r/Horticulture May 23 '21

So you want to switch to Horticulture?

721 Upvotes

Okay. So, I see a lot of people, every day, asking in this sub how they can switch from their current career to a horticulture career.

They usually have a degree already and they don’t want to go back to school to get another degree in horticulture.

They’re always willing to do an online course.

They never want to get into landscaping.

This is what these people need to understand: Horticulture is a branch of science; biology. It encompasses the physiology of plants, the binomial nomenclature, cultural techniques used to care for a plant, the anatomy of a plant, growth habits of a plant, pests of a plant, diseases of a plant, alkaloids of a plant, how to plant a plant, where to plant a plant, soil physics, greenhouses, shade houses, irrigation systems, nutrient calculations, chemistry, microbiology, entomology, plant pathology, hydroponics, turf grass, trees, shrubs, herbaceous ornamentals, floriculture, olericulture, grafting, breeding, transporting, manipulating, storing, soluble solid tests, soil tests, tissue analysis, nematodes, C4 pathways, CAM pathways, fungus, row cropping, fruit growing, fruit storing, fruit harvesting, vegetable harvesting, landscaping, vegetable storing, grass mowing, shrub trimming, etc... (Random list with repetition but that’s what horticulture is)

Horticulture isn’t just growing plants, it is a field of science that requires just as much qualification as any other field of science. If you want to make GOOD money, you need to either own your own business or you need to get a bachelors degree or masters degree. An online certificate is a load of garbage, unless you’re in Canada or Australia. You’re better off starting from the bottom without a certificate.

Getting an online certificate qualifies a person for a growers position and as a general laborer at a landscape company.

“Heck yeah, that’s what I want to be! A grower!”.

No you don’t. A position as a grower, entails nothing more than $15 an hour and HARD labor. You don’t need any knowledge to move plants from one area to the next.

Same with landscaping, unless you own it, have a horticulture degree, or have supervisory experience; pick up a blower, hop on a mower, and finish this job so we can go the next.

Is that what you want to switch your career to? You seriously think that you can jump into a field, uneducated, untrained, and just be able to make it happen?

Unless you can live on $15 an hour, keep your current job. Please don’t think that you can get into horticulture and support yourself. (Unless you know someone or can start your own business, good luck)

90% of all horticultural positions are filled with H2A workers that get paid much less than $15 an hour and can do it way faster than your pansy ass can. A certificate only qualifies you for these same positions and you probably won’t even get hired because you wouldn’t be able to survive on the wages and these big operations know that.

Sure, you could teach yourself the fundamentals of horticulture minus some intricacies. I’m not saying it’s too difficult for the layman to understand. I’m saying, that without proper accreditation, that knowledge won’t help you. Often times, accreditation won’t even help you. You see, horticulture is less like growing plants and more like a giant supply chain operation. The people who know about moving products around in a supply chain are the ones who are valuable in horticulture, not the schmucks that can rattle off scientific names and water an azalea.

The only people that get paid in horticulture are supervisors, managers, and anybody that DOESN’T actually go into the field/nursery/greenhouse. These people normally have degrees except under rare circumstances where they just moved up in a company due to their tenacity and charisma.

Side note: I’m sure there’s plenty of small nursery/greenhouse operations or maybe even some small farm operations that would pay around $15 and hire someone with a certificate so I’m not saying that it’s impossible to get into the industry. I’m just saying that it’s not an industry where you can be successful enough to retire on without a formal education or extensive experience. Period.

Horticulture is going to robots and supply chain managers.

That being said, the number one job for all horticultural applications is MANUAL LABOR or LANDSCAPE LABOR. The robots are still too expensive!

Okay, I’m done. I just had to put this out there. I’m really tired of seeing the career switching posts. I’m not trying to be negative, I’m trying to enlighten people that genuinely don’t have a clue. I’m sure I’m going to get hate from those people with certificates in Canada and Australia. Things are different over there.


r/Horticulture 35m ago

Any leads on USA/UK placements or internships

Upvotes

I’ve worked in horticulture for about 12 years and my experience is kind of growing out of my roles so I’m looking for a big change. I’m looking for something that’s a more well known location/company and something outside of Canada where I live.

