This report examines conditions in the California nursery industry and develops a comprehensive baseline of labor force requirements and practices. A telephone survey was conducted with 167 randomly selected nurseries in a 10-county area. Additionally, 455 workers and 85 employers participated in on-site interviews. Workers were classified as foreman or crew leader, technical worker, and field or shipping worker. The average worker was male, 36 years old, and married with two children; lived in a house or condominium; spoke Spanish; was born in Mexico; and had a sixth-grade education. More highly skilled and more highly paid workers tended to have more education (typically 3 years in the United States and several years elsewhere) and tended to have better language skills in both English and Spanish. Employers considered communication and language skills as the most important job skills for all workers, followed by management skills for foremen and crew leaders, plant propagation skills for technical workers, and ability to follow instructions for field and shipping employees. Other desirable skills sought by employers were reading and writing, basic math, safety awareness, and horticultural knowledge. This study indicates that the California nursery industry labor force is mature and stable with over half of workers employed in the industry for more than 7 years. It suggests that government-sponsored training programs should focus on basic skills. Appendices include research methodology and survey questionnaires with descriptive statistics. The report contains numerous tables and graphs. (LP)