Horticulture I

The ideal course for the beginner, this is a basic, yet thoroughly practical course which gives you a sound broad technical grounding in horticultural principles and practices. A section of each lesson involves plant identification.

YOU WILL LEARN:

• To identify, propagate and care for 80 different types of plants.
• The systematic way plants are classified.
• Structure and parts of a flower.
• To identify different leaf shapes.
• Different ways to control weeds.
• Simple soil tests.
• Making propagating and potting mixes.
• Identifying pest and disease problems.
• How and why to prune different plants.
• Drawing a simple garden sketch plan.
• To plant or repair a lawn; and lots more.

MEET SOME OF OUR TUTORS

 

 

 

Rosemary Davies Dip Hort Sc. Worked as an extension officer, taught horticulture students, worked on radio and simultaneously developed a career as a writer. A columnist with the Herald and Weekly Times & the Age newspaper. She has worked for a number of companies in writing and publications, PR community education and management and has led several tours to Europe. In 1999 Rosemary was BPW Bendigo Business Woman of the Year and is one of the founders and the Patron, of the Friends of the Bendigo Botanic gardens. She has completed her 6th book this year and is working on concepts for several others.	Thady Barrett M.Hort (RHS) Thady is a consultant to the horticulture industry in the UK, with particular interest in the ornamental plant sector. Previously a senior lecturer at Writtle College for 20 years which included being course tutor for RHS qualifications. Wide ranging practical horticultural experience but with specific interest in propagation techniques and plant production technologies. Member of the International Plant Propagators Society (IPPS) and awarded the Rose Bowl Award in 2009 in recognition of his contribution to the society	John L. Mason Dip.Hort.Sc., Sup'n Cert., FIOH, FPLA, MAIH, MACHPER, MASA John has extensive experience both as a public servant (8 years), and as a small business owner (over 30 years). He has held positions ranging from Director of Parks and Recreation (City of Essendon) to plant nursery owner, horticultural consultant, magazine editor and school principal. John is a well respected member of many professional associations, and author of over 40 books and of over two thousand magazine articles. Even today, John continues to write books for various publishers including Simon and Shuster, and Landlinks Press (CSIRO Publishing

Click here to find out more about learning options

 

To visit the online bookstore and view outlines of a range horticulture books click here

 

Lesson Structure

There are 13 lessons in this course:

