Marco Zilli

Pleasant View Gardens

Assistant head grower and propagation manager

What 3 to 4 professional and/or personal accomplishments are you most proud of?

• Helping to build the team of growers working at Pleasant View, especially the guys coming as part of the H-2A program who have been with us for five years and standardizing some of the processes we go through within the growing department.
• Being responsible for all propagation happening at PVG, where the team and I take care of more than 35 million unrooted cuttings every year.
• Getting my degree in agricultural sciences at EARTH University, a well-known college in the agriculture industry.
• Being from Mexico, I’m very proud to join Proven Winners and PVG after a 1-year international internship. My passion and attention to detail helped me to go from grower assistant to propagation manager in a short period.

What led you to work in the horticulture industry?

• During college, I decided I wanted to dedicate my career to an industry where resource efficiency is key, and I found it in the horticulture industry. It’s always exciting getting together with colleagues and discovering new technologies coming to the market to make our day-to-day more efficient and productive, and new tools to increase the quality of our product.

What’s the best thing about your job? (Please select one)

• It is challenging

Describe to a 6-year-old what you do in life?

• I take care of baby plants to make sure they grow healthy and strong.

What are your favorite hobbies?

• Video gaming
• Hiking
• Working out

When you’re not working, what are 2 to 3 things we could find you doing?

• Video calling with my family back in Mexico
• Playing video games
• Reading the news
• Exploring local restaurants

Do you have any unusual talents, or can you tell us something interesting about yourself that other people may be surprised to find out?

• I love musicals and theater. My favorite movie of all time is “La La Land.”
• I’m also a big Disney nerd; my favorite vacation destination is Disney World.

One thing you can’t live without?

• Phở (noodle soup with crispy pork)

What are you (un)secretly good at?

• Assembling puzzles

What are your top three bucket list items?

• Go to all Disney parks in the world 
• Drive around Glacier National Park
• See gorillas in their natural habitat

What’s your favorite plant variety and why?

• My favorite plant is the Proven Winners cleome hybrid. It’s such a beautiful plant; it thrives during the summer time and the color lasts forever.

You’re buying a vacation package to anywhere in the world without a budget, where are you going?

• Costa Rica: my favorite place in the world, my second home and the source of our unrooted cuttings.