All About Nursery and Greenhouse Managers

Position Description Plan, organize, direct, control, and coordinate activities of workers engaged in propagating, cultivating, and harvesting horticultural specialties, such as trees, shrubs, flowers, mushrooms, and other plants.

Nursery or Greenhouse Manager Responsibilities

• Determine types and quantities of horticultural plants to be grown, based on budgets, projected sales volumes, or executive directives.
• Manage nurseries that grow horticultural plants for sale to trade or retail customers, for display or exhibition, or for research.
• Coordinate clerical, record-keeping, inventory, requisitioning, and marketing activities.
• Cut and prune trees, shrubs, flowers, and plants.
• Explain and enforce safety regulations and policies.
• Identify plants as well as problems such as diseases, weeds, and insect pests.

Nursery or Greenhouse Manager Skills

Nursery and Greenhouse Managers state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.

Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Related Job Titles

• Horticultural Manager
• Orchid Grower
• Perennial House Manager
• Annual Greenhouse Manager
• Mushroom Grower

Nursery or Greenhouse Manager Job Outlook

In the United States, there were 1,028,700 jobs for Farmers, Ranchers, and Agricultural Managers in 2016.

Nursery or Greenhouse Manager jobs are decreasing by a rate of -0.8%. This means the total job opportunities are shrinking. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a loss of -8,000 jobs for Nursery and Greenhouse Managers by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 74,300 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Farmers, Ranchers, and Agricultural Managers are Texas, Arkansas, and Nebraska.

Watch out if you plan on working in California, South Carolina, or Florida. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Salary for Nursery and Greenhouse Managers

Farmers, Ranchers, and Agricultural Managers Make between $35,440 and $136,940 a year. The median salary is $67,950.

How much do Farmers, Ranchers, and Agricultural Managers make in different U.S. states?

Annual Mean Salary by State

State	Annual Mean Salary
North Carolina	$100,370
Minnesota	$95,000
California	$91,670
Nevada	$90,900
Pennsylvania	$90,650
Maryland	$89,660
Washington	$86,640
Wyoming	$84,720
Virginia	$84,630
Georgia	$84,110
Iowa	$82,070
Texas	$81,330
South Carolina	$79,070
Ohio	$78,330
Kentucky	$78,290
Arizona	$75,870
Louisiana	$75,170
Wisconsin	$72,550
Florida	$71,880
Oregon	$68,450
Arkansas	$67,520
Nebraska	$67,190
Michigan	$67,030
Illinois	$66,820
Massachusetts	$65,710
Indiana	$64,030
Missouri	$62,850
Tennessee	$60,490
Idaho	$60,470
Oklahoma	$57,230

What Tools do Nursery and Greenhouse Managers Use?

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Nursery and Greenhouse Managers:

• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Innovative Software Solutions Picas
• Argos Software ABECAS Insight
• Microsoft Office

Becoming a Nursery or Greenhouse Manager

What education is needed to be a Nursery or Greenhouse Manager?

How many years of work experience do I need?

Where Nursery and Greenhouse Managers Are Employed

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics

College Factual

O*NET Online

Image Credit: Via Wikimedia Commons