: SMG), the global leader in the consumer lawn and garden industry, today dedicated its new Research Greenhouse Facility, which greatly enhances the research capabilities at its Marysville, Ohio, corporate campus.

The $5.5 million, 18,000-square foot facility is one of the most advanced of its kind in the country. Twelve separate climate-controlled rooms can be used to simulate virtually any light, temperature and humidity combination in the world, ranging from the Amazon rainforest to the Sahara desert to the Canadian Rockies. In addition, a separate area is equipped to conduct research on indoor houseplants.

Researchers at the company are now better able to develop new products, especially in the area of turfgrass and ornamental plant biotechnology. The facility also provides researchers with better capabilities to conduct competitive testing and validate performance claims centered on the company's diverse line of Scotts seed and fertilizers, Miracle-Gro plant food and growing media, and Ortho controls.

"This investment will play an important role in the future of this company," said James Hagedorn, Scotts President and Chief Executive Officer. "Just as we've invested in our manufacturing facilities and supply chain, the research work we're able to do now will help us tremendously in shaping the future of the lawn and garden industry.

"From a data gathering standpoint, it's important for us to apply environmental factors to all of our research, not just the work conducted at our outdoor garden and turfgrass facility here in Marysville," said James Hagedorn, Scotts President and Chief Executive Officer. "The ability to literally replicate any climate in the world will greatly enhance the scope of our research."

The new greenhouse complex replaces a 4,000-square foot facility that was built in 1972, and it consolidates all indoor research efforts into one building. It complements the company's 150-acre outdoor research center used to study turf, ornamentals, vegetables and fruit plants, trees and shrubs.

The Scotts Company is the world's leading supplier of consumer products for lawn and garden care, with a full range of products for professional horticulture as well. The company owns the industry's most recognized brands. In the U.S., the company's Scotts(R), Miracle-Gro(R) and Ortho(R) brands are market leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup(R) brand which is marketed in North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. In Europe, Scotts' brands include Weedol(R) Pathclear(R), Evergreen(R), Levington(R) Miracle-Gro(R), KB(R), Fertiligene(R) and Substral(R).