Courses
INTERIOR PLANTS BHT315
This is a course equally applicable to the professional interior plantscaper or the home owner (or interior decorator) who aspires to achieve the very best results with their indoor plants. You will learn about the main family groups indoor plants fall into, the cultural requirements and general characteristics of each of those groups, and from there develop the ability to select the right plant for the right situation. Many types of growing methods are covered (in pots, baskets, hydroponics, terrariums, greenhouses), as well as soil mixes, propagation, pest control, feeding and lots more.
Fee Code: S2
ORCHID CULTURE BHT232
Get the broad picture of what orchids are all about and learn how to improve your results and grow flowers which will be the envy of all who see them.
This comprehensive eight lesson course covers the following:
1. Introduction - classification, identification, plant structure.
2. Culture - potting mixes, watering, feeding, temperature, light, etc.
3. Propagation - seed, division, cuttings, tissue culture.
4. Cymbidiums And Dendrobiums.
5. Cattleyas, Vandas And Other Commonly Grown Orchids.
6. Australian Native Orchids.
7. Growing Orchids As Cut Flowers, Baskets, Epiphytes, Greenhouse Culture, etc.
8. Special Project On One Group Of Orchids.
Fee Code: S2
PALMS & CYCADS BHT233
An eight lesson course covering the following:
1. Introduction - identification, general characteristics of palms & cycads.
2. Culture.
3. Propagation.
4. Commonly Grown Palms & Cycads (e.g. Washingtonia, Phoenix, Howea, Macrozamia.
5. Cold Tolerant Palms & Cycads - suitable species and techniques for protection.
6. Pests & Diseases Of Palms & Cycads.
7. Using Palms & Cycads - growing indoors, landscaping with palms.
8. Special In-depth Study Of One Group.
Fee Code: S2
Information
TROPICAL GARDENING IS DIFFERENT!Building a garden sometimes requires a slightly different approach in a warm climate. Heat tends to affect both what is built and the person doing the work. Here are just a few hints:
-Don't over exert yourself, drink lots of water, use a sun screen and protective clothing (eg: hat, long sleeved shirt), and do the heavy work early in the day when it is cooler. Use brains rather than brawn to do work. Levers, barrows, crow bars or machinery should be used wherever possible, rather than brute force.
-Don't work with chemicals when you're hot and sweaty. This is when you will absorb poisons and be most affected.
-Don't work with plants when it is too hot: the plants are more likely to suffer, and your skin is more likely to be affected by plant toxins (Note: Approx. one third of all plants contain chemicals which some people have a sensitivity to).
-Plants, turf, and seed dries out faster in warmer climates, so watch them more, and keep the water up.
-Extreme weather (heavier rain) can result in flash flooding; so you often need to make much more provision for drainage than in temperate climates. It is also a good idea to try and plan to do any earthworks at times when rainfall may be lower (eg: dry seasons) so that soils have a chance to consolidate, and plants establish, before heavy rains can disturb them.
-Higher humidity in warm climates can result in a greater susceptibility to disease, and a greater need for ventilation around susceptible plants.
-The lush conditions of the tropics often causes rapid growth of pests & diseases, so watch out!
Links
Stokes TropicalsBamboo AustraliaThe TropicsTexas Sub Tropical Agriculture Centre
More Horticultural Links
Books
NEW BOOK!
TREES & SHRUBS FOR WARM PLACES
by John Mason
Descriptions of more than 1200 cultivars grown throughout tropical Australia, Asia, America and the Pacific.
Publisher Hyland House. Available Now. For details Email John Mason on
>acsNOTE: The author, John Mason is currently preparing two more books for tropical gardening, to be published in 1999 by Kangaroo Press, and Hyland House.
Recommended Reading:
(available through Australian Newsagencies)
LANDSCAPING WITH FERNS, PALMS & ORCHIDS
(Australian Garden Guide Special Magazine)
Written by staff of the Australian Correspondence Schools
"TROPICAL & WARM CLIMATE GARDENING"Publisher: Bay Books (A division of Murdoch Books)
Written in 1993, published 1994; this full colour book covers design, construction and maintenance of gardens in the tropics and sub tropics. It has chapters dealing with shrubs, bulbs & perennials, vines & climbers, annuals, orchids & bromeliads, palms, cycads & ferns, water plants & cacti and succulents.
96 pages $12.95
Click here to go to our enrolment form and fees page
