Jon Russell

Monrovia

Grower Manager

• Striving for continuous improvement, he helped standardize growing operations of nursery including such things as soils, fertilization, schedules, environmental conditions and plant spacing — while balancing the art of growing with a data-driven approach.
• Helped develop nursery’s Ericaceous plant program through a series of soil trials and crop schedule tweaking, to increase inventory turns, reduce scrap and improve overall health.

Off the Clock: In his spare time, Jon enjoys oil painting, carpentry, home improvement projects (especially remodeling and landscaping) and playing basketball.

Life Lessons Learned: Jon’s father was a dairy farmer. “I joke that I got into horticulture because livestock are too frustrating to work with. I learned my work ethic by working on dairy farms. I give a lot of credit to the experiences I had and to the lessons I learned from the people I worked with.”