Following the family trade, he trained in horticulture at Dicksons nursery in Chester and then for private estate owners.
Older than most applicants, he was accepted in 1904 and was recommended by Sir William Thiselton-Dyer in the next year for a vacancy in northern India.
In 1905 he moved to the gardens in Lahore where he succeeded W.R. Brown as a superintendent, conducting tests on 120 species of Eucalyptus for suitability.
A nursery was established at Talkatora Bagh and discussions on the choice of plants and their spacing in avenues took place with Lutyens and his assistant Walter George.
[2] Mustoe was awarded an Order of the British Empire in 1930 and he retired to England and lived at Ashtead, Surrey, from 1934.