Horticulture Licensure Study Guide

Horticulture Licensure Study Notes

Chapter 7 - Landscape Installation and Maintenance

Optimum Planting Times

  • Container-Grown Plants:
    • Optimum Planting Time: Fall and Spring.
  • Balled and Burlapped (B&B) Plants:
    • Optimum Planting Time: Winter and Spring (October - March).
  • Bare-Rooted Plants:
    • Optimum Planting Time: December - February.
  • Avoid Planting:
    • Recommended to avoid planting during June, July, and August.

Organic Amendments

  • Question: Should organic amendments be added to a planting hole when planting an individual tree?
    • Answer: No.
    • Reason: Adding organic amendments can negatively impact growth; it can be beneficial as mulch instead.
    • Recommendation: Backfill with the same soil from the planting hole.

Advantages of Using Mulches

  • Helps Maintain Uniform Moisture Level: Prevents soil drying out.
  • Insulates Roots:
    • Protects roots from temperature extremes.
  • Reduces Soil Borne Diseases:
    • Helps keep foliage healthy by reducing exposure to diseases.
  • Prevents Weeds:
    • Blocks sunlight from reaching weeds, preventing their growth.

Fertilizer Requirements

  • Recommended N/P/K Ratio:
    • For ornamental trees and shrubs: 3:1:2 or 4:1:2.
    • Example Ratio: 12-4-8 corresponds to a 3:1:2 ratio.

Purpose of Pruning

  • Reasons to Prune:
    1. Eliminate dead, diseased, dying, or wounded limbs.
    2. Improve the form and balance of the plant.
    3. Guide the growth habit.
    4. Stimulate new growth.
    5. Rejuvenate older planting.
    6. Maintain geometric shape (like formal hedges or topiary).

Hormones in Plants

  • Auxin:
    • Definition: Auxin is a hormone produced in the terminal bud of plants that directs the growth of other buds along the stem.

Pruning Techniques

  • Thinning Out:
    • Definition: Complete removal of branches back to a lateral branch or main trunk.
  • Heading Back:
    • Definition: Removal of the terminal portion of twigs back to an axillary bud or node.

Responses of Broadleaf Shrubs to Rejuvenate Pruning

  • Statement: Most broadleaf shrubs respond well to rejuvenate-type pruning.
    • Answer: True.

Pruning Paints and Wound Healing

  • Question: Are pruning paints recommended to promote wound healing on trees?
    • Answer: No, they are not recommended.
    • Research Findings: Pruning paints do not promote healing of the wound, irrespective of the size of the cut.

Timing for Pruning Shrubs

  • Spring-Flowering Shrubs:
    • When to Prune: After flowering.
  • Summer Flowering Trees and Shrubs:
    • When to Prune: During dormancy, after flowering in May.

Specific Pruning Procedures

  • Nandina and Chinese Mahonia (Mahonia fortunei):
    • Pruning Method: Pruned differently from most shrubs and grow like bamboo.
    • Action: Thin out older canes by cutting them back 6-8 inches from the ground.
    • Overgrown Plants: Can be severely pruned to ground level.

Chapter 8 - Indoor Plants

Factors Affecting Indoor Plant Growth

  • Five Critical Factors:
    1. Light
    2. Temperature
    3. Water
    4. Media (soil/substrate)
    5. Fertilization

Footcandle and Temperature Preferences

  • Footcandle Definition:
    • Footcandle (Fc): A unit used to measure indoor light levels.
  • Ideal Temperatures for Most House Plants:
    • Daytime: 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Nighttime: 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit.

Propagation of Plants

  • House Plants Easily Propagated by Seed:
    • Examples include:
    • Schefflera
    • False aralia
    • Philodendron
    • Cacti
    • Succulents
    • Ferns (propagated by spores)

Common Group of Plants Propagated from Spores

  • Ferns:
    • Commonly propagated via spores.

Spore Structures in Ferns

  • Sori:
    • Definition: Structures on ferns where spores are produced.
  • Component Structures:
    • Sorus: The group of spore-producing structures.
    • Indusium: A protective covering of the sorus.
    • Sporangium: The specific structure that holds the spores.
    • Spore: The reproductive unit of ferns.

Math Section

Math Problems Related to Landscaping

  1. Mulch Calculation:
    • Question: How many bulk yards of mulch are needed for a landscape bed that is 28 ft x 3 ft with a depth of 5 inches?
  2. Fertilizer Calculation:
    • What is needed to apply 2 lbs of N per 1000 sqft?
    • Formula Used: Given 25% N in the fertilizer:
      2 ext{ lb N per 1000 sqft}
      ightarrow rac{25}{100} = rac{2}{X}
    • Where $25x=200$.
  3. Cubic Feet in a Yard:
    • Question: How many cubic feet are in one cubic yard? (1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet).

Conclusion

  • This study guide consolidates essential information on landscape installation, maintenance, and indoor plants, forming a foundational resource for understanding horticulture practices and principles.