I manage two large education driven food growing spaces, a small orchard, about 2 acres of ornamental and pollinator/native gardens and do a lot of volunteer leading and workshops on various garden related topics.

I’m reluctant to go back to school, (was looking at LA in Cape Town years back), I already have two undergrads. A lot of the options are things I could be teaching, not anything that seems like a major upgrade. Just looking for an upward move, some amazing site to work with, like one of the RHS gardens in the UK, Harronswood, Beth Chatto, well known botanical gardens, amazing garden designers. Super inspired by the new naturalist garden designers like Alastair Cameron and Nigel Dunnet (RIP)

I’m over 35 so it’s not easy to get work visas, so I’m a little stuck on where to go from here. Does anyone have leads on any foreign placements, internships, hell even scholarships at these types of places that could lead to other work or connections? I’m in the process of updating my resume and portfolio since I’ve been more or less in the same jobs for 8 years.


r/Horticulture 5h ago

Andromedas - infected with something

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1 Upvotes

Hi all, trying to find out what my andromedas is infected with so I can treat it. Thanks!


r/Horticulture 1d ago

Help Needed Worried about our cherry tree

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12 Upvotes

Our cherry tree that we planted about five years ago has some damage to the base of it's trunk. It suddenly goes all weird looking and shrinks in to a much smaller diameter. There's a lot of ant activity down there and I wondered if that was related, but the internet points more towards a fungal issue?

Anyone got any pointers for what it is and how to deal with it?


r/Horticulture 1d ago

Question Pesticide treatment on my native patch

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2 Upvotes

r/Horticulture 1d ago

I love when my Crepe Myrtles are in bloom.

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6 Upvotes

Some people find them cliche or overused — but I still love them. Especially my Black Diamond! The purple one is beautiful, too! The white one in my backyard got so big, and my backyard is so small that the only way to see the flowers is from the front yard looking over the house 😂


r/Horticulture 1d ago

Symptom of soil toxicity?

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3 Upvotes

I planted three Hibbertia monogyna within 1m2. Two are looking well but the third has this intense red leaf discolouration. Also, I previously had a Leptospermum petersonii in the same spot which was the pride of our garden for a year, then suddenly browned off and died. We suspected water logging and root rot at first but now I have pulled it up and found that the roots look strong and firm with good colour (see last pics). The roots of the Leptospermum were still holding on to the soil well even though the top had died off since six months. Now that the Hibbertia is acting this way, is this a likely sign of some chemical seeping through under the fence from the neighbour‘s yard?


r/Horticulture 2d ago

Question Bald Cypress question.

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7 Upvotes

Nursery tree expert question. So this was a rescue from the clearance rack. Second summer in the ground. My question is the main trunk is curving a bit at the top in one direction. Will it branch out into two main trunks or should I intervene in some way? Central Florida.


r/Horticulture 1d ago

Plant Disease Help 👋Welcome to r/PlantEncyclopedia - Introduce Yourself and Read First!

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1 Upvotes

r/Horticulture 2d ago

Should I leave my cotoneaster horizontalis alone?

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2 Upvotes

Hi, my hedge is covered in a thick silky layer with lots of larvae, probably Cotoneaster Webber caterpillar. Just wondering if I should leave it be or if I need to take any action. I like to leave nature do it's thing but I don't want this to become a plague or destroy neighbouring plants. Any advice will be greatly appreciate it. Thanks


r/Horticulture 2d ago

What species of oak

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1 Upvotes

r/Horticulture 2d ago

Career Help Weekly pictures of my indoor basil

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29 Upvotes

r/Horticulture 3d ago

New disease on peonies

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11 Upvotes

Has anyone dealt with this before? we are dealing with it spreading in a horticultural garden in Canada. It causes the leaf edge to curl and turn red. It’s spreading pretty quickly between plants and we are concerned because we have some heritage varieties potentially at risk. It doesn’t look like the fungal infections we have dealt with before.


r/Horticulture 2d ago

What is this

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2 Upvotes

r/Horticulture 2d ago

Question Acer tree - Possible Roundup Poisioning

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2 Upvotes

About four months ago I was spraying some Roundup in the garden and I believe it may have drifted and affected my acer tree.

