The 2024 winner and 2025 finalists are…
Anna England is both our 2024 Young Plant Producer and the Young Horticulturist of the Year!
Anna England of Amberley in Christchurch was named Young Plant Producer of the Year at our competition in July 2024 and then in late October she won the Young Horticulturist of the Year competition. She also was awarded second prize in the Woolworths Innovation Project.
This is a huge achievement as Young Hort is a very tough, hotly contested event.
We are extremely proud of Anna and will follow her career with great interest.
Young Plant Producer 2025 competitors:
Kirsten Phillips-Ong, is an Orchard Technician at Plant and Food Research in Kerikeri
Kirsten Phillips-Ong, Finalist
“I am a Kerikeri based Orchard Technician passionate about sustainable growing. I'm entering this competition to connect with like-minded individuals and exchange knowledge. I believe networking and sharing insights with others in the field will help me grow both professionally and personally.
My greatest achievement is not being the shortest person in my family, which always brings a laugh at family gatherings! Outside of work, I enjoy a good hike and playing board games. At home, I live with my partner and our animals: two cats, one dog, and a guinea pig, who always keep life entertaining.”
Johnnie Clay, is a Nursery Person at Southern Woods Nursery in Christchurch
Johnnie Clay, Finalist
“Kia ora, I’m Johnnie,
I am 26 and I grew up in the port town of Lyttleton. I have always had a love for plants and nature since I was young. I have worked full time at Southern Woods Nursery as a nursery person since 2022, where I have largely specialised in plant propagation and nursery.
I am entering the Young Plant Producer competition because I think it would be a fun way to further develop my own knowledge of plant production and meet other young horticulturalists in the industry.
One of my greatest achievements is when I captained my basketball team to win the championship for that year which taught me the importance of working together towards a common goal. This has helped me at work and with my other interests such as music and team sports.”
Jake Linklater, is the Nursery Manager at Nova Trust in Christchurch
Jake Linklater, Finalist
“Hi, I'm Jake. This is the second time entering this competition after 2023. I am entering once again to challenge myself and meet other like minded people from different parts of the industry. I have had a rewarding career in the industry so far and hope to continue that well into the future. I have been in the wider horticultural industry 8 years and nursery production specifically 5 years completing my certificates in Horticulture - Nursery Production level 3&4 about 3 years ago.
At Nova Trust - Nova Natives I am lucky enough to be involved with everything from propagation to dispatch which makes my role incredibly diverse. I hope to pick up some more knowledge and techniques through this competition I haven't considered before.
Outside of work I love to botanize while tramping, enjoy swimming and hanging out with my daughter.”
Yuong Chailakyang, is the Garden Centre & Business Development Manager at Plant Zone Direct & Tui Downs Nursery in Kerikeri
Yuong Chailakyang, Finalist
“I was born in northeastern Thailand and moved to New Zealand at the age of eleven in 2008. Gardening has always been a part of my life while I was growing up in Thailand. I remember helping in the rice field and growing our own fruits and vegetables for our family and the wider community. Looking back, I was blessed to learn the simple joys of life, hard work, and family values have shaped my interest in Horticulture and pursuing my plant career today. When I moved to New Zealand, I grew up in a nursery and got to see and understand what the industry is all about.
Today, I am currently working in the business, particularly in the retail side. I enjoy creating plant displays and being able to share my knowledge with customers and staff as well as being able to visit other production nurseries. I am also involved in the production nursery with expansion work, staff training, and general administrative tasks.
Foliage and architectural plants have always been a great interest of mine, and I have a passion for subtropical plants in particular Palms and Cycads. Outside of work I enjoy being in the outdoors, cooking, photography, and travel, but you’ll find me mostly at garden centers, botanical gardens, or watching garden shows on YouTube.”
Ezra Alexander, is a Horticultural Operations Manager at GreenAir Ltd in Auckland
Ezra Alexander, Finalist
“As long as I can remember now I have always been interested in plants and nature. The garden seemed so much more appealing than homework. Well now I am truly living the dream as I get to interact with nature, plants, and gardening on a daily basis.
For work I started working in the plant nursery sector at Nga Rakau growing a wide range of edibles, forestry, cut flowers, natives and many other crops. During my time there I became more passionate about this industry and thanks to my mentor I had, I completed my horticultural studies which has now proved to be super valuable time and time again. I then moved to a different sector and worked for a company that rented out indoor plants to office spaces. I started as an interior horticulturalist and then moved into the role of Service Manager. I then moved to my current role as Horticultural Operations Manager at GreenAir. We specialise in ‘Breathing Life into Spaces’ using plants. From build large interior garden to small terrariums, from external greenwalls to edible spaces on balconies… we do it all. I manage the service, nursery, installation and green infrastructure teams. At the moment I am working with my teams to up skill them and bring our products and services to the next level. Currently three of my staff are level 3 Horticultural apprentices under me.
For family I have been blessed with an amazing supportive wife and two cute girls, we spend alot of time out in nature together at the beach, at playgrounds, or at the garden centres. Having children really makes you more conscious about what we are eating and if it is healthy for them. I am now super passionate about growing organic food to feed my family. Which now takes me into one of my hobbies which is showing people that they can grow healthy organic food no matter how small a space they have. I created an instagram page Diyplantman, here I share my gardening journey of me growing food in my small urban garden space. My motivation for this is to teach other families how they can feed their families organic food. Gardening can connect us to different cultures through the veggies we grow and cook with especially since we live in such a multicultural country. I also am the host of my podcast ‘The kiwi Gardening Podcast’ where I record podcasts of different gardening topics aiming to reach Kiwis as there are not that many local gardening podcasts. I hope to get into youtube at some point but I’m busy enough right now.
I am keen to be a part of this competition to meet other people in this amazing industry and grow my knowledge by challenging myself. Looking forward to it!”
Could you be featured here 2026?
If you are currently in your twenties and work in plant production, think about applying for Young Plant Producer 2026.
Applications will open March of 2026 so be sure to keep an eye on the website next year. In the meantime encourage our finalists for 2025.