Any profs?

[Than]

Just out of curiosity, I was wondering if there are among us any professional horticulturalists, botanists etc; or are we all palmssionate amateurs.  Would be interesting to know your background guys, what you studied, where you work etc.

I hope this post doesn't violate any regulations.

[flplantguy]

I have a degree in horticulture and an arborist certification. I have been a plant person since i can remember so its a bit of both. For me personally its my lifeline in a world i dont care for too much sometimes.  This place on some days is my connection to what we as people should be, and that is far more powerful than any professional certification or degree.  That passion for plants here is far more valuable in my day to day life and keeping me working at my job. Its not a happy one but its necesary to stop the damage we see from getting worse, and this place makes me feel better after a long day. I have learned more from people who DO in their life like those on here, less so than those that do other work sometimes, even in the field.

[hbernstein]

I'm the Horticulturist at Pinecrest Gardens. Essentially, I'm responsible for the 12 acre historical landscape. Most of my horticultural career has been curatorial, either developing or maintaining plant collections at various public and non-profit gardens: Montgomery, Fairchild, San Diego B.G., the Chicago Park District. I have a deep interest in tropical species, but am a strong advocate for all native plants and their environmental communities. I respect good landscape design, and attempt to make people more aware of what is involved in its creation and maintenance.

 Basically, I am passionate about biodiversity, and slipped into all of this from a personal desire to do something that makes people happy, allows latitude in choices and creativity, and that's not too injurious to the world. Not the most remunerative of careers, but good enough.

Edited June 6, 2023 by hbernstein
grammar correction

[tinman10101]

I am in no way accredited like those above but can say i prefer the company of plants to most people and have and continue to learn from them everyday.  I am blown away by nature and once wished that plants could talk but finding out their secrets as they stay muted is probably the most fun of all, although sometimes very frustrating.  

i also echo that meeting people on this forum that have the same respect and passion has been just as rewarding.  there is no fun having a rare or precious plant if one cannot sit and share your opinions with other people with the same interest.  i sincerely learn a lot from many of these threads as opposed to social media where it seems it is more about "i have one but mine is bigger" or "i have one that you dont have" posts.  in any case, palmtalk is my go to site for knowledge and just pleasant and constructive conversations.  

ps my background is in no way related and current job is only a means to this end.  🤣

[Josue Diaz]

I'm an accountant by day, and a Master Gardener through UC Davis by night. And generally a plant person all the time. 

[DDavid]

Yes. Well I hope I'm allowed to share on this topic as do have years experience of shipping plants, live transplanting, arborist etc. Don't tend to share much about my work as I'd rather keep it private. Here goes. I used to export live Phoenix's from Central/South America to the Far East via 40 HC on dry bulk ships. Would handle all the picking of every tree that gets sent out to the buyers and we've planted in many countries over the years. With all this I've seen and dealt with many rare varieties from Phoenix, Pindo, Wash's, cacti to ceibas, baobabs and so on.  After a while I do have to say sometimes it has gotten dull for me. The thrill of discovering something new though does bring me back. Wouldn't trade this for anything. 

The knowledge of some of the people I have worked with over the years in these areas is fascinating. Will never stop learning as there is always something new in this 'field.' Especially funny enough from the workers that come from nothing. They know more than many "tree" experts here in the States. They truly know what it means to eat drink and plant palms.

Appreciate you making this post! Would also love to hear of anyone else that has experience in the past or currently in this business/field. It is a very interesting subject that few do and many can appreciate. PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY! Thank you!

 

God Bless

David

[Than]

Cool to see we do have some Carlos Magdalenas among us! 

Personally I am just an amateur driven by my fascination with lush tropical forests and my 6 years of actually living in a tropical country. I have been into plants since little (I am not a byproduct of the late instagram plant craze!)

I was wondering if there are any online horticultural courses you guys know of? Not a real Bachelor's degree! For that I wouldn't have the time, energy or funds. More like an online course; could be from a university, some institution or even some knowledgeable YouTuber! I am already taking some courses on Coursera and Udemy but haven't found much on plant pathology, which is the most useful bit for me. Being able to understand what's wrong with my plant.