1. Plant Identification
   • Naming plants
   • Distinguishing the taxonomic divisions of plants including family, genus, species and variety or hybrid
   • Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons
   • Characteristics of Botanical Families
   • Structure and Arrangement of leaves and leaflets
   • Leaf terminology
   • Leaf Arrangements
   • Flower Structure and identifying the different parts of a flower
   • How seeds form
   • Plant Reviews
   • Collecting and Pressing Plants for Herbaria
2. Planting
   • Garden terminology
   • Common garden problems
   • Basic Planting Procedure
   • Fertilising and Staking when planting
   • Dealing with BaZre Rooted Plants
   • Time of Planting
   • Deciding where to plant
   • Mulching
   • Making Garden Beds
   • Raised Beds
   • Sunken Beds
   • Planting Terminology
3. Recognising Plant Families and Identifying Plants
   • Becoming familiar with plant families
   • Botanical Latin
   • Systematic Examination of Plants -dicot or monocot, type of wood, etc
   • Characteristics of important families including: Amaryllidaceae, Araceae, Asteraceae, Ericaceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae.
   • Getting to Know More Common Families
   • Other Ways to Identify Plants
   • Plants for Shade
   • Plants for Exposed Conditions
   • Plants for Inner City Gardens
4. Soils
   • Purpose of Soil
   • Soil Structure: Classifying soils
   • Soil water and air
   • Soil temperature
   • Soil pH
   • Nutrient Availability
   • Naming a Soil
   • Improving Soils
   • Composting
   • Natural Plant Foods
   • Sampling and testing soils
   • Potting soil mixes
   • Soil Terminology
5. Plant Nutrition
   • The Nutrient Elements
   • Major Elements
   • Minor Elements
   • Diagnosis of Nutrient Problems
   • Fertilizers: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium
   • How much fertilizer to apply
   • Terminology
6. Water Management
   • Introduction to Irrigation
   • Feasibility of Irrigation
   • Soil and Water
   • When to Irrigate
   • Water Deficiency Symptoms
   • Types of Soil Moisture; gravitational, capillary, hygroscopic
   • Measuring Water Available to Plants
   • Rooting depths of plants
   • Estimating Water Requirements
   • Pumps, Sprinklers and other equipment
   • Understanding Hydraulics
   • Conventional Sprinkler Systems; portable, permenant, semi permenant
   • Cyclic Watering
   • Pulse Watering
   • Irrigation scheduling
   • Sprinkler spacing
   • Improving Soils for Water Management
   • Drainage
   • Erosion Management
   • Soil compaction
   • Acidification
7. Garden Maintenance and Weeds
   • Cost of Garden Maintenance
   • Machinery
   • Comparing more and less costly areas of the garden.
   • Common Weeds and their Identification
   • Weed Control Methods -Chemical and non chemical
   • Plants that become Invasive
   • Environmental Weeds
8. Pests and Diseases
   • Pest and Disease overview
   • Preventative measures for managing pest and disease
   • Review of major pest problems and control options: Aphis, Borers, Caterpillar, Leaf Miner, Mealy Bug, Red Spider, Scale, etc
   • Review of major Diseases and their control: Anthracnose, Black Leg, Rots, Botrytis, Damping off, Die back, Mildew, Rust etc.
   • Diagnosis of Problems
   • Introduction to Plant Pathology and Entomology
   • Chemical pesticides and basic toxicology
   • Integrated Pest Management
9. Pruning
   • Reasons for Pruning
   • Identifying bud types
   • Basic rules of pruning
   • Pruning in a home orchard
   • Terminology
   • Winter PruningPruning tools
   • Examples of Winter Pruning; Crepe Myrtle, Hydrangea, Raspberry, Fuchsia, Kiwi Fruit, Grevillea, etc
   • Rose Pruning
10. Landscaping
    • Introduction and Pre Planning Information
    • Plant Selection Criteria
    • Covering the Ground
    • Living Plant Cover
    • Mulches
    • Container Growing Outside
    • General Considerations
    • Terminology
11. Propagation
    • Methods of Propagation: Seed Propagation and Vegetative Propagation
    • Propagation Structures: Cold Frames
    • Cutting Propagation
    • Factors affecting rooting of cuttings
12. Lawns
    • Turf grass varieties
    • Review of common turf species
    • Laying a new lawn
    • Common turf problems
    • Cultural techniques including watering, fertilizing, topdressing, aerating, pest and disease control.
13. Arboriculture
    • What is Arboriculture
    • How to keep trees healthy
    • Where and how to cut trees to remove branches or prune
    • Why remove a tree
    • Ways to fell a tree
    • Removing a stump
    • Tree surgery; terms and techniques

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Distinguish between different plants, to enable identification of the plant species.
• Explain appropriate procedures for establishing a range of plants in different conditions.
• Describe the characteristics of plant growing media necessary for healthy plant growth.
• Explain the characteristics of plant nutrition necessary for healthy plant growth.
• Determine appropriate water management procedures for healthy plant growth.
• Understand appropriate procedures for pruning plants on a horticultural site.
• Determine solutions for the management of a range of common weeds.
• Determine solutions for the management of a range of common pests and diseases.
• Prepare a concept plan for the development of a garden.
• Understand commonly used plant propagation techniques.
• Develop guidelines for general lawn care.
• Develop guidelines for general tree care in a horticultural situation.

