John Rader
John Rader is the cofounder of EuroAmerican Propagators, which markets its plants under the widely popular Proven Winners brand name, which was also founded by Rader. He is an expert in entomology and propagation. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Rader’s father was in the Navy and retired in Southern California. Some of John Rader’s first jobs were pulling weeds and planting flowers. With an interest in organic gardening and farming, Rader attended Brigham Young University, where he earned his BS degree in horticulture in 1981 and his MS degree in horticulture in 1983.
When Rader’s family moved to Utah, he joined his brother-in-law Billy Casper, growing fruit at an organic orchard in Mapleton, Utah. He pursued a PhD at Utah State University, but left the program when he accepted the opportunity to oversee the propagation at Weidner’s Gardens.
Weidner’s Gardens was successful in finding and propagating new and unusual types of color. In 1992, Rader and his business partner Gerald Church bought the propagation division from Weidner and renamed the business EuroAmerican Propagators because much of their material then came from Europe. Proven Winners was formed as an international marketing cooperative and has been the backbone of their success. Proven Winners is the number one plant brand in North American and provides starter plants to almost 3,000 growers annually.
In addition to Proven Winners, Rader and his team also market quality plant material through Proven Selections and Fall Magic brands in the United States and Canada. EuroAmerican Propagators also offers extensive lines of fuchsias, the John Greenlee Collection of ornamental grasses, the Athens Select line, and other new and unique plant varieties.
Rader has written several articles on new plant introductions and their uses for industry magazines such as GrowerTalks, Greenhouse Grower, and GM Pro magazine. He has been a guest on television and radio shows. He is a member of the Society of American Florists, the San Diego Flower & Plant Association, the San Diego Horticultural Society, the Perennial Plant Association, and the Ohio Florists' Association.