Edited June 12, 2023 by ego

[Absquatulate]

I hold a horticulture degree and possess certification as an arborist. My affinity for plants has been ingrained in me from a young age, making it a significant part of who I am. Personally, it serves as a lifeline for me, especially in a world that I don't always resonate with...

[Absquatulate]

On 6/25/2023 at 4:12 PM, Absquatulate said:

I hold a horticulture degree and possess certification as an arborist. My affinity for plants has been ingrained in me from a young age, making it a significant part of who I am. Personally, it serves as a lifeline for me, especially in a world that I don't always resonate with... This source https://assignmentbro.com/us/buy-assignment helped me a lot while I studied.

Btw the reason why you thought there are no professionals with a degree is that these people are working on absolute others unrelated to their degrees professions. Unfortunately...

[Cindy Adair]

Interesting topic and posts. I look forward to more here.
 

I don’t have any formal training in horticulture or botany, making PalmTalk all the more valuable. 

I do know that there are many people who post here with degrees of all sorts and jobs at nurseries and botanical gardens plus many like me who really appreciate everyone’s comments and photos no matter their gateway into palms.

 

[Tyrone]

I am a horticulturist and used to run my own landscape business. I now work in another unrelated industry. Horticulture is my passion. My current job pays the bills. 

[Gottagrowemall]

I have no certifications outside of my nursery license by the department of ag in Florida. I would consider myself an expert in clumping bamboo and common/popular palms for landscaping in north central FL. I have a lot of knowledge on tropicals that are extremely common in landscapes. I also collect mango trees and grow them in containers so I have a fair bit of knowledge on mangos too

[NicholasTolley]

Interesting topic and posts. 

[lesliestone]

I'm definitely not a professional horticulturalist or botanist, but I am a passionate landscaper. Been working in the field for 12 years now and I love it. I started out with just helping my dad with his yard work, and that turned into a summer job in high school, and then next thing I knew I was hooked.

Never stopped learning though! There's always something new to pick up in this line of work, from new plant varieties to the latest tools and techniques. I'm actually thinking about taking some courses this winter to brush up on my skills. Maybe even snag a certification or two. You never know, might open some doors for starting my own landscaping business.

Speaking of which, have you seen all the landscaper jobs on Aroundwire floating around lately? Seems like the market is booming! Maybe there's an opening for a fellow plant person out there!

[RichardHemsley]

I studied horticulture at college many years,  and worked for around 20 years in the trade.

Tried to retire when I moved to Spain, but still seem to be working part time despite my best efforts to give up.

[SeanK]

I am an engineer who has lost many a tender plant to ice storms on the I85 corridor between CLT and ATL. Been killing palms for 25 years.

My interest is primarily as landscape subjects, rather than as a collector or for zone pushing.

[meridannight]

I majored in aircraft piloting and architecture in college. Yes, two different majors at two different colleges.

I've studied botany on my own (by reading actual science and botanical textbooks, because fiction bores me) and everything i know about plants, I've taught myself. I've developed a very strong passion for growing plants and I'm 'specializing' more on growing species from seed. I have a small venture selling plants at the moment, which I'm hoping to turn into an official business in the future. 

[Foggy Paul]

I’m an architect and so of course interact with LA’s all the time. But I’ve been a plant nut for a while. While in college I had some free hours so I took the plant ID course for a year. I was at Oregon and realized I couldn’t tell an oak from a maple. I can now 😀

[Than]

Interesting to know more about everyone here. 

Perhaps I should also tell you about myself: I am not a professional horticulturalist or botanist; my first degree was in Dentistry and the second in Linguistics. I love plants since I was little, in the 90s, and I am proud I was in the field before Instagram 😁 or even the Internet! I love tropical plants in general, plants that remind me of places I have visited or lived at, not only palms. Slowly growing a green thumb..