Business Management
There are lots of things to consider if you’re about to start a landscaping business. Find all the information you need and more at Penn State Extension. Information includes tips on how to manage operations in the green industry, license and certification requirements, and courses in residential landscape design.
Landscaping Business Management
Landscaping is an exciting and rewarding Green Industry career. Penn State Extension has an extensive guide to help you get started. Running your own landscaping business is a continual learning curve, but there are always green industry professionals willing to share their knowledge and expertise at Green Industry Conferences.
There are rules and regulations to understand. For example, your business would need to comply with Pennsylvania pesticide laws. Your green industry business may need a registered technician if you plan to be making pesticide applications to land you do not own or lease.
Something else you need to think about is understanding how to inspect trees for hazards. You may need to contact a certified arborist to examine the tree. When you first start your landscaping business, estimating and bidding for landscape installations is a fundamental skill to learn. If you’re going to manage a community forest, a community tree inventory is crucial.
Landscaping Employee Training
An extensive range of employee training is available if you plan to have a team of professionals to help you in your green industry business. It’s possible to increase working tree and shrub knowledge and professional arborist skills by completing a four-day arborist short course.
Both beginner and seasonal employees can get training in reading landscape plans. Pruning skills are also essential for people working in a landscape business. Pruning can take place at ground level, but it may require special tree climbing skills. If you have to work at a height, safety is paramount. Personal protective equipment has to be used correctly.
If you create healthy soil for the plants in a landscape you’re helping them to grow well and be healthy. Even new lawn will grow better if it has good soil to grow from. Other essential factors include planting correctly, mulching, and watering efficiently. When plants in a landscape become damaged or diseased, being able to recognize the cause means you can find an appropriate remedy.
In this section, find resources and information on landscaping business management, employee training, and more.
- Articles
Making Sure Your Young Shade Trees Survive
Whether you just planted one tree or seventy five this spring, having a plan to care for them is key to their survival. - Articles
¿Qué licencia de pesticida necesita su empresa?
En Pensilvania, los profesionales relacionados con la industria agrícola, forestal y de jardinería que utilizan pesticidas deben conocer las leyes que regulan el uso de pesticidas en Pensilvania y saber cómo aplicarlas y cumplirlas. Esto incluye reconocer si se requiere una Certificación de Aplicador de Pesticidas (comúnmente conocida como Licencia de Pesticidas) y qué tipo y categoría de certificación deberá tener según el trabajo que realice. - Articles
Well-Trained Sales Staff Are Your Greatest Asset!
In my younger days, I used to work in the nursery yard in a large retail garden center in central Maryland. - Articles
Crop Insurance for Northeast Nursery Crops
Crop insurance is available nationwide and gives you the freedom to choose the level of coverage you need based on your own risk experiences and preferences. - Guides and Publications$7.50
Woodland Health Practices Field Guide
This quick-reference pocket field guide features assistance with implementing land-care practices that help meet landowner goals. Additionally, it offers information on improving woodland health, succession, and more. - Articles
Habilidades de Comunicación en su Operación Hortícola
La comunicación es un factor importante en la eficiencia de la operación de cualquier lugar de trabajo. - Online Courses
$59.00
Design Basics for Residential Landscapes
Sections 8Length 6 hoursLearn about landscape design, elements, planning, site assessment, cost estimates, regulatory requirements, sustainable practices, and plan execution. Earn PCH credits. - Guides and Publications$15.00
Woodland Health Practices Handbook: A Practitioner’s Guide for Creating, Enhancing, and Maintaining Natural Areas
This handbook outlines small-scale natural areas management services that green industry professionals, such as arborists and landscape architects, can adopt to expand the services their business offers. - Webinars
Free
Conducting Community Tree Inventories
When Watch NowLength 1 hourRecorded May 20, 2020Event Format On-Demand | RecordedKeeping an inventory of the community trees is important to them flourishing. - Online Courses
$19.00
Employee Landscape Training: Reading Landscape Plans
Sections 4Length 2 hoursThis course helps businesses train beginner and seasonal employees to read landscape plans in order to place hardscapes and plants in a landscape. Earn PCH credits. - Online Courses
$19.00
Employee Landscape Training: Pruning Basics
Sections 6Length 2 hours, 30 minutesThis course helps landscape businesses train beginner and seasonal employees in pruning trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants, and apply the skills at work. Earn PCH credits. - Online Courses
$19.00
Employee Landscape Training: Planting, Mulching, and Watering
Sections 2Length 1 hour, 30 minutesThis course helps landscape businesses train beginner and seasonal employees to inspect and handle nursery stock, dig, edge, mulch, water, and stake trees. Earn PCH credits. - Online Courses
$19.00
Employee Landscape Training: Symptoms and Signs of Plant Health Problems
Sections 4Length 2 hoursThis course helps businesses train employees to recognize symptoms and signs of stress in plants, including damage and diseases. Earn 4 Category 6, 18, 23, or Private Category credits. Earn PCH credits. - Online Courses
$19.00
Employee Landscape Training: Introduction to Soils
Sections 3Length 2 hoursThis course helps landscape businesses train beginner and seasonal employees to identify soil properties, fertilize and amend soils, and grade, level, and fill. Earn PCH credits. - Articles
Which Pesticide License Does Your Business Need?
In Pennsylvania, Green Industry professionals who use pesticides need to understand the Pennsylvania pesticide laws and how to comply with them. - Workshops
Tree Climbing School
Length 4 daysLearn the fundamentals of tree maintenance and how to safely climb trees in this three-day in-person course.