Knowing how to propagate a range of plants from well taken and processed cuttings is a particularly valued skill in today’s nursery industry, and while no course alone is going to make you into an exceptional propagator, this training provides a necessary foundation needed to build these skills.

• A skill in high demand worldwide.
• Learn what to propagate and how to achieve a high rate of success.
• Learn to be economically viable in your propagation.
• A highly desirable course for anyone working in the plant production industry.

Study this course to develop a well rounded understanding of what affects the success of cutting propagation, and how to improve your results, whatever level or scope of operation you are working at.

Course Aims:

• To familiarise the student with the principles of propagating plants by cuttings
• To develop an understanding of how to propagate plants from stem cuttings
• To develop an understanding of how to propagate plants from non-stem cuttings
• To develop an understanding of the materials and equipment used for propagating plants from stems
• To understand the principles of growing media in relation to cutting propagation
• To understand how and why cuttings form roots. To learn how to manipulate the formation of roots on cuttings
• To understand the principles for establishing successful plant propagation areas
• To understand the principles of nursery crop scheduling

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction.
   • The principles of propagating plants by cuttings
   • Importance of cuttings
   • Phenotype vs genotype
   • Why choose cutting propagation
   • Where to get cuttings from
   • Basic cutting technique.
2. Stem cuttings
   • Ease with which tissue forms roots
   • Types of stem cuttings (softwood, hardwood, semi hardwood, herbaceous, tip, heel, nodal, cane etc)
   • Treatments (eg. basal heat, mist, tent, etc)
   • Testing rooting success
3. Non-stem cuttings
   • Leaf cuttings
   • Root cuttings (natural suckering with or without division, Induced suckering, In situ whole root cuttings; ex situ detached root cuttings)
   • Bulb cuttings, scaling and twin scaling, sectioning, basal cuttage.
4. Materials and equipment
   • Selection and maintenance of stock plants
   • Disinfecting cutting material
5. Growing media
   • Propagation media
   • Biological, chemical and physical characteristics of propagation and potting media
   • Testing for toxins
   • Air filled porosity
   • Potting up cuttings
   • Soil-less mixes, rockwool, etc.
6. Factors affecting rooting
   • Juvenility
   • Cutting Treatments
   • Hormones & their application
   • Anti transparents
   • Acid/base treatments
   • Disinfectants
   • Callusing
   • Mycorrhizae
   • Carbon Dioxide enrichment, etc.
7. Setting up a propagation area
   • Creating and managing an appropriate cutting environment in terms of: Water; Disease; Temperature; Light and Air Quality
   • Greenhouses and other structures
   • Watering methods (mist, fog, capillary etc)
   • Heating, etc.
8. Management of cutting crops
   • Estimating cost of production
   • Keeping records, etc.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

When you have completed the lessons of your Certificate course, you will be given the option of taking the optional exam. It’s okay if you don’t want the exam, we still issue your Careerline Certificate. For Advanced Certificates however, the exam is compulsory (per module) and are included in the course fee.