A public garden horticulturist grows and cares for the plants guests come to see at a botanical garden, zoo or historic site. They plant seasonal displays, grow plants in the greenhouse, handle pests with the mildest fix that works, keep plant records, and lead seasonal gardeners and volunteers.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, museums, zoos and gardens · BLS, May 2025
Our Horticulturist grows and cares for the plants guests come to see, from display beds and greenhouse collections to [habitat plantings and browse for the animals]. You plan and plant seasonal displays, keep plants healthy with integrated pest management, keep plant records accurate, and lead seasonal gardeners and garden volunteers in your area of the grounds.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Plan, plant and maintain display beds, containers and [collection areas or habitat plantings] in your area of the grounds.
Grow plants in the greenhouse from seed, cuttings or divisions for seasonal displays and the collection.
Watch for pests and disease and manage them with integrated pest management, starting with the least toxic option that works.
Apply pesticides only as the label directs and your state's applicator rules allow, and keep the records your state requires.
Record plantings, losses, sources and locations in [BG-BASE or your plant records system].
Lead seasonal gardeners and garden volunteers on daily tasks, and teach them safe tool use.
Work with the Curator on new plantings and plant labels, and with keepers on [browse and plants that are safe around animals].
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Walk your area at opening to check irrigation, plant health and hazards such as fallen limbs.
Water, weed, prune, deadhead and mulch on your area's work plan.
Check greenhouse temperature, humidity and watering, and adjust vents, shade and heat.
Answer guest questions about the plants on the grounds.
Log pest sightings, treatments and plant records before the end of the day.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Seasonal displays installed on schedule: [your target].
Plant losses in your area: [your target].
Plant records updated: [your target].
Pest and disease outbreaks in your area: [your target].
Grounds inspection scores for your area: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
[Associate or bachelor's degree in horticulture, botany, landscape management, or a related field], or equivalent experience.
[2+] years of hands-on work in a public garden, nursery, greenhouse or professional landscape.
Knows plant identification, propagation, pruning and integrated pest management.
Pesticide applicator license where your state requires one for the work, or able to earn it within [time frame].
Safe use of mowers, utility vehicles, chainsaws and power tools after training.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience at a botanical garden, arboretum or zoo with a plant collection.
Experience keeping plant collection records in [BG-BASE or your plant records system].
ISA Certified Arborist credential.
Experience growing browse plants for animals, at a zoo.
7. Physical Requirements
Lift and carry soil bags, plants and tools up to [50] pounds.
Kneel, bend, dig and use hand and power tools for long periods.
Work outdoors in heat, cold and rain, and in hot, humid greenhouses.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Full-time with early starts, and weekend rotation in the growing season.
Exposure to pollen, fertilizers and pesticides, with protective equipment provided.
Busiest from spring planting through fall cleanup.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new horticulturist gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Landscapers and nursery growers work with many of the same plants. At a public garden or zoo, the plants are a collection, guests walk the paths all day, and some plants end up as animal food.
Each plant has a record
In a collection, each plant has a record: where it came from, when it went in, where it grows and when it died. The horticulturist keeps those records right, so the curator can trust them for planning and plant labels. Databases such as BG-BASE are built for this work at botanic gardens, arboreta and zoos. Source: BG-BASE: collections management software for living collections.
Pest control happens around guests and animals
Integrated pest management means watching for pests, naming them correctly, preventing problems and setting a point at which you act, all before you pick a fix. That order matters in a garden full of guests, bees or animals. When a pesticide is the answer, the label sets who may use it, where, how much and how often. Using it any other way breaks federal law. Source: U.S. EPA: Introduction to pesticide labels.
Displays open on the calendar's date
Spring bulbs, summer annuals, fall color and holiday displays are planned around event dates and member previews, so the work starts months earlier in the greenhouse. A horticulturist times seed sowing and cuttings so plants peak when the crowds arrive, and keeps a backup crop for the year one fails.
At a zoo, plants are food and furniture
Zoo horticulturists grow browse, the leafy branches fed to many plant-eating animals, and plant habitats that animals will dig up, chew and climb. Every plant that goes near an animal gets checked against the zoo's safe plant list with the keepers and the vet. Spraying near a habitat needs the same sign-off.
Guests are on the paths while you work
Most grounds work happens in front of visitors. Horticulturists start early to mow and blow before the gates open, rope off work zones, and keep tools and carts out of the way once crowds arrive. Guests stop to ask what is blooming all day, so friendly, simple answers are part of the job.
How much public garden horticulturists make
The closest BLS group for public garden horticulturists is soil and plant scientists. Soil and plant scientists who work for museums, zoos, gardens, and historic sites earned a median of $23.48 an hour ($48,850 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $78,850 median for soil and plant scientists in all industries. About 720 of the 15,730 soil and plant scientists in that survey work for museums, zoos and gardens.
