Certificate in Home Horticulture

ISU Scott County Extension staff, staff from Vander Veer Botanical Park in Davenport, a representative from Scott Community College and the ISU Scott County Master Gardeners started meeting in 2001 to discuss ideas on forming a set of classes that individuals could take leading to a certificate in home horticulture. In the fall of 2001 a survey to determine the needs and interests of gardening enthusiasts and professionals was developed and distributed.

It was determined that this group needed an identity organization with an advisory committee to help guide the set up of the program to meet the interests and needs of area professionals and gardeners. An advisory committee made up of area “Green Industry” professionals, QCA parks representatives, Master Gardeners, amateur gardeners, area educators, and an ISU Extension field specialist was formed and met for the first time on February 14, 2002. With the guidance of this committee and the continued input and efforts of the original steering committee the Partners in Horticulture was formed to develop a certificate program.

Certificate programs are popular in all regions of the country, but there has never been one easily accessible to gardening enthusiasts in the Quad Cities Area.

That has changed! Amateur gardeners and landscape and garden center professionals now have the opportunity to earn a certificate in Home Horticulture. This program focuses on the knowledge and skills needed to design, plant, and maintain attractive and environmentally responsible landscapes. The program emphasizes practical experience and hands-on learning.

Sessions are limited to 25 participants to facilitate a personal and effective learning experience. Classes are generally offered Saturday mornings and some Friday evenings January through March. There are also outdoor lab components and electives scheduled throughout the growing season that the participant can choose from to enhance their area of interest.

Applicants will be chosen on a first come first served basis and notified as to their acceptance. For those accepted a $50 non-refundable deposit will be due with your application.

Core classes

·    Introduction to Botany – 6 hrs.

·    Plant & Soil Relationships - Understanding Soils – 3hrs.

·    Landscape Plants – Herbaceous Plants – 3 hrs.

·    Landscape Plants – Woody Plants – 3 hrs.

·    Plant Diseases - 6 hrs. (lab included)

·    Entomology  - 6 hrs. (lab included)

·    Practicum  - 6 hrs.

·    Land Stewardship/Conservation  - 4 hrs.

Electives –  Minimum of 4 classes

May include but not limited to:

·         Landscape Design

·         Conifers & Companion Plants

·         Alternative Trees & Shrubs

·         Plant Propagation

·         Hardy Bulbs

·         Native Plants

·         Ornamental Grasses

·         Horticulture Therapy

·         Turf

·         Weed ID & Control

·         Ecology & Conservation

·         Grafting Techniques

·         Enabling Gardens Techniques

·         Fruit Culture

·         Understanding & managing rainfall in the landscape

·         Using mosses & ferns in the Midwestern landscape

·         Pruning fruit trees

·         Pruning ornamental landscape plants

·         Wildlife Ecology & Management

·         Greg Brenneman – ISU Extension Agricultural Engineering Field Specialist for SE Iowa.

·         Paula Flynn - Plant Disease Diagnostician Iowa State University Plant Disease Clinic

·         Cindy Bottrell – Scott Community College

·         Mark Shour – Entomologist Iowa State University Extension

·         Mark Vitosh – Iowa DNR district Forester

·         Patrick O’Malley – ISU Extension Commercial Horticulture field specialist.

·         Cindy Haynes – Professor of Horticulture Iowa State University

·         Ann Marie VanDerZanden- Assoc. Professor of Horticulture Iowa State University

• Glenn Herold – Professor of Horticulture Illinois Central College

To earn your certificate you must complete the following requirements

1.      Complete the classes & lab.

2.      Complete the practicum component.

3.      Complete a minimum of four approved elective classes.

(Participants must be present for the entire time of each class in order to receive credit towards the certificate.)

The fee for the program is $10.00 for each instructional hour for the classes attended. Fees will include course materials. For some classes there may be an additional charge for textbooks.

Contact ISU Scott County Extension at 563-359-7577 to obtain an application, or for further information.