Juan Ponce of Metrolina Greenhouses on How He Developed a Career in Horticulture

Juan Ponce of Metrolina Greenhouses was recognized as the 2026 Head Grower of the Year by Greenhouse Grower during our Evening of Excellence event at Cultivate’26. Juan was featured in the cover story of our November 2026 issue, but those of you who know Juan know there’s so much more to his story. This article is the first of a four-part series where we highlight everything from Juan’s early career, to how to has built a strong and dedicated team at Metrolina, to his approach to IPM and technology.

Greehouse Grower: What are your current role and responsibilities at Metrolina, and how did your past roles lead to you joining the Metrolina team?

Juan Ponce: My current role is Director of Horticulture at Metrolina Greenhouses, but my journey to this position began in Colombia, where my education focus was in plant science, as a bachelor’s in Agricultural Engineer. After graduating, I became increasingly interested in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and biological control, which led me to take additional courses in those areas. That growing passion eventually brought me to the U.S., where I began looking for opportunities to expand my knowledge and gain more experience in the field.

What began as an internship at Metrolina Greenhouses turned into a career. Metrolina offered me a position as an Assistant Grower, where I spent about a year before becoming a Section Grower for approximately two years and later moving into the role of Head Grower in Propagation.

I spent about 13 years as a Head Grower in propagation working with Ivan Tchakarov. That experience gave me the opportunity to develop a very strong understanding of individual crops from the beginning of their production cycle, and the different cultural requirements crops need with a very large number of plant varieties between annual and perennial.

Over the last four years, I transitioned into finish growing, where I’ve been able to apply my years of propagation experience to produce combos. Understanding how each crop grows individually has helped me determine how different genetics will perform together in the same container and develop successful growing strategies and cultural practices for combos produced at Metrolina Greenhouses.

Today, as Director of Horticulture, my responsibilities have become much broader. I oversee and support our growers and assistant growers and help ensure that our crops meet the company’s standards for quality, timing, and specifications. I am involved in decisions related to crop health, irrigation, nutrition, environmental control, PGRs, IPM, photoperiodic, temperature management, crop placement, and production practices.

I also work closely with other departments because successful growing requires coordination across the entire operation, including propagation, production, task, shipping, maintenance, purchasing, research, and other horticulture teams members from different ranges across the company.

Greenhouse Grower: How did your interest in greenhouse production develop? What was your education, who were some of your key influences along the way, and what did you learn from them?

Juan Ponce: I graduated in 2004 from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia as an Agricultural Engineer (Agronomist). After graduating, I continued my education in entomology, integrated pest management, and biological control.

My interest in greenhouse production started in Colombia while working with the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) as a quarantine inspector. Part of my work involved visiting cut flower greenhouse operations in Antioquia, which gave me my first exposure to commercial ornamental production. When I moved to the U.S., I naturally looked for opportunities in an industry that I already have experince and know I will succeed.

Several people have had a major influence on my development throughout my career. On the entomology side, Professor Gilberto Morales Soto helped establish the foundation of my knowledge in entomology and integrated pest management (IPM). He also played an important role in developing my teaching skills through the teaching assistantship scholarship program I completed under his guidance at the university.

Dr. Clara Inés Nicholls, an agroecologist and entomologist at the University of California, was another important influence early in my career after graduation. She helped strengthen my foundation and interest in biological control and agroecology.

More recently, Suzanne Wainwright-Evans has been a major influence in expanding my knowledge and practical understanding of IPM and biological control in ornamental production.

On the horticulture side, Ivan Tchakarov, our Chief Horticulture Officer at Metrolina, has probably had the greatest influence on my professional development in ornamental horticulture. Working with Ivan over the years helped me transform my academic background into practical knowledge of commercial greenhouse production and understand how to grow quality crops on a very large scale.

Dr. David S. Koranski was another major influence, particularly in my development of growing young plants. He helped me better understand the details and precision required during the early stages of plant production.

Dr. Royal Heins helped complete another important part of my horticultural education by expanding my understanding of plant physiology and greenhouse environmental management, particularly in finish production.

Looking back, I think my career has really been a combination of all those influences. My education gave me the scientific foundation, my mentors helped me develop the different areas, and Metrolina gave me the opportunity to put all that knowledge into practice on a commercial scale.