Cool Plant Stuff | Department of Applied Plant Science | BYU-Idaho

# Cool Plant Stuff!

If you have questions about the department of Applied Plant Science or are interested in plants, learn below

## I want to know more about:

The plant in the tube is called a Christmas cactus. It is growing in a tissue culture medium. This is a popular houseplant known for its vibrant, tubular flowers that bloom around the holiday season. Native to the coastal mountains of southeastern Brazil, this plant thrives in humid, shady environments and requires similar conditions to flourish indoors. Unlike typical cacti, it prefers indirect light and well-draining soil. With its segmented, arching stems and striking blooms in shades of pink, red, white, or purple, the Christmas cactus adds a festive touch to homes. Proper care, including regular watering and avoiding extreme temperatures, ensures its beautiful blossoms year after year. 

Plant tissue culture is a technique used to grow plants under sterile conditions on a nutrient culture medium. This method allows for the propagation of plants from tiny sections of plant tissue, often from a single cell, which can develop into a whole plant. This approach is widely used in research and agriculture to produce plants free from diseases, create genetically modified plants, and conserve rare or endangered plant species. Essentially, it's a way of cloning plants in a controlled environment to achieve uniformity and improve plant traits. 

If you want to continue growing this plant, it will need to transition into a new growing environment. Here are the steps- 
 
****1. Preparation:**