Plant Varieties Courses

ACACIAS COURSE STUDY ONLINE

AFRICAN VIOLETS ONLINE COURSE

Designed for the African Violet enthusiast, this course covers everything from potting and feeding, to pests and propagation.

You learn how African Violets are classified, and cover the exciting range of varieties available.

Here's your chance to achieve outstanding results with African Violets: as an amateur, or professional.

Learn how to Grow and Use Annual Flowering Plants:

for the enthusiast or commercial grower.

Annuals are a valuable horticultural crop grown commercially as cut flowers, as seedlings or as advanced pots of colour.

Grow Australian Indigenous Ferns

Learn How to Grow and Use Australian Trees

 An online or distance education course for the commercial grower, landscaper, or enthusiast.

This course first instructs you andbout different types of Australian flora, plant identification, information sources, planting, feeding, soils, pests & diseases, watering, propagation and transplanting.

The remaining lessons then deal with selected varieties of trees, windbreak planting, agroforestry, tree maintenance and tree selection.

This is a comprehensive course that aims to develop lots of pratical skills along with the theory.

 AUSTRALIAN NATIVES STUDY ONLINE

Australia has one of the oldest and most diverse varieties of plants of an country. Australian natives come from tropical areas to cold temperate snow covered mountains, and from inland deserts to fertile wet rainforests. Develop your ability to identify, select, cultivate and plan a management program, for appropriate varieties of Australian native plants, in a wide variety of situations.  This is relevant to not only Australia, but most parts of the world.

Are You Interested in Australian Native wildflowers and Plants?

Study small Australian native plants and wildflowers online in a comprehensive and practical course that will etend your knowledge and fuel your passion for these fascinating plants.

This course deals with both woody (hard wooded) and herbaceous (soft wooded), low growing Australian Native Plants, which bear showy flowers.

The focus is on small shrubs and ground covers.

Comment from one of our Australian Natives II students:
"The plant recognition assignments were challenging and a great help for the future" D. Sydenham

AZALEAS ONLINE COURSE

Learn how to Grow and Use Azaleas and Rhododendrons:

 A correspondence course for the enthusiast or commercial grower.

Considered by many to be the very best plants a garden can offer, azaleas and rhododendrons are some of the most popular plants grown anywhere. The course shows how to grow them to perfection, and builds your knowledge of varieties available, to give you a long lasting display of colour in the garden. Soils, weed control, feeding, pest and disease control, watering, landscape design and lots more are included over eight lessons.

Learn to Create Bonsai 

This course is the perfect introduction to growing bonsai from choosing plants and containers right through to all the techniques needed to create a range of bonsai styles. You don't need to have made bonsai before in order to study this course, you just need to be interested in this fascinating art form. Join the many who have learnt the ancient oriental art of bonsai through this practical and comprehensive course.

Eight lessons cover the selection of plants suited to bonsai, understanding the history and classic shapes which form the basis of the art, techniques of planting, training, pruning, watering & feeding and ways of using bonsai both indoors and outdoors. You will create several bonsai of your own during the course and receive constructive criticism from your tutor as they help you develop your own personal bonsai style and techniques.

Learn to Identify, Grow and use Australian Indigenous Plants for Food

There are thousands of Australian plants that are edible, and even some that are in very high demand as foods throughout the world.  The Aborigines lived off the land before white civilization came to Australia. Plants contributed significantly to their diet. Many of these native plants are worthwhile growing ‑ others might not be.  There are many different types of bush tucker foods, including:

• Nuts and seeds (eg. Acacia, Macadamia, bunya nuts)
• Drinks (eg. hot teas, infusions of nectar laden flowers, fruit juices)
• Flavourings (eg. lemon scented myrtle)
• Berries (eg. Astroloma, some Solanum species)
• Fruits (eg. quandong, Ficus macrophylla, Syzygium)
• Vegetables
• Wattle seeds ground to produce ‘flour’
• Plant roots ground to produce a paste or flour

Backhousia citriodora (Lemon Scented Myrtle)

 CACTI ONLINE COURSE

It's been said that people either love cacti or hate them.

For lovers of cacti and succulents, this comprehensive 8 lesson course is a must. The course studies major cacti and succulent groups and the differences in how to treat plants from each; in terms of soils, feeding, watering, pruning, pest control, planting procedures and more. It will stimulate your interest, and set you on the path to becoming an expert with these unique plants.

CARNIVOROUS PLANTS ONLINE COURSE

 These fascinating plants provide entertainment and stimulation to the enthusiast.

Nine lessons cover a range of cultivated carnivorous plants, paying particular attention to the Pitcher Plants (Nepenthes) and Sundews (Drosera).

CONIFER TREES DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE

Eight lessons provide you with a systematic understanding of the way conifers are classified, show you how to identify the differences between types and develop your understanding of cultural requirements common to the whole group and differences in cultural techniques needed for specific types of conifers. Sections of this course look in detail at trees (e.g. Pines, Cedrus, Spruce), small shrubs, medium shrubs, native conifers and rarer varieties.

STUDY DECIDUOUS TREES ONLINE

Tree Knowledge is the cornerstone of working in arboriculture, tree surgery, land rehabilitation or forestry.

Deciduous Trees are widely planted, particularly in temperate and colder areas of the world. They are very important for both amenity horticulture and forestry. This course is a great foundation study for new or experienced horticulturists, landscapers, arborists, nursery workers, gardeners, parks managers; or anyone else concerned with the selection, propagation, care, maintenance or harvesting of deciduous trees

 EUCALYPTS ONLINE STUDY

Learn all about ferns!

