Penn State Extension adds new plant ID courses

Penn State Extension offers two new landscape workforce development online courses to its library of green industry professional development courses.

The two new online courses, “Plant Identification and Usage: Vines” and “Plant Identification and Usage: Groundcovers” are designed for landscapers and horticulture professionals.

In the course “Plant Identification and Usage: Groundcovers,” landscapers learn to identify the most important genera and species of groundcovers used in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, the cultural requirements of groundcovers, common insect and disease problems, basic pruning requirements and timing and how to select groundcovers with resistance to common problems.

In “Plant Identification and Usage: Vines,” participants learn identification features of climbing vines of the Northeast and understand their botanical names and landscape usage, cultural requirements of vines, the use of climbing vines and the basics of common insect and disease problems associated with vines.

Both courses qualify for Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist (PCH) continuing education units (CEUs). These courses are ideal for people seeking employment in landscape design, installation and maintenance and landscape businesses that want to provide additional training to experienced employees.