Nursery Technician
Listed on 2026-07-22
-
Outdoor/Nature/Animal Care
Horticulture
Nursery Technician Holden Forests & Gardens
The Nursery Technician is responsible for the day-to-day care of plants, including propagation, potting, watering, weeding, and pest control in greenhouse and outdoor nursery environments. This role supports the production and maintenance of healthy, high-quality plants that advance the mission and goals of Holden Forests & Gardens, including Living Collections, gardens, conservation, education, and plant sales initiatives. This position provides daily plant care and monitoring in greenhouse and nursery environments while supporting ongoing nursery operations.
Working alongside seasonal staff, volunteers, and interns, the Nursery Technician provides training and guidance as needed. The role requires a commitment to ongoing professional growth, teamwork, strong customer service, and a consistent standard of excellence in plant care and presentation. Reporting to the Director of Collections and Nursery Operations, this position carries out work in alignment with the Collections Policy, Collections Plans, and institutional priorities.
The Nursery Technician implements these plans using appropriate propagation methods and horticultural best practices to achieve desired outcomes in a timely, efficient manner.
Position Details:
- Reports to the Director of Collections and Nursery Operations
- Full-time, non-exempt position
- 40 hours a week guaranteed
- This position requires rotation weekend work and occasional after-hours coverage.
- Medical, Dental, Vision benefits
Essential Functions of the Role:
- Supports Holden Forests & Gardens' mission, vision, and values
- Provide daily care of greenhouse and nursery plants, including watering, fertilizing, pruning, weeding, spacing, and repotting
- Maintain optimal growing conditions based on seasonal and crop needs
- Monitor plant health and quality to ensure vigorous, high-performing plants
- Maintains high standards of cleanliness, organization, and operational order in work spaces
- Perform routine irrigation maintenance and general nursery upkeep
- Provide guidance to seasonal staff, interns, and volunteers
- Prepare plants for sale, display, or planting
- Operate nursery equipment safely and effectively
- Participate in weekend and after-hours coverage
- Monitor plants regularly for pests, diseases, and nutrient issues
- Implement IPM practices using biological, cultural, and chemical controls
- Apply pesticides in compliance with regulations and maintain required records
- Support beneficial insect use within IPM programs
- Carry out propagation tasks as directed in support of institutional priorities
- Assist with basic propagation methods, including seed sowing, cuttings, and division
- Assist with seed handling and storage as requested
- Maintain accurate plant records and labeling in BG-Base and related systems
- Support inventory tracking and basic production data collection
- Maintain nursery and pesticide inventories
- Work closely with internal clients to provide healthy, high-quality plants
- Coordinate with horticulture teams to ensure efficient plant movement and staging
- Share horticultural knowledge and expertise with staff, and through classes, videos, workshops and tours as requested
- Share horticultural knowledge and expertise in oral and written form through interviews, blogs, and articles as requested
Minimum
Education & Experience:
- Demonstrate a passion for people, plants and nature
- A bachelor's degree in horticulture, botany, plant physiology, or related field with 3 years' experience caring for and propagating plants in a nursery setting
- Five (5) years' experience caring for and propagating plants in a nursery setting would be considered in lieu of a degree
- A solid foundation of various propagation techniques such as: seed stratification & scarification, seed sowing, division, cuttings, and various grafting methods
- Interest in working outdoors year-round performing duties in all weather conditions.
- Experience working in team-based environment
- Proficient use of Microsoft 365 products, specifically Teams, Outlook (email and calendar), Word, Excel, SharePoint, and One Drive, preferred
- Familiarity with database or inventory software preferable
- Maintain a valid driver's license and…
(If this job is in fact in your jurisdiction, then you may be using a Proxy or VPN to access this site, and to progress further, you should change your connectivity to another mobile device or PC).