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Certificate of Cutting Propagation

Certificate of Cutting Propagation is a professional development course that will help you develop the skills necessary to propagate a wide variety of plants by cuttings. On completion, you’ll have gained a foundation knowledge to build skills in professional propagation.
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Start Anytime
Yes
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Delivery Method
100% Online
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Study Hours
50 hours
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Course Access
12 Months

The ability to propagate a range of plants is a valued skill in the nursery industry. If you’d like to learn the foundation skills in cutting propagation, whether as a home gardener or professional, this online course is ideal for you.

Certificate of Cutting Propagation is a professional development course that will help you develop the skills necessary to propagate a wide variety of plants by cuttings.

In this nursery course, you’ll learn to prepare cuttings from various plants using stem, root, leaf and bulb cutting techniques. You’ll also learn about propagation mixes, soil testing, nursery production processes and greenhouse management for propagation.

On completion of this nursery course, you’ll have gained a foundation knowledge to build skills in professional propagation.

Printed learning materials may be available free to print for this course. Requests can be made by contacting us. 

Course Structure
Unit 1 - Introduction
  • Introduction to cuttings
  • Propagation from cuttings
  • Types of vegetative propagation
  • The importance of cuttings
  • Cutting grown plants are identical to their parent.
  • It is easier to produce new plants from cuttings.
  • Producing plants that flower or fruit sooner
  • Maintaining juvenility
  • Avoiding juvenility
  • Why cuttings?
  • Where to source cutting material
  • Timing considerations
  • Genotype versus phenotype
  • How to grow a cutting
  • The cutting environment
  • General requirements
  • Other considerations
Unit 2 – Stem Cuttings
  • Classification of cuttings types
  • Stem cutting techniques
  • ‎Success with cuttings
  • Quality of work
  • Selection of the most appropriate technique
  • After- care
  • Growth stimulation
  • Improving strike rates
  • Equipment
  • Types of cuttings
  • ‎Softwood cuttings
  • Semi-hardwood cuttings
  • Hardwood cuttings
  • Variations on cuttings
  • Herbaceous cutting
  • Tip, heel and nodal cuttings
  • Basal and cane cuttings
  • Rooting
Unit 3 – Non-Stem Cuttings
  • Leaf cuttings
  • Leaf bud cuttings
  • Examples of leaf-bud cuttings
  • Root cuttings
  • Stock plants for root cuttings
  • Bulb cuttings
  • Scaling
  • Twin scaling
  • Sectioning
  • Basal cuttage
  • Where to cut bulb cuttings
Unit 4 – Materials and Equipment
  • Selecting and planting stock plants
  • Criteria for selecting plants
  • Treatment of stock plants throughout the year
  • Disinfecting cutting material
  • Sources of hypochlorite
  • Propagation tools and equipment
  • Design
  • Deciding on what you will need
  • Rent, lease or buy?
  • Secateurs and knives
  • Rules for when using tools
  • General maintenance of tools and equipment
  • How to maintain tools
  • How to manually handle objects in the nursery
  • Plant containers – what’s in a pot?
  • Comparing materials
  • Controlling pests and diseases in the nursery
  • Hygiene and sanitation
  • Plant health
  • Insects
  • Diseases and viruses
  • Biological control of pests and diseases
  • Chemical controls
  • Nursery weed control
  • Non chemical weed control
  • Weed control in greenhouses
  • Golden rules for using chemicals
  • Keeping records
  • What information should you keep?
Unit 5 - Growing Media
  • Propagating media
  • Physical support
  • Air-filled porosity
  • Determining air space
  • Chemical and biological properties
  • Adjusting pH
  • Components of media
  • Mixes/substrates for striking cuttings
  • Conservation issues – peat moss
  • Rockwool propagation
  • Using fertilisers in propagation mixes
  • Potting up cuttings
  • Potting media
  • Make quality potting mix
  • Soilless mixes
  • Components of potting mixes
  • Choosing growing media
  • Fertilisers in growing media
  • Choosing the right fertiliser
  • Solubility of fertilisers
  • Application rates
  • Other factors affecting fertiliser application
  • Application of liquid fertilisers
  • Salinity problems with fertilisers
  • Cation exchange capacity
  • Conductivity
  • Test for toxins in potting mixes
  • Quantities of potting soils
  • Different mixes for different situations
  • Problems with using organic materials in propagating and potting media
  • The other options
Unit 6 - Factors Affecting Rooting
  • Why do cuttings form roots?
  • Juvenility
  • Cutting treatments
  • Hormone treatment
  • Applying hormones
  • A general guide
  • Other chemical treatments
  • Fungicides
  • Anti-transpirants
  • Disinfectants
  • Acid/base treatments
  • Non-chemical treatments
  • Wounding and callusing
  • Other treatments to improve cutting success
  • Mycorrhizae
  • Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza
  • Some plants are not mycorrhizal
  • Carbon dioxide enrichment
Unit 7 - Setting up a Propagation Area
  • The best cutting environment
  • General requirements
  • The propagation area
  • Chemical storage
  • Drainage network
  • Environmental factors which affect photosynthesis
  • Light
  • Carbon dioxide concentration
  • Temperature
  • Water balance
  • Leaf age
  • Environmental history
  • Types of greenhouses and other growing structures
  • A cloche
  • A cold frame
  • Heated propagators
  • Greenhouses
  • Choosing a greenhouse
  • Framing materials
  • Covering materials
  • Benching
  • Temperature and the link to species choice
  • Problems with greenhouses
  • Shade-houses
  • Heating controls
  • Bottom heat
  • Managing water for cuttings
  • Capillary systems
  • Misting systems
  • Fogging systems
  • Overhead watering
  • Automated systems
  • Automation
  • The nursery site
  • Size, site characteristics and location
Unit 8 - Management of Cutting Crops
  • What can be done about such variables?
  • General management tasks
  • Managing water
  • Protection from dehydration (water stress)
  • Managing pests & diseases
  • Managing temperature
  • Managing light
  • Managing air quality
  • Keeping records in propagation
  • What to record
  • Daily propagation record sheet
  • Efficiencies in cutting production
  • Quality of work
  • Selection of the most appropriate technique
  • Aftercare
  • Growth stimulation
  • Cost of materials used
  • Labour cost
  • Success rate
  • Example of estimating cost of cutting production
  • Other management tasks
  • Managing people
  • Employee responsibilities
  • Work scheduling
  • Propagation aftercare
  • Hardening-off methods
  • Problems associated with incorrect hardening-off:
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Estimated Duration
50 hours
Course Delivery and Start
Start anytime, self-paced and 100% online
Assessment

Assessment will be comprised of written exercises, including short-answer questions, reflective tasks, short reports and/or projects. There are no examinations or due dates for assessment. As a result, you can complete training in your own time and at your own pace with the assistance of unlimited tutor support.

Career Outcomes

Professional Development for:

  • Retailer – Nursery
  • Wholesaler – Nursery
  • Gardener
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Certificate of Cutting Propagation
$599.00
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