Throughout this course you will learn to distinguish between the characteristics of different types of palms and cycads. Learn the general cultural practices required to grow palms and cycads including propagation and appropriate pest and disease treatments. Discover how to choose palms and cycads to suit different climatic situation; how to use them in the landscape and their various commercial applications.

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction
2. Culture
3. Propagation
4. Selecting Suitable Palms and Cycads
5. Pests & Diseases of Palms and Cycads
6. Using Palms and Cycads
7. Commercial Applications For Palms & Cycads
8. Special Assignment

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.

• Distinguish between the characteristics of different types of palms and cycads.
• Determine general cultural practices, including propagation, for growing palms and cycads.
• Choose palms and cycads to suit different climatic situations.
• Determine treatments for palms and cycads suffering various health problems.
• Specify appropriate landscape applications for palms and cycads.
• Explain different commercial applications for palms and cycads.

• Distinguish between different plant families, including:
  • Arecaceae
  • Zamiaceae
  • Cycadaceae.
• Distinguish between different major groups which the Arecaceae (Palmae) family is divided into.
• Compile a resource file of sources for information on palms and cycads.
• Prepare an herbarium collection of fifty palms and cycads.
• Explain two different ways to plant different specified palm or cycads plants.
• Compare growing palms in the ground with growing them in a pot as an indoor plant.
• Explain appropriate techniques for watering palms and cycads in a specified garden, or collection of container plants.
• Develop guidelines for preparing a specified soil for planting a palm in your locality.
• Make a potting media suitable for growing palms or cycads in a 300mm container.
• Evaluate the chemical analyses of five different types of fertiliser to determine their suitability for use on palm and cycad plants.
• Prepare a maintenance program for a palm plantation which, includes:
  • Soil management
  • Pest and disease control
  • Weed control
  • Pruning
  • Irrigation
  • A twelve month work schedule.
• Write a procedure for propagating palms or cycads.
• Summarise common causes for seed failure when propagating palms and cycads.
• Perform tasks associated with propagating a palm from seed, including collecting and germinating seed.