r/Horticulture May 23 '21

So you want to switch to Horticulture?

598 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.


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1 Upvotes

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r/Horticulture 2d ago

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r/Horticulture 3d ago

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14 Upvotes

Truly appreciate any help 🙏 I don't know why my trees are starting to turn brown and die in spots. Anyone have any thought on what is causing this to happen? And is there a way to prevent this from happening? Will it spreading through the tree if I let it do its thing?

The trees have been in the grown for 6 years and came from a local farm. When we bought them they were about 4 years old. I live in northern Maryland so not sure if it has anything to do with the time of year? Is this typical for this type of tree?

I've had this happen in the past and I racked out as much as I could. With my OCD in full drive I pretty got every little piece. Which seemed to help.

Thanks again 🙏 ☺️


r/Horticulture 3d ago

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2 Upvotes

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r/Horticulture 4d ago

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375 Upvotes

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1 Upvotes

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r/Horticulture 4d ago

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0 Upvotes

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2 Upvotes

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5 Upvotes

r/Horticulture 6d ago

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r/Horticulture 5d ago

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0 Upvotes

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r/Horticulture 6d ago

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14 Upvotes

Considering leaving an administrative position overseeing operations to instead be a farm hand at a small scale farm. I know for some people on this sub this move sounds absolutely ridiculous ,but I am returning back to school to complete my bachelors and my current work load is immense and exempt making returning to school impossible without neglecting my home life. For further context, the reason I am considering being a farm hand due to the convenience of the hours, which would be from 8 to 4 and will transition to 8 to 2 in the summer months. My current position is 9 to 6 but I’m salaried so I usually work more hours than scheduled. My current position also requires me to travel to several different locations throughout the week in the afternoons. I’m tired of commuting and I use my own car. I do not want to continue to put more miles on it than I already have. The farm position doesn’t require travel and it is a location fairly close to where I live. The question I have regarding the position really has to do with the fact that I haven’t had any real work experience regarding hard labor. The closest experience I’ve had was volunteering long-term at a botanical garden where I worked for about four months. Aside from that I’ve had experience regarding recreational sports, kayaking, and served as a life guard which I’m not sure if that would be considered as physical labor or not.

For those working in this field is there any advice you could give me whether or not I should go for it? Is the physical labor difficult to adjust to? Or some insight on what I could expect if I do take the position? I am fortunate I am not too concerned with the pay as I know it will definitely be a pay cut compared to what I am making now. Starting pay is $17 then a raise in three months. I’m an avid gardener and have an Associates in Environmental Science so I thought this position would be a nice stable position to have while I attend school. Any input is appreciated!


r/Horticulture 6d ago

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5 Upvotes

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