3/1/2024
On The Move
Jennifer Zurko
ARIS HORTICULTURE
Aris Horticulture has appointed Justin Wisniewski as its new Product Manager. Justin replaced Laura Wagner in her duties managing products for Must Have Perennials, as well as providing assistance managing the product assortment for Green Leaf Plants in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Keepsake Plants in Alva, Florida. This newly formed position will allow the organization to have a dedicated professional managing intellectual property across all divisions within the company, including the Igloo Mum and Tradewinds Hibiscus programs. Justin will be working with a variety of breeders and organizations throughout the world.
Justin holds a Bachelor of Science from University of Pennsylvania-Millersville and originally joined the organization as a trial gardener for Green Leaf Plants in the spring of 2016. He also served the organization as a Seed Specialist for Green Leaf Plants and acted as the General Manager for the Must Have Perennials program, formerly known as Blooms of Bressingham, from 2018 through 2020. During his tenure managing the Must Have Perennials organization, he assisted in bringing several commercial varieties to market, including Echinacea Lovely Lolly and Buddleia Butterfly Gold.
BALL FLORAPLANT/SELECTA ONE
Gary Vollmer, currently Technical Product Manager for Selecta One, will lead Ball FloraPlant and Selecta’s product development strategy and team. For the past 13 years, Gary has developed the breadth and depth of product management experience coupled with the earlier part of his career in technical growing, including production manager for several large North American Growers. He’ll continue to be a valuable resource for North American growers in key Selecta One product lines—such as poinsettias, dianthus and kalanchoe—but the Ball FloraPlant/Selecta One territory managers Lauren Blume and James Doukas will assume more specific technical crop responsibilities.
BIOWORKS
BioWorks, a provider of biopesticides to the horticulture and specialty ag markets, announced that Troy Bettner has joined the company as Director of Sales and Distributor Relations. Troy’s responsibilities include utilizing the expanded portfolio of BioWorks’ products to accelerate sales activities by region while increasing channel partner engagement efforts.
With over 25 years of sales and marketing experience in the ag and horticulture markets, Troy has developed and implemented innovative go-to-market strategies in North America and internationally. In addition to his sales and business development responsibilities, Troy was a long-time member of the Ag Advisory Board at Cal Poly, which led to becoming co-lead of the seminar “Building Relationships with Large Farmers” developed through Purdue University.
BUCHHOLZ NURSERY
Buchholz and Buchholz Nursery—a wholesale grower of Japanese maples, dwarf and unusual conifers and other ornamental trees and shrubs—announced that Joel Johnson has joined their team as the Chief Operating Officer/Nursery Manager and Jordan Ellis as the Horticultural Manager at their 25-acre West Coast Nursery in Gaston, Oregon.
With over 20 years of experience in the wholesale plant nursery industry, Joel brings a passion and enthusiasm for plants, extensive knowledge in maple and conifer specimens, multi-million dollars of nursery sales experience, marketing, leadership, and industry specific strategy for company growth and development.
Jordan attended Oregon State University where he graduated cum laude with a degree in Horticulture concentrated in sustainable production. He’s worked in various nurseries, ranging from retail to wholesale in the Gulf, East and West Coast regions of the country.
EASON HORTICULTURAL RESOURCES
Mary Thompson has joined the Eason Horticultural Resources (HER) as the Montana, Idaho and Eastern Washington Sales Representative. Mary has nearly three decades of experience in wholesale nursery sales, growing and retail garden center management, bringing a vast array of plant and product knowledge, expertise in hardy landscapes and passion for customer success.
JIFFY
Alex van der Heiden has joined Jiffy as the new Regional Sales Manager for Benelux. Joining the EMEA Sales Team, he takes charge of driving sales in the Benelux region. Alex has a passion for sales, building a team and a sustainable horticulture. He previously worked in different management roles at Koppert.
MONROVIA
Monrovia’s New Plants program team is growing, expanding this important program with new and elevated roles. This expansion allows Monrovia to trial and test more plant material, and bring more new plants into the market. Fela Lafi has taken on the role of New Plant Trials Manager. She joins the plant-hunting team and will manage plant trials at all Monrovia nurseries, work with data collection and explore new plant-testing opportunities with breeders. Fela joined Monrovia in 2022 as an intern while studying horticulture at Oregon State University. During that internship, she was hired as a propagation team leader and was promoted to assistant buyer of green goods.
Georgia Clay is now the Plant Selections Manager. In this new role, Georgia will be focusing on new plant choices, bringing selections to market, managing intellectual property and developing breeder relationships. She’ll also continue her consumer outreach, participating in Monrovia’s webinars and plant care videos. Georgia joined Monrovia in 2019 and has been an integral part of the company’s plant-hunter team.
Georgia and Fela have coordinated on the selection of many of the new 2024 plant introductions. They’re also working with several breeders around the world to bring new plants in to trial next year.
PROFILE PRODUCTS
Profile Products recently hired Michael Gantt as the East Coast Sales Manager of Blender Accounts for the horticulture business. In this new position, Michael is responsible for driving sales of HydraFiber, Sunterra Canadian Sphagnum peat moss, Florikan controlled-release fertilizer and ProfileCoir. He will be accompanied by consultant Don Duggar to cultivate new relationships and partner with soil blenders to provide high-performing, cost-effective mixes for ornamental and nursery growers.
Michael’s professional career has spanned many segments of the horticulture industry, including lawn and garden, grass seed, erosion control, and turf. Prior to joining Profile, Michael worked at Central Garden & Pet. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina.
STUPPY GREENHOUSE, INC.
Stuppy Greenhouse, Inc. welcomed an addition to its sales team with the recruitment of Jennifer (Jen) DeShaw as the new Regional Sales Manager to the Upper Midwest. Jen brings more than 15 years of sales experience and has specialized in the agricultural industry over the past three years. She’s located in northeastern Iowa and will be a valuable resource to growers and educators in the Upper Midwest, including Illinois and Indiana (educational), and Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota (commercial and educational).
THINKPLANTS
Zoltan Kovacs has recently been appointed as a Program Representative at ThinkPlants. He’ll have a crucial role in supporting sales, be a leading member of the ThinkPlants trials team, and will represent the company at industry events and trials. Zoltan has received education in the industry from Hungary, as well as the University of Minnesota. He brings over 25 years of experience in the field to the ThinkPlants team. He’s previously worked at Mahoney's Garden Center in Massachusetts, and Sunny Border Nurseries and Michael's Greenhouses in Connecticut. He was most recently the Perennial Product Manager for Dümmen Orange in North America, where he initiated the perennial program and introduced countless varieties. Zoltan's expertise has been recognized with numerous trade industry awards from the Boston Flower Show. He also won the GrowerTalks Young Grower Award in 2008.