Horticulture & Gardening Courses & Certificates

Lay the foundation to succeed in the landscape industry.

Founded in 1974 by world-renowned botanist Dr. Mildred E. Mathias, UCLA Extension’s Horticulture & Gardening program has a long history of excellence.

The Horticulture Certificate provides a solid foundation in plant biology, soil health, plant identification, and horticultural care. And our three specializations, Arboriculture, Gardening, and Plants for the Landscape, give you skills you can learn and apply immediately.

If you're looking for a career in the “green” industry, we have a robust series of offerings that can help further your goals.

Our programs are comprehensive, with courses that combine environmental stewardship with the art and science of horticulture.

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New! UCLA Extension's Horticultural Therapy course series, approved by the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA), equips you with the skills to implement evidence-based techniques in specialized treatment and wellness care settings. Learn More.

Horticulture & Gardening

Courses

Introduction to Irrigation Practices

Students are introduced to various irrigation components, hydraulic concepts, irrigation design techniques and scheduling approaches.

Management of Urban Trees

Core course in the Arboriculture Specialization. Focusing on recognized industry standards for care, protection, preservation and industry ethics, leading to certification.

Plant Materials for Landscape Use

This course focuses on plants appropriate for use in Southern California. Students learn plant names, both common and scientific, cultural requirements and proper placement within the landscape. The class uses local botanical gardens and nurseries to introduce students to over 150 plants.

Plant Propagation for Gardeners

This course covers the fundamental tools and processes used in plant propagation. Students will learn a variety of techniques to propagate plants.

Plant Taxonomy and Identification

This course introduces students to the tools needed for navigating and identifying the diverse kingdom of plants.

What our students are saying.

Horticulture Certificate — Turning Challenges into Career Success - YouTube

(00:07)
- Being an immigrant, it's really hard to believe that you can create a career out of anything. believe that you can create a career out of anything. Becoming a gardener was out of necessity, more than “I love it.” I don't remember a time when I wasn't doing something with gardens. The program really gave me that structure to become a professional in something that I absolutely love doing.
(00:31)
- So I've been gardening for about 15 years and it was difficult to commit to a program because I thought that I knew everything that I needed to know in gardening. But joining the program, every single class, every step that's taken on the guided path of the program, it taught me so much. I was honestly surprised about the information that you can acquire with the professors, the books that are recommended and also as a community.
(01:00)
- In the landscape industry, being able to create documents related to a garden, the status of plants, trees, their health, the health of the soils, it gives me authority to be able to competently talk to the clients and be able to help them in that way. The next step, I'm already doing amazing jobs. Two, three, four, five, ten acre properties.
(01:27)
- So it's — on horticulture — I am doing what I want to do. The next step is the landscape architecture program at UCLA Extension. In the future, it's going to be me, rock and rolls, landscape architecture.

J. Michael Baer Horticulture Scholarship

Students pursuing the Horticulture Certificate with demonstrated financial need are encouraged to apply.

Application deadline: January 15th of every year

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Horticulture & Gardening