Rate My Professor John Ruter

John Ruter is the Allan M. Armitage Endowed Professor of Horticulture in Agricultural and Veterinary Science at the University of Georgia, serving as Director of the UGA Trial Gardens in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He earned a B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1984, an M.S. in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from the University of Tennessee in 1986, and a Ph.D. in Horticultural Science from the University of Florida in 1989. Joining the University of Georgia in 1990, Ruter initially served for 22 years as Nursery Crop Research and Extension Specialist at the Tifton Campus. In his current Athens-based role since 2011, his appointments include 25% teaching, 60% research, 10% extension, and 5% service. He grew up in Southern California, beginning nursery work at age 14.

Ruter's research focuses on herbaceous and woody ornamental plant breeding and selection, nursery crop production, developing landscape plants with unique characteristics and improved environmental tolerances for the Southeast, polyploid conifer and herbaceous plants, and Camellia oleifera as a tea oil crop. Key innovations include the Pot-In-Pot production system enhancing root insulation, water and fertilizer efficiency, and the Pot-In-Pot system with economic impacts exceeding $45 million; improved irrigation and fertilization strategies reducing nutrient runoff; and copper hydroxide fiber containers promoting better growth. He holds 30 issued U.S. plant patents, with royalties nearing $750,000 licensed to industry partners. Ruter received the 2000 D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Research, UGA Inventor of the Year in 2021, 2022 ASHS Outstanding Graduate Educator Award, and 2026 National Academy of Inventors Fellowship. He co-authored Introduction to Horticulture: Science and Technology (editions 1995-2009), chapters in plant propagation texts, and over 150 publications on nursery systems, propagation, and stress tolerance. Ruter teaches HORT 3500 Herbaceous Perennials, labs, and Current Issues in Horticulture.