Plant Production & Garden Center Summer Internship
About The Position
This internship is designed for students who want to work directly with plants from propagation through retail sales. Interns will focus on plant care, growing systems, inventory flow, and customer-facing horticulture, gaining a behind-the-scenes understanding of how a high-volume garden center operates. Cross Creek is a multi-division, family-owned company with over 50 years of experience in landscape construction, grounds management, and horticulture. Operating two retail garden centers and two production farms supplying annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees throughout the region. This internship focuses on understanding how plants grow and thrive, combining hands-on production experience with retail horticulture and customer interaction. Program Layout Weeks 1–4: Garden Center Operations Support daily retail nursery functions, including watering, plant maintenance, restocking, merchandising, and customer assistance. Learn how plant quality, presentation, and seasonal timing impact sales. Identify top-selling plants and observe how ordering is affected by weather and customer demand. Weeks 4-7: Propagation & Herbaceous Production Work at a production farm assisting with cutting propagation, potting, spacing, labeling, fertility programs, and pest monitoring. Learn production timelines for annuals, perennials, and groundcovers. Weeks 8-10: Woody Plant Production Assist with shrub and tree production including spacing, pruning, tagging, root work, loading, and seasonal preparation. Build plant identification skills and understand grading standards.
Requirements
- Current enrollment in a college or accredited academic program
- Interest in horticulture, plant science, or nursery operations
- Comfortable with repetitive plant tasks and outdoor work
- Ability to lift up to 50 pounds
Responsibilities
- Support daily retail nursery functions, including watering, plant maintenance, restocking, merchandising, and customer assistance.
- Assist with cutting propagation, potting, spacing, labeling, fertility programs, and pest monitoring.
- Assist with shrub and tree production including spacing, pruning, tagging, root work, loading, and seasonal preparation.
Benefits
- Direct experience with plant growing and retail operations
- Mentorship from growers and retail leadership
- Flexible scheduling for summer commitments
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Career Level
Intern
Education Level
No Education Listed
Number of Employees
101-250 employees
