Nursery Courses

Develop your ability to propagate a wide variety of different plants by cuttings. This is a particularly valued skill in today's nursery industry, and while no course alone is going to make you into an exceptional propagator, this training provides a necessary foundation needed to build these skills. This course was developed by John Mason, author of "Propagating from Cuttings" published by Kangaroo Press.

Learn to manage a retail plant nursery or garden centre! Originally designed in conjunction with the State Garden Department Manager of a major retail chain store; this course has been very successful in training both staff and managers of retail nurseries and garden centres across different countries. It was thoroughly updated recently by horticultural professionals in both Australia and the U.K. to be relevant to countries around the world.

If you are working your way up to the top, or have just landed a position there, then this course is for you!

Start your own small scale nursery business: Start at home, and grow as big (or small) as you wish

An introductory course which shows the beginner how to get started in the nursery business. You learn how to propagate plants, decide what to propagate, how to start a small inexpensive operation, and to go about selling what you grow. Part of every lesson is devoted to the important area of building up your knowledge of plants. Through six lessons you will learn how many established nurseries have started out slowly as a small part time operation, and how you can follow the same path. (If you intend studying propagation and wholesale nursery management, do not do this course!).

Work in a Plant Nursery

This is a course designed in collaboration with nursery hands at the Greening Australia Hamel Nursery, south of Perth. It teaches the skills for day to day work in a production nursery. There are eleven lessons involving: The Nursery Industry - operational flow charts, nursery standards, plant variety rights, transport regulations;plant identification, nursery structures, buildings, heating & cooling systems; potting mixes, seed propagation, cutting propagation, other propagation techniques, plant nutrition, pest & disease control, other nursery tasks and marketing and sales

Work in a Garden Centre or Plant Nursery - Know How to Increase Nursery Sales

This course was developed in response to a request from a retail nurseryman who was finding it difficult to find staff with appropriate skills. As he put it, job applicants were either over qualified or lacked the basic skills needed: to be able to identify plants, advise customers on their use and to understand some basic sales techniques and procedures.

Combine a passion for gardening with the thrill of exploring and creating plants that have never been seen before. 

Plant breeding is a bigger industry than most people realize. In some places, earnings from plant breeding rights can equal or exceed earnings from actually producing plants. Today's nurseryman needs to understand plant breeding and selection; and to this end, this course is a very valuable and unique course for anyone working in the modern industry.

Develop your broad skills in plant propagation. This subject assumes a very general knowledge of basic plant propagation and botany as a prerequisite. With the first lesson you will be sent a video on propagation to refresh your knowledge.
If you find parts of this subject difficult, we recommend that you should pause and read through a book on botany or general plant propagation before proceeding.

The subject is aimed primarily at people who work in the nursery industry, but will be of value to anyone with a broad interest in propagating plants. The student will be required to visit and telephone various sites, including relevant workplaces, to observe, inspect or interview employees or management. Through these visits the student will develop an awareness of workplaces and practical applications of the subject.

Seed can be used to produce lots of plants, fast and with few resources; provided you know how.

Some plants may germinate and grow with ease, but for others, the seed and seedlings must be handled in a very particular way to ensure not only germination, but also survival of the seedling. This is a course for:

• Nursery staff
• Seed merchants, seed collectors, plant breeders, etc
• Environmental or revegetation officers
• Anyone else interested in developing a deeper understanding of seed propagation.

Quote from Principal, Horticulturist and garden author John Mason: 

"Since developing this course in the late 1980's, I've encountered graduates on many occasions who have gone on to start their own tissue culture facility, and others who have successfully found employment working in a larger tissue culture enterprise. The course continues regular reviews and updates, and today reflects the input of more than a dozen tissue culture experts, biotechnologists and horticulture professionals."

Managing a production nursery involves more than just propagating and potting up plants. Even the small nursery must be able to not only producer plants, but do it at a pre determined cost, then sustain those plants before and during marketing.

The nursery industry currently has a real need for people with skills and knowledge in managing production plant nurseries! This course provides a solid grounding for developing those skills.

Course developed by a team headed by John Mason, author of "Nursery Management", published by Landlinks Press