Learn More about Annuals

Many different annuals with spectacular flowers are cultivated specifically for the colour they can bring to a garden; as a bedding display, a container plant or a cut flower.

This course develops your familiarity with a wide variety of such plants, and improves your capacity to successfully grow them.

COURSE CONTENT

1.  Introduction

• Scope and Nature
• Naming Plants
• Species, hybrids, cultivars.
• Plant Families
• Pronouncing plant names
• Flower structure and basic botany
• Information sources
• Caring for Cut Flowers

2.  Culture

• selection of plants suited to the situation
• preparing a site (soils, cultivation etc)
• propagation
• planting
• mulching
• protecting and caring for establishing plants
• control of problems (eg. pests, diseases, weeds)

3.  Propagation

• Methods of propagating annuals.
• Seed sowing
• Pricking out seedlings
• Propagation of selected varieties of annuals.

4.  Hydroponics.

• Annuals in hydroponics
• How plants grow
• Different Hydroponic systems explained
• When and why to choose hydroponics
• Hydroponic techniques for selected annuals

5.  Pest and Disease

• Identifying problems (disease, pest, environmental, nutritional)
• Treating problems

6.  Irrigation

• Irrigation objectives
• Soil Moisture
• Maintaining water levels
• Watering
• When to irrigate
• Identifying over or under watering

7.  Greenhouse Management and Bedding

• Greenhouse design and construction
• Growing in a greenhouse
• Environmental factors that affect growth
• Controlling flower production
• Heating and cooling
• Flower Bed Layouts -pure and impure
• Types of plantings
• Bedding schemes
• Annuals with scent
• Annuals with colourful foliage
• Selecting annuals according to height
• Flower judging

8.  Harvest, Post Harvest & Quality.

• Harvesting flowers
• Flower deterioration
• Post harvest
• Shelf life
• Factors affecting post harvest life
• Post harvest treatments
• Grading standards
• Conditioning for market
• Packaging
• Harvesting specific annuals (snapdragon, Bellis, Carnation, Calendula, Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Larkspur, Delphinium, Cosmos, Gypsophila, Iberis, Marigold, Poppy, Statice, Stock, Sweet Pea, Violet)1.  Introduction

Course Duration  - 100 hours