HILA Class of 2025: Heather Gronek embraces the growth mindset at Plant Development Services, Inc.

Imagine walking through a beautiful garden. A winding stone path veers off in different directions, and along this path are tall, lush trees, beautiful flowering shrubs and a variety of perennials and green grasses blowing in the wind. Each plant adds a unique characteristic, a different purpose, a unique foliage color and texture. … Planted together, a beautiful garden is created.

Heather Gronek’s career path wasn’t a linear one, and like the garden you visualized, her career is full of diverse experiences, unique skills and a unifying passion for growing plants and bringing them into the market.

“I’ve done a lot of different things within the industry — working in different roles and different locations, but each one of those things gave me hands-on experience and a new perspective,” Gronek says.

Photos by Ellison Smith Creative

With two decades of experience in growing, research and development (R&D) and strategic business operations, Gronek has spearheaded transformational growth at Plant Development Services, Inc. since assuming the role of operations and R&D manager in 2023.

“I’ve always enjoyed being around plants, and if you do what you love, everything else will fall into place,” Gronek says. “That’s what I decided to do.”

As the driving force behind efficient new product launches for Plant Development Services brands such as Butterfly Candy, Encore Azalea, Southern Living Plant Collection, Sunset Plant Collection and Better Boxwood, Gronek streamlined the multi-step R&D process — which includes working with breeder partners internally and internationally to identify potential new varieties, to trialing varieties at multiple locations, and then moving them through the system to determine which candidates go to production.

Plant Development Services’ Director of Marketing Corrina Murray explains, “Heather is a standout leader in the field. She melds technical expertise with business acumen, a collaborative spirit and a commitment to horticultural excellence, positioning her as a driving force in our industry.”

Originally from Tennessee, Gronek grew up in the Smoky and Appalachian Mountains. She was part of a family who loved being outdoors and in nature. Her father, James Stapleton, owned a hunting and fishing store, so she spent a lot of time fishing and camping in the mountains. This upbringing shaped her into the plant lover she is today.

“I love anything plants,” she says with a laugh. “I know my kids get tired of me talking about plants, but one day, they will love plants as much as I do, hopefully.”

Gronek earned a bachelor’s degree in plant and soil science from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). After graduating, she moved to California and worked as a grower for El Medino Gardens growing perennials.

After several years, she moved to Northern California and became a business owner of a hydroponics store. Then 10 years later, she moved to North Carolina and opened a retail garden center and landscape design business.

“Her entrepreneurship as co-owner of several successful businesses for fifteen years has helped her hone strategic planning, financial management and marketing skills to drive business growth and profitability,” Murray says.

Before joining Plant Development Services, Gronek was the R&D manager at Costa Farms, where she started as a grower and played a pivotal role in strengthening partnerships with plant breeders, leading trials and introducing new plant varieties.

“Once I got involved with R&D, I discovered that I have a passion for being in the R&D department,” Gronek says. “I love being able to take that new plant and see it go all the way to market. It’s a great feeling to be able to see something that you’ve been trialing make it all the way through.”

Yin and yang

Gronek loves a challenge. She thrives in fast-paced environments and gets excited about innovation and problem solving.

“I openly love change,” Gronek says. “You won’t grow if you stay the same. In order to grow, you must view change as an opportunity — not a threat — and embrace the growth mindset.”

The impact is what motivates her, whether it’s bringing a new plant to market or creating a system that saves time and resources. She’s motivated by the idea of making things better.

She loves knowing that what she does today could influence gardens across the country years from now, and as a single parent with two daughters (Sienna Gronek and Magnolia Gronek), she wants to show her daughters that if they are motivated and driven, they can achieve whatever they put their minds to.

Gronek describes her role as combining the best of both worlds, and even though it can be challenging to do both aspects of her job at the same time, she enjoys melding together the creative side with the methodical side.

Operations is where her ideas come to life. Workforce planning, production, scheduling, shipping, and all the logistics ensure the right plant ends up in the right place, at the right time.

Gronek gets to build systems, solve problems and ensure that the team has what they need to succeed.

R&D is where she gets to identify what’s next. R&D is Gronek’s favorite part. She enjoys working with breeders and trial sites, analyzing plant performance and deciding which selections have the potential to go to market.

Solution focused

Gronek explains that working in this industry has its challenges, and she has always looked up to other women leading the industry.

“You must have perseverance, stamina, focus and motivation to keep growing within this industry and never give up,” Gronek says. … “Angelica Cretu was always such a great mentor to me when I was at Costa Farms. She had faith in me, and she always had motivational things to say.”

Whether it’s reading a book or listening to a podcast, Gronek also finds inspiration through self-discovery content that empowers women and helps her to grow as a person.

“People are constantly changing,” Gronek says. “I am a person who wants to keep evolving and keep being the better version of myself.”

Since Gronek joined Plant Development Services, the company has added more automation, created more processes, tracked more Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and implemented new systems, so the R&D department runs more efficiently. Her goal is to build a larger R&D department that is able to trial, execute and move even more plants into the company’s collections.

Success to Gronek is setting a goal, going through the motions and achieving that goal — staying solution focused. She is proud of her team when they take initiative and implement processes on their own to see for themselves the solutions and results.

She leads through empathy — assuring that people in the workplace feel seen, supported and then helps mentor them to grow in their roles.

“I love to see people grow and move up in their own career; that’s success to me,” she says.

Gronek’s mission in life and business is to be the change that you wish to see in the world.

“I love that quote,” she says. “For me, it means leading with purpose — at home, at work and in the industry. I don’t want to just talk about progress; I try to model it. Whether it’s raising my daughters or managing production schedules, I try to make space for new ideas, and it all starts with action.”

No matter where Gronek is on her winding path of life, her passion for growing plants, her innovation and problem solving goes where she goes.

She leads by example in the way she shows up motivated and driven, and she is never afraid of a challenge or to step out of her comfort zone — always embracing the growth mindset.

Watch a video of Heather from the Horticultural Industries Leadership Awards at Cultivate'25 here.