Mourning the Loss of Plant Lover Rick Schoellhorn
November 30, 2023 
Richard (Rick) Kent Schoellhorn, a former professor at the University of Florida and most recently Director of New Products at Proven Winners, passed away on Nov. 25, 2023, at age 66, after a two-year struggle with lung cancer.
Rick completed a B.S. in horticulture at Colorado State University in 1989, and after the birth of his son, Eran, moved to Gainesville, FL, to pursue graduate study. In 1995, he completed a Ph.D. in Horticulture from the University of Florida (UF). He was a professor at UF, first at the Research & Education Center in Milton, then the main campus in Gainesville in 2001. During that time, he became a well-known speaker, garden consultant, television host, and community volunteer.
In 2005, Rick left academia to join Proven Winners as the Director of New Products. His work with Proven Winners was incredibly rewarding and afforded Rick the opportunity to do what he truly loved: sharing his love for horticulture with professional colleagues, plant breeders, and growers across the world.
Post-retirement, he focused on cultivating begonias. He and his wife Linda traveled extensively, meeting and interviewing begonia breeders while Rick worked on a manuscript for a book on the history of begonia cultivation. He was active in the American Begonia Society.
“I’ve never met a man who was more excited about plants and at the same time impacted people in such a gregarious and open way,” John Gaydos of Proven Winners tells Greenhouse Grower. “He was just one of those absolutely wonderful, warm people that you loved to be with. He was also a walking encyclopedia of plants and horticulture, and he had a way of delivering his message with an enthusiasm that showed in everything he did.”
Including his time at UF, Rich was responsible for mentoring a generation of horticulturists. He was also a talented musician and recorded two albums under the name “Harlan Quinn”.
In honor of Rick, Proven Winners renamed its grower scholarship as The Rick Schoellhorn – Proven Winners Grower Excellence Scholarship. It’s one of three $5,000 scholarships Proven Winners offers to students in four-year universities.
Ricks’ full obituary can be found here. Please share any personal memories you may have of Rick in the Comments box below.
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