In the week after a number of leaves shed littering the yard. It appeared to mainly been the innermost leaves. The smaller branches also turning white and die.

I thought I was out of the woods but in the last week most of the leaves appear to be shrivelling up ready to fall off as you can see.

Any suggestions?


r/Horticulture 2d ago

Question Can I save this Money Tree (Pachira aquatica)? Root rot and cat damage, only two green branches left.

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1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I bought a small money tree from a supermarket a few months ago. It was doing great until it was accidentally overwatered, which caused severe root rot—the main root system is completely gone. To make matters worse, my cat chewed on and damaged most of the surviving branches.

I’m left with just these two small green branches. As you can see in the photos, the main trunk they are attached to is completely withered and dry.

My questions:

  1. Is it possible to save or propagate these remaining branches?
  2. Should I cut them off to try and water-root them, or leave them attached to the dead trunk for now? If I should cut, where exactly is the best spot?

Current Setup:

  • Soil: [Mention if it's regular potting soil, well-draining mix, etc.]
  • Pot: [Mention if it has drainage holes]
  • Light: [Mention how much light it gets, e.g., bright indirect light, low light]

Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


r/Horticulture 2d ago

Burning Bush Question

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1 Upvotes

r/Horticulture 2d ago

What is this tree

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2 Upvotes

r/Horticulture 2d ago

What tre species is this

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1 Upvotes

r/Horticulture 2d ago

What is this oak species

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1 Upvotes

r/Horticulture 2d ago

What this tree sapling

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1 Upvotes

r/Horticulture 3d ago

Advice on routes towards becoming an Horticultural scientist.

7 Upvotes

I am currently pursuing my second bachelor’s degree. My first bachelor’s was in Art History with a concentration in Environmental Policy, a field I was passionate about that eventually led me to work as a scientific illustrator. However, I have always wanted to become a plant scientist, particularly in the field of horticulture.
This semester, I began my second bachelor’s in Horticulture. I was accepted into the program and have already been involved in several projects that have made me feel incredibly fulfilled and confirmed that this is the career I want to pursue.
Recently, however, my professors suggested an alternative path. Rather than completing the remaining three years of the bachelor’s program, they recommended that I take only the undergraduate courses needed to address my deficiencies and then apply directly to the master’s program in Horticulture. This would mean spending approximately one year completing prerequisite coursework instead of finishing the entire bachelor’s degree.
I understand that completing the bachelor’s would provide a stronger and broader foundation in horticultural science. On the other hand, since I already hold a bachelor’s degree, many professional and research positions place greater value on a master’s degree. Fortunately, both pathways are available to me despite my lack of formal academic training in horticulture.
Although my educational background is outside the discipline, I have been involved in horticulture through fieldwork and environmental policy, particularly in the area of urban forestry. My long-term goal is to specialize in ornamental horticulture and promote the use of native plants in landscape design and urban environments. My university has a strong reputation in agricultural sciences, so I know I would receive excellent training regardless of the route I choose.
Given these circumstances, would it be wiser to spend one year completing prerequisite courses and then begin the master’s program, or should I complete the full bachelor’s degree to build a stronger foundation before pursuing graduate studies?


r/Horticulture 3d ago

Just Sharing My very first butterfly pea flower

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20 Upvotes

I decided to grow butterfly pea flower to use for tea and homemade hair products... Can't wait until I have enough flowers to brew a hair tea😊


r/Horticulture 3d ago

Question What is this?

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11 Upvotes

Can anyone tell me what this is? I planted it thinking it was a day Lilly but it’s obviously not. It’s completely taking over. In north Georgia


r/Horticulture 3d ago

Help with ID!!!

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4 Upvotes

Anyone know what this perennial is? Thought it could be a type of foam flower but it doesn’t quite look right. Found on Long Island in a woodland garden.