Arboriculture II (Intermediate) 100 Hours Certificate Course

There are 7 lessons:

1 Planting Techniques

• Soil
• Water
• Climate
• Maintenance
• Matching a tree to the site
• Local regulations
• Planting at the right time
• Planting techniques
• Plant size and age
• Container type
• Buying a tree
• How to plant a tree
• Watering method
• Transplanting a large tree
• Preparing for transplanting
• Aftercare
• Small feature trees
• Transplanting deciduous trees
• Pruning at planting
• Pocket planting
• Slope serratioin
• Wattling
• Planting on Arid sites
• Direct seeding
• Spray seeding
• Trees with berries

2 Controlling Plant Problems

• Temperature
• Frost
• Winds
• Acclimatisation
• Tree guards
• Other Tree Problems: Fire damage, Fire Resistant trees, pollution and toxic reactions, Soil contamination
• Treating foliage burn
• Soil rehabilitation
• Trees to extract soil contaminants
• Soil chemical composition
• Air pollution and tree growth
• Pollutant tolerant trees
• Pollution intolerant trees
• Trees to control Urban air pollution,
• Dry soils
• Symptoms of drought stressed trees
• Dry soil tolerant trees
• Trees for hot sites
• Drainage problems and trees
• Wet tolerant trees
• Tree health problems
• Resistant plant species
• Choosing and using pesticides safely
• Biological controls of pest and disease
• Life-cycles
• Tree termites
• Tree injections
• Tree nutrition and nutrition management
• Fertilisers

3 Strengthening Weak Trees

• Trimming
• Trimming techniques
• Adverse responses to trimming
• Thinning
• Bracing
• Temporary props
• Modern bracing systems
• Bolting
• Rodding technique
• Guy wires
• How strong is dead wood?
• Cabling

4 Controlling Damage Caused by Plants

• Tree damage
• Tree root problems,
• Trees that can cause problems with drains
• Orecautions with drains
• Selecting and using trees near drains
• Limiting root problems
• Root pruning
• Trees and the water table (Aquafiers)
• Trees and power lines
• Poisonous trees

5 Tree Felling and Stump Removal

• Tree evaluation systems
• Calculating tree value
• Tree removal
• Why remove a tree?
• Tree felling methods: Axe, Saws, Winches, Chain saw
• Controlling the fall
• Different methods or removing stumps
• Protecting trees
• National Tree registers
• Measuring tree height
• Keeping a work site safe: risk assessment, Duty of care,
• Costing jobs,

6 Tolerant Plant Species

• What to plant where
• Tree data required
• Influence of trees on buildings
• Species suitability
• Planning considerations
• Harsh environments
• Frost protection
• Frost resistant trees
• Sun protection
• Mulching
• Fencing
• Wind protection
• Wind tolerant trees
• Soil degradation
• Saline tolerant trees
• Lime tolerance
• Acid tolerance
• Hardy trees for inner city
• Review of several major genera (Aer, Fraxinus, Pinus, Quercus,

7 Establishing a Tree Plantation

• Windbreaks
• Windbreak design
• Choosing windbreak species
• Designing tree plantations
• Producing drawings to scale.

The quality of this course is second to none, from the in-depth learning you will get to the expert individual mentoring you will receive throughout your studies. The mentors for this course are:

Susan Stephenson
BSc in Applied Plant Biology (Botany) Univ. London 1983.
City and guilds: Garden Centre Management, Management and Interior Decor (1984)
Management qualifications in training with retail store. Diploma in Hort level 2 (RHS General) Distinction.

Susan Stephenson is a passionate and experienced horticulturist and garden designer. She has authored three books, lectures at 2 Further and Higher Education Colleges, teaching people of all ages and backgrounds about the wonders of plants and garden design, and tutors many students by correspondence from all over the world.

Susan studied botany at Royal Holloway College (Univ of London) and worked in the trading industry before returning to her first love plants and garden design. She is therefore, well placed to combine business knowledge with horticulture and design skills. Her experience is wide and varied and she has designed gardens for families and individuals. Susan is a mentor for garden designers who are just starting out, offering her support and advice and she also writes, delivers and assesses courses for colleges, introducing and encouraging people into horticulture and garden design.

In 2010, Susan authored a complete module for a Foundation degree (FDSC) in Arboriculture.

Susan holds the RHS General with Distinction. She continues to actively learn about horticulture and plants and (as her students will tell you) remains passionate and interested in design and horticulture.

Steven Whitaker

Diploma in Garden Design (Distinction) – The Blackford Centre, Gold Certificate of Achievement in Horticulture, Level 2 NVQ in Amenity Horticulture, Level 1 NOCN Introduction to Gardening, – Joseph Priestly College, BTEC Diploma in Hotel, Catering and Institutional Operations (Merit), Trainer Skills 1, & 2, Group trainer, Interview and Selection Skills – Kirby College of Further Education

Steven has a wealth of Horticultural knowledge, having ran his own Design and Build service, Landscaping company, and been a Head Gardener. His awards include five Gold awards at Leeds in Bloom, two Gold awards at Yorkshire in Bloom and The Yorkshire Rose Award for Permanent Landscaping. Steven has worked with TV’s Phil Spencer as his garden advisor on the Channel 4 TV Programme, “Secret Agent”.

He is qualified to Level 2 NVQ in Amenity Horticulture and has a Diploma in Garden Design which he passed with Distinction. Steven’s Tutor and Mentor was the Chelsea Flower Show Gold Award-winning Garden Designer, Tracy Foster. He also works for a major Horticultural Commercial Grower in the field of Propagation and Craft Gardening. Steven lives in Leeds where he is a Freelance Garden Designer and Garden Advice Consultant.