What You Will Do

• Distinguish between plants in order to identify at least 120 plants on plant review sheets.
• Plant out a container plant following a recommended procedure.
• Sample and carry out simple tests on different soils.
• Identify a range of nutrient problems in plants.
• Identify a range of pest and disease problems in plants.
• Demonstrate the correct procedure for pruning a plant.
• Identify a range of different plants, based on their flower and leaf structures.
• Determine appropriate procedures for planting according to type of plant and site.
• Demonstrate knowledge of how to care for plants in the garden.
• Demonstrate knowledge of appropriate plant selection for a range of different sites.
• Identify a range of plant health problems and describe appropriate chemical and non-
  • chemical control methods to control those problems.
• Identify characteristics of plant growing media necessary for healthy plant growth.
• Explain the importance of organic matter in soil management.
• Describe the principles and techniques of composting.
• Determine nutrient problems and describe chemical and non-methods for overcoming these problems.
• Identify management solutions to a range of plant problems including weeds, pests and diseases.
• Explain the principles of Integrated Pest Management.
• Determine appropriate water management practices applicable to plant growth.
• Describe the characteristics of irrigation and drainage systems.
• Describe the importance of pruning to plant growth, flowering and fruiting.
• Describe safe use of chemicals.
• Develop criteria for selecting suitable plants for a landscape project.
• Prepare concept plans for landscape redevelopment.
• Draw a concept plan for a garden redevelopment.
• Demonstrate the correct procedure for taking cuttings from a range of plants.
• Distinguish between different pre-germination seed requirements and techniques, for different plant species.
• Determine appropriate turf species for different purposes and chosen climatic conditions.
• Explain the composition of lawn seed mixes and fertilizers.
• Observe and report on lawn management techniques.
• Determine solutions to lawn problems.
• Explain the cause and effect of common tree problems.
• Determine appropriate methods for treating tree problems.

 Horticulture deals with living things and as such is somewhat unpredictable and variable. The ways you treat a plant is different from place to place, time to time, and according to what you are trying to get from the plant.

When referring to a book or magazine article, always look at where it was written and by whom it was written. Most gardening writers usually write about gardening in their own locality. If you live in a different city those recommendations might be quite misleading for you! There can be great variations over relatively small distances in such things as rainfall, wind and soil type. A certain type of tree may very well grow twice as tall in the eastern suburbs of a large city compared to its eventual height in the western suburbs of the same city.

In horticulture, often there are different ways of tackling a job; each one just as valid as the next. Never consider that a particular technique is the only way of doing something! You should try to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of all of the alternatives. They all have their pros and cons, and it is up to your own preferences as to which way you choose to do something.

This course has been written to teach horticulture in a way that will be relevant to all parts of the world. It puts aside regional techniques, and tries to teach you principles and concepts that can be applied to anywhere. Keep this in mind as you study. Try to see the principles. You are not just studying facts.

Click here to find out more about learning options

To visit the online bookstore and view outlines of a range horticulture books click here

NOTE: The traditional (printed notes) version of this course varies slightly to the online and e learning version. It only has 12 lessons, but throughout those lessons, you are given extra work related to plant knowledge. The learning overall though, is basically the same, no matter which version you undertake.

FREQUENT QUESTIONS

Why Choose This Course

• Unique course materials (developed by our staff) and more current than some colleges (many reviewed annually); as a result, ACS graduates can be more up to date.
• We work hard to help you understand and remember it, develop an ability to apply it in the real world, and build networks with others who work in this field (It’s more than just serving up a collection of information –if all you want is information, buy a book; but if you want an education, that takes learning to a whole new level).
• Start whenever you want, study at your own pace, study anywhere
• Don’t waste time and money traveling classes
• We provide more choices–courses are written to allow you more options to focus on parts of the subject that are of more interest to you; a huge range of elective subjects are offered that don’t exist elsewhere.
• Tutors are accessible (more than elsewhere) – academics work in both the UK and Australia, 5 days a week, 16 hours a day. Answering emails and phone calls from students are top priority.
• We treat students as individuals –don’t get lost in a crowd. Our tutors communicate with you one to one.
• Extra help at no extra cost if needed. When you find something you cannot do, we help you through it or will provide another option.
• Support after you finish a course –We can advise about getting work, starting  business, writing a CV, etc. We can promote students and their businesses through our extensive profile on the internet. Graduates who ask will be helped.
• Support from a team of a dozen professional horticulturists, living in different parts of the UK, and in both temperate and tropical climate zones of Australia.

