Internship (Summer) Production Nursery
The Internship Program lasts approximately 10 weeks beginning in late May through the beginning of August. This program provides students or recent graduates with hands-on experience in all horticultural aspects of a wholesale nursery. Students will work side by side with Flowerwood professional staff to learn and gain a well-rounded perspective of the full production cycle and the distribution process of the business. The position is paid and includes housing if needed.
Program Details:
Interns will follow a rotating schedule, spending approximately one to two weeks in the following areas:
- Propagation- select appropriate cutting, stick liner in tray, understand how irrigation changes from time of sticking cutting to fully rooted liner, how to schedule the route of a cutting based on when liner is needed for potting.
- Production Potting- operate each position on potting line, develop potting schedule for following week based off the production month schedule and available supplies (liners, pots, etc.)
- Plant Health- scout and identify common nursery diseases and pests and learn to perform water samples from collection to analysis.
- Growing Activities (Fertilizing, Pruning, Spacing, Irrigation)- understand fertility needs based on leachates and fertilizer history of a crop, learn how to prune using pruning machine as well as hand pruners, move and space plants using forklifts and trailers, learn how to irrigate, including determining needs based off current moisture and weather.
- Shipping- assemble rack bags in the tag room, pull, pick, load trucks shipped out. Learn how lean flow is applied through shipping process and spend a shipping day monitoring processes on dock to see if goals are being met.
- Online Sales- review online platforms and order processing from receipt of order to the packing of orders.
- Sales- learn the order system and processes of the sales department, work with account managers, and visit local stores.