Plant Nursery Worker

The main responsibility of plant nursery workers is to keep the plants looking their best, and to maintain the nursery area so that customers feel that they have come to purchase beautiful and healthy plants for their gardens, in a relaxed and pleasant environment.

Plant nursery workers are initially trained to recognise and distinguish between different plants and their requirements.

Nursery workers are expected to perform duties such as:

pulling out weeds
clearing areas for planting
ploughing or digging beds
planting of seedlings in prepared beds
watering seedlings and older plants regularly
applying weed killer
applying fertiliser and other soil nutrients
applying pesticides
pruning

Experienced plant nursery workers are also expected to provide information and assist customers in selecting seedlings, plants, weed killers, fertilisers, soil nutrients and pesticides.

Personal Requirements

love plants
good health and physical strength
willing to work outdoors in all types of weather
able to remember names of different plants and their requirements
polite and able to communicate well with customers

How to Enter

Schooling & School Subjects

No specific requirements

What to Study

The plant nursery worker is trained by the employer to meet specific requirements.

Botanical Gardens: Informal workshops on garden maintenance and cultivating of indigenous plants.

Employment

commercial plant nurseries
botanical gardens
municipalities
self-employment, with enough experience, can start growing plants in own back yard and later develop this into a commercial nursery

Further Information

Any of the above-mentioned potential employers

Getting Started