Often hourly, with overtime during spring planting and before big events; senior horticulturists may be salaried. Say in the ad whether you pay for the pesticide license exam and its renewal.
Museums, zoos and gardens
$48,850$48,850 median Middle half $42,910–$63,980 10th–90th $37,680–$80,360
All industries
$78,850$78,850 median Middle half $61,660–$103,740 10th–90th $48,680–$138,120
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Museums, zoos and gardens
$37,680
$42,910
$48,850
$63,980
$80,360
All industries
$48,680
$61,660
$78,850
$103,740
$138,120
BLS groups museums, zoos, botanical gardens and historic sites together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Plant identification, including botanical names
Propagation from seed, cuttings and division
Integrated pest management, starting with scouting and correct pest identification
A pesticide applicator license where your state requires one, or able to earn it on your timeline
Accurate records of plantings, losses and locations
Leads seasonal gardeners and volunteers and shows them safe tool use
Teach these on the job
Your plant records system and label style
Your greenhouse controls for vents, shade and heat
Your display calendar and event dates
Browse and safe plant lists, at a zoo
Utility vehicles, mowers and chainsaws, under your safety training
How your volunteer program assigns tasks
Plant records live in BG-BASE or another database built for living collections. Daily work runs on hand tools, irrigation controllers, greenhouse vents and heaters, backpack sprayers, mowers, utility vehicles and chainsaws. In the ad, name your records system, how much greenhouse space the job covers, and whether chainsaw work or a pesticide license comes with it.
Public garden horticulturist interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Use your display calendar and plant records from the last two seasons to set each target, and revisit them with the curator after each season ends.
Seasonal displays installed on schedule
Compare each display's install date with the date on the display calendar. Note the cause of any delay, such as a late crop, a short crew or weather.
Plant losses in your area
Count the deaths logged in plant records each quarter, sorted by cause: weather, pests, disease, guest damage or care. Losses from care problems are the ones to fix first.
Plant records updated
Spot-check a sample of plants in the field against their records for name, location and label. Count how many match, and fix the rest that week.
Pest and disease outbreaks in your area
From the scouting log, count the problems that passed your action point and needed treatment. Track how many days passed between the first sighting and the fix.
Grounds inspection scores for your area
Score the area before opening against a fixed list: weeds, dead plants, hazards, labels and edges. Rotate who scores it so one person's eye doesn't set the bar.
Career path
Volunteer or seasonal gardenerWeeds, plants and waters while learning the grounds.
Gardener or horticulture technicianCares for beds and greenhouse crops on a horticulturist's plan.
HorticulturistRuns an area of the grounds, its displays and its records.
Senior horticulturistLeads several areas or the greenhouse and trains new staff.
Each day starts with a walk through their area to check irrigation, plant health and hazards like fallen limbs. Then comes watering, pruning, planting, weeding and mulching with seasonal staff and volunteers, plus greenhouse checks on heat, humidity and water. Over the year, they grow plants for displays, scout for pests, update plant records and answer guest questions.
How much does a public garden horticulturist make?
Soil and plant scientists who work for museums, zoos, gardens, and historic sites earned a median of $23.48 an hour ($48,850 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $42,910 and $63,980 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Does a horticulturist need a pesticide license?
It depends on the products and your state. Federal rules say a person must be certified to apply restricted use pesticides or to oversee others applying them, and states, territories and tribes run that certification. EPA notes that many states set a higher bar and certify all commercial applicators, restricted products or not. Ask your state pesticide agency which license covers work on your grounds, and put the answer in the ad.
What is the difference between a horticulturist and a gardener?
A gardener or groundskeeper keeps beds, lawns and paths in shape. A horticulturist does that work too, but also grows plants from seed and cuttings, figures out pest and disease problems, keeps collection records and leads the gardeners and volunteers in an area. Hire the horticulturist for plant knowledge and judgment. Most of the physical tasks can be taught.
Should a horticulturist be an ISA Certified Arborist?
Only if your trees call for it. The template lists the ISA Certified Arborist credential as preferred, and it matters most where an area has large or historic trees. If climbing and big removals go to a tree care contractor, treat the credential as a bonus. If you want the horticulturist running a chainsaw, put that in the ad and train them on your safety rules first.
What does a horticulturist do in winter?
Winter is for the greenhouse and the plan. Horticulturists sow seed and root cuttings for spring displays, prune dormant trees and shrubs, catch up on plant records and labels, fix tools, and plan next year's beds with the curator. Seasonal gardeners are often gone by then, so it is also a good time to write the training for the next crew.
