SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
The Horticulture student who successfully completes four years of the program will, at a minimum, be able to perform tasks in the field of horticulture. They will be able to provide advice on the selection, ordering, planting, and maintenance of trees, shrubs, ground covers, and turf grasses. Our students will have the ability to grow potted plants and nursery stock and maintain records on the growing operation. Students will be familiar with all aspects of landscaping including hardscaping (design elements that are solid and unchanging as the years go by), and softscaping (elements that are fluid and changing as they mature). Horticulture students will have an understanding of forestry and how it contributes to sustainable agricultural production and food security, including the maintenance and restoration of soil fertility and soil improvement,erosion control, and maintenance of biodiversity. Students will also be familiar with aquaculture or water farming of fish, aquatic plants, algae and other organisms.
Graduates of our Horticulture program will graduate with the following skills and competencies:
- The ability to demonstrate health and safety practices on all related equipment and materials specific to Horticulture, Arboriculture, Floriculture, Landscaping, Turf Management, and Greenhouse Management
- The ability to demonstrate the use of plant classification principles to identify a wide variety of plants
- The ability to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of entomology
- The ability to demonstrate an understanding of concepts of soil origin and development
- The ability to demonstrate an understanding of floral design and interior landscape
- The ability to demonstrate an understanding of greenhouse management and production
- The ability to demonstrate an understanding of floriculture business operations
- The ability to demonstrate an understanding of landscape design and estimating
- The ability to demonstrate an understanding of landscape construction
- The ability to demonstrate an understanding of landscape maintenance and installation
- The ability to demonstrate an understanding of turfgrass management