About ACS

ACS was started in 1979 by John Mason, who at the time was a gardening author, horticultural consultant and lecturer in horticulture at several colleges across Melbourne (in Australia).  Over the summer that year John discovered that there were thousands of applicants going to be turned away from horticulture courses at Burnley Horticultural College (now Melbourne University). There were simply too few courses being offered for the number of people wanting to study horticulture in Australia. This situation prompted a move to establish a correspondence course at Burnley; but after months of unsuccessful lobbying for support from government; John wrote a course, and with help from a colleague at Council of Adult Education, marketed it.

Standards were originally set in line with what were seen to be the standards of Australia's top horticultural college; and over the years, those standards have never been reduced. This makes our courses longer and more demanding than some other colleges; but it has also led to us building a credibility that stands tall in the horticulture industry across the world. 

In the early 1990's John started visiting the UK and becoming involved with the horticulture industry there. Around the mid 1990's ACS began offering RHS courses, and in 2003, John was formally recognised for his contribution to British Horticulture by being made a fellow of the Institute of Horticulture. ACS, as a school, established an office and staff in the UK in 2001, and has expanded considerably since then. Today it is formally affiliated with five other colleges in the UK (including Warwickshire College); all of who license and deliver ACS courses. 

A team of leading horticulturists work for the school's horticulture department, including 12 faculty members in both the UK and Australia

How You Study

• As soon as you enroll, we send an email to explain it all.
• We direct you to a short orientation video (downloadable over the internet) to watch, where our principal introduces you to how the course works, and how you can access all sorts of support services
• You are either given a code to access your course online, or sent out a CD or course materials through the mail (or by courier).
• Work through lessons one by one, each lesson typically having four parts:
• An aim -which tells you what you should be achieving in the lesson
• Reading -notes written and regularly revised by our academic staff
• Set Task(s) -These are practicals, research or other experiential learning tasks that strengthen and add to what you have been reading
• Assignment -By answering questions, submitting them to a tutor, then getting feedback from the tutor, you confirm that you are on the right track, but more than that, you are guided to consider what you have been studying in different ways, broadening your perspective and reinforcing what you are learning about
• Other - Your work in a course rarely stops at just the above four parts. Different courses and different students will need further learning experiences. Your set task or assignment may lead to other things, interacting with tutors or people in industry, reviewing additional reference materials or something else. We treat every student as an individual and supplement their learning needs as the occasion requires.
• We provide access to and encourage you to use a range of supplementary services including an online student room, including online library; student bookshop, newsletters, social media etc.
• We provide a "student manual", that is a quick solution to most problems that might occur

Recognition

• ACS has a highly respected international profile: by employers and academics alike. People are more aware of us than many other distance education schools –just do a search for “horticulture distance education courses” and see what comes up on the internet; or search for ACS Distance education on Facebook or Linked in, and see how many connections we have compared to other colleges.
• Recognised by International Accreditation and Recognition Council
• ACS has been educating people around the world since 1979
• Over 100,000 have now studied ACS courses, across more than 150 countries
• Formal affiliations with colleges in five countries
• A faculty of over 40 internationally renowned academics –books written by our staff used by universities and colleges around the world.

Extra Books or Reference Materials

• The course provides you with everything that you need to complete it successfully.
• Assignments may ask you to look for extra information (eg. by contacting nurseries, visiting gardens or searching the internet), but our school's resources and tutors are always available as a back up. If you hit a "roadblock", we can quickly send you additional information or provide expert advice over the phone or email; to keep you moving in your studies.
• Some students choose to buy additional references, to take their learning beyond what is essential for the course. If a student wants to buy books, we operate an online bookshop offering ebooks written by staff at the school. Student discounts are available if you are studying with us. The range of e books available is being expanded rapidly, with at least one new ebook being written and published by our staff every month. See www.acsebook.com