A detailed look at the identification and culture of ferns. You learn to propagate (spores, division, tissue culture), different groupings (e.g. epiphytes, ground ferns, tree ferns) and both common & uncommon species. Growing techniques (baskets, indoor/outdoor containers, terrariums) and cultural methods (soils, watering, pest & disease control) are also examined.

A course for the enthusiast or commercial grower.

FUSCHIAS STUDY ONLINE

Fabulous Fuchsias

GERANIUMS AND PELAGONIUMS STUDY ONLINE

There's more to Geranium and Pelargoniums than meets the eye!

These wonderful plants have been seen on our window boxes for hundreds of years and are a big part of many garden lovers lives. Learn ways to maintain them to optimum performance. Learn how to avoid problems that can be easily cured. Learn how to take your own cuttings, grow them successfully and discover how many different types there are to choose from. In this course you will also learn this basis of all good horticulture with plant health, understanding soils, plant nutrition, cultural requirements and pest and diesase treatment. Time to get those green thumbs working!

CAMELLIAS HOME STUDY COURSE

Beautiful camellias require little attention, once established, and yet there is so much to know about them.

This course is a wonderful way of learning about the different groups of camellias (eg. japonicas, sasanquas, reticulatas), their special characteristics, and their culture. Develops your understanding of soils, feeding, watering, pruning, planting methods, pest & disease control, propagation, & more. Improve your ability to identify different varieties (both common and uncommon), and how to use camellias to achieve desired landscape effects.

CARNATIONS ONLINE COURSE

A serious course equally valuable to the home enthusiast or the commercial cut flower grower.

You learn about growing quality carnations (planting, watering, pest & disease control, fertilizing), different ways of growing them (e.g. as row crops in soil, in hydroponics, in a greenhouse); and harvesting, post-harvest treatments, and quality control.

GREVILLIEAS ONLINE COURSE

Become an expert on Grevilleas through this eight lesson course. It provides a thorough grounding in identifying, growing and using grevilleas.

Grevilleas are a wide group of plants, all but seven species coming from Australia. They are widespread across Australia, occurring in both cool temperate, and hot tropical climates. There are around 250 species. About half of these are native to the south west corner of Australia.

IRIS ONLINE COURSE

Learn How to Grow and Use Indoor Plants by distance learning.

This is a course equally applicable to the professional interior plantscaper or the home owner (or interior decorator) who aspires to achieve the very best results with their indoor plants.

• You will learn about the main family groups indoor plants fall into, the cultural requirements and general characteristics of each of those groups, and from there develop the ability to select the right plant for the right situation.
• Many types of growing methods are covered (in pots, baskets, hydroponics, terrariums, greenhouses), as well as soil mixes, propagation, pest control, feeding and lots more.

ONLINE COURSE ORCHID CULTURE

Want to learn the tricks of how to successfully grow a beautiful yet challenging plant such as the Orchid?

These unusual and stunning plants are incredibly rewarding to own. Get the broad picture of what orchids are all about and learn how to improve your results and grow flowers which will be the envy of all who see them.

PALMS AND CYCADS ONLINE COURSE

Become an expert in palms and cycads.

Throughout this course you will learn to distinguish between the characteristics of different types of palms and cycads.

• Learn the general cultural practices required to grow palms and cycads including propagation and appropriate pest and disease treatments.
• Discover how to choose palms and cycads to suit different climatic situation; how to use them in the landscape and their various commercial applications.

Study Beautiful and Versatile Perennials

Discover what perennials are, which perennial plants are most popular today, their cultural requirements (ie. feeding, watering, soil requirements, pruning, pest control), and learn how to use them to create beautiful landscapes. A course equally valuable to landscapers, nurserymen, cut flower growers and garden enthusiasts.

Learn how to Grow and Use Proteas -Study at Home

Learn where and how to grow one of the most stunning groups of plants in the world.

ROSE GROWING ONLINE COURSE

This course is definitely a must for the rose lover.

This unique and comprehensive course is equally relevant to professional and amateur growers.

The value of their blooms however extends beyond the ornamental garden; roses are grown for many reasons including: the cut flower trade, for perfume extraction, to harvest the hips and for rose oil. This course covers all these aspects and much more. Learn the history of the rose, the confusing rose classification system, how to identify the different species, their general cultural needs (soils, pests and disease management and pruning), how to use roses in garden design and how to produce a commercial rose crop.

ONLINE COURSE TROPICAL PLANTS

Learn how to grow tropical plants in or outside the tropics. 

This course provides  valuable instruction for both growing plants in warm places or in protected places such as greenhouses.

Study many of the significant tropical plants including: Heliconias, Alpinia, Hedychium, Zingiber, Musa, Costus, Cordylines, palms and cycads, climbers, shrubs, trees, orchids, ferns, Aroids and Bromeliads, herbs, vegetables and fruit bearing plants, etc.

This course also covers:

• plant names/classification (scientific and common),
• climatic conditions,
• plants suited to your locality
• cultural practices: understanding soils, naming a soil, propagation, watering, feeding, pruning etc.

Growing tropical plants outside the tropics and indoors - in different climates and conditions. 

Discover: how to landscape with tropical plants and how to use colour and texture; how to select appropriate plants; how to plant a courtyard and prepare sketch plans.

A truly versatile course!