Train Your Plant Technicians for Account Retention & Profitability

You may not believe this, but somewhere out there right now, techs are watering plants and don’t know a thing about what they’re doing. Do you think it’s because they’re foolish, lazy, or simply don’t care? No, it’s because they haven’t received proper training.

Whether you’re just starting as a ‘scaper and have hired your first technician or you’ve been in the business forever and have numerous techs scattered around the countryside, if you don’t have the time to invest in training, you shouldn’t be in the business. And I don’t mean sending someone out with a new tech a couple of times to make sure they know where the accounts are located and where to find the water. I mean comprehensive, detailed training that covers everything from the basics of plant care to the nuances of customer service. This is the key to maintaining healthy plants and ensuring client satisfaction and retention. So, let’s dive into how effective training can transform your business and set your technicians up for success.

Week one & two: Introduction

When I first started in this business (at John Mini Indoor Gardens), a new hire spent two weeks in the greenhouse learning plant names, aesthetics, and the basics of installation. This is an excellent idea and a great way to start. It’s an even better idea when some of the first two weeks are spent in training sessions, watching videos on plant care, or studying one of the excellent short courses available, such as Johnson Fediw Associates or Interior Plantscape Reference and Study Manual by Fred Proscod. These are available for a range of costs, while others are free online (e.g. The Ficus Wrangler channel).

I realize that not everyone has a large enough company to indulge in things like greenhouses and extended periods of video watching. However, if you’re training an inexperienced person, it will pay great dividends down the road to spend at least an hour or two every day in the first couple of weeks familiarizing the trainee with the industry and his/her job by presenting the basics. The following need to be discussed before your new tech ever hits the field:

• Names of plants and what they should look like
• General plant maintenance
• Warning signs of potential plant issues
• Tools your tech will work with, such as water delivery systems
• Moisture testing
• Cleaning and grooming
• Record keeping
• Fertilizer
• Pest and pathogen control
• Safety regulations and good practices
• Customer relations
• Company policies

Week three: Watering

After the initial two weeks, your tech is fully trained and ready to go out and take care of your clients and their plants, right? Of course not! Training is just starting. First, the newbie needs to visit accounts with the trainer, practice the basics from the previous two weeks, and familiarize themselves with the specifics of the accounts. For the first few days, the new tech can practice carrying water without spilling, navigating the watering machine without obstructing people, and cleaning and trimming plants neatly. They should also make notes on each account. This is the perfect time to listen to the trainer’s explanation on assessing plant watering needs and the amount of water to add. They should observe how an experienced tech efficiently completes the job. Here is where a new tech truly begins to grasp the concept of “beautiful plants” and feeling soil moisture.

Right here, if I may, I’m going to climb up on my personal soapbox and declare that learning to feel the soil is the single most important skill for anyone who wants to care for plants, and that mastering proper watering techniques lies at the root (pun intended) of good plant care. It doesn’t matter what kind of plants or watering setups are in place. Whether it be ­drip irrigation, self-watering planters, or good old watering cans,­ if you don’t stick your fingers in the soil frequently and get the watering part right, there will be problems.

The trainer should go into a lot of detail about watering. Techs need to know how light affects water usage, how to pour water without spilling or splashing off of leaves, how to irrigate the complete root mass, how to keep records to understand how different plants use water, etc. Teaching the new tech more aspects of watering—rather than letting them figure it out for themselves—will make your operation more efficient and profitable in the long run.

The following is a little exercise for your tech to clearly show the different soil moisture levels and clarify descriptive terms: Start with a small handful of your usual potting mix—about 2 tablespoons. Make sure it is completely dry. You can microwave it for a few minutes if needed. Put the mix into a small container and pinch some up between your fingers. Feel it. Remember the scratchy texture. This is “completely dry.” Now start adding water 1/4 teaspoon at a time, mixing it in thoroughly and allowing it to soak for a few minutes. Pinch the soil after each addition and observe how it changes from almost dry, through damp, to fully saturated, and then mud.

Along with discussing water, experimenting with soil, grooming plants, and cleaning up the area, the trainer will be on the lookout for pests and pathogens. If it hasn’t been done already, this would be an excellent place to hand out guidebooks to the bugs and diseases most likely to be encountered. Resources such as Professional’s Field Guide to Plant Pest Control by Suzanne Wainwright-Evans and the Troubleshooting Diseases of Foliage Plants ID Deck, among many others, would be good.

Remember, even though concepts and examples were presented in the beginning training materials, they need to be repeated as often as possible. An old advertising rule claiming you must repeat a message three times before it sticks is absolutely true. Since the newbie is being confronted with a host of unfamiliar information, everything needs to be repeated more than three times. Persevere in this, even when they tell you they remember.

Week Four & Five: Transition

After a week of close observation, the new tech is ready to do some watering, explaining aloud to the watchful trainer what they’re doing and why they are doing it. While the trainee is handling their new tasks, the trainer can begin trimming, inspecting for bugs, and cleaning, all while pointing out what they’re doing and why. Ideally, the entire fourth week should be dedicated to proper watering practices. At the very least, two or three days focused solely on watering is essential. In addition, this is also a good time for the trainer to explain any accounts requiring special care and consideration ­such as an atrium, outside plants, irrigation systems, special ladder work, green walls, unusual plants, etc.

By the fifth week or the next stage in training, the newbie can start cleaning, trimming, and watering. The trainer should stay close by to keep an eye on things, pointing out the forgotten plant rotation, missed mealybugs, brown leaves, water drops on the floor, time management, etc. The need to do all these things within the time allotted to the account is of paramount importance and has been the rock against which many interested and talented new techs have foundered.

As the new plant technician takes over more of the account work and gains confidence, it’s time to introduce the tasks that don’t happen daily, but are nevertheless part of regular maintenance. This includes fertilizing, pruning, soil leaching, repotting, reworking, and so on. This is also a good place to introduce a guide to the signs of chemical imbalance. It’s difficult to find a visual guide for foliage plants, but Ohio State University has a nice series of plant pathology fact sheets available. In addition, the American Phytopathological Society has published an informative article on nutrient disorders that I suggest having your new tech read and reference.

When the trainer and newbie have completed the routine together at least once, the new tech is ready to work alone. However, large or especially difficult accounts will benefit from having the trainer accompany the new tech for a couple more visits.

So now five weeks have passed, and you have fully trained your tech, right? Not exactly.

Week six: Graduation

After the newbie tech has gone through the route alone once or twice—not long enough to seriously harm anything—the trainer should accompany them to their accounts once more to make sure they’ve mastered the basics, reinforce weak points, and answer questions. Ideally, the trainer has also been checking in on the accounts shortly after the tech has completed their work to identify any problems immediately.

This is also an excellent time to administer a written test. Written tests have a way of legitimizing a job and reinforcing the idea that this is a real industry/craft with clearly defined knowledge and specific goals. Knowing that there will be an exam down the road will also help keep the learning more focused. The test should target the names and requirements of the plants the new employee will work with, the importance of soil moisture and how to regulate it, proper grooming routines, signs and management of bugs, disease, and chemical imbalance, essentials of customer service, government regulations they must adhere to, familiarity with the routes, along with any other subjects you find appropriate. Many of the courses mentioned at the beginning of this article contain tests that you can adapt to your use.

Once your new tech has passed their written test, they can officially graduate from newbie status to rookie. Finally, training is done, right? Again, not exactly.

Continuing Education

As the rookie progresses through the first six to eight weeks of the job, the trainer will want to visit accounts periodically. Checking an account the day before service to see the plants at their potentially lowest point and then again just after the tech has been there is a great way to evaluate the tech’s work. While checking these accounts is important, feedback is even more critical. The rookie needs to know that someone is watching what they’re doing and is there to help them, even when they don’t recognize that they need help.

Most people who start as interior horticulture technicians have no inkling of the depth and complexity of the job. I know when I had six months under my belt, I genuinely thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know about plant care. Three to four years later, I found I was still learning. Ten years after that, I realized there’d always be something new to learn. And so there has been.

There’s so much ­to understand about plants, problems, customer service, and the whole world of horticulture, you never really come to the end of it. Just when you think you’ve got it all down, another curveball comes your way. The reality is, the learning never stops in this field—there’s always a new challenge, a different bug to identify, or a plant reaction to decode. So, keep those training wheels on a bit longer, dig deeper into resources, and remember that every plant cared for and every client satisfied adds to the credibility and success of your business. Stick with it—this is a craft where lifelong learning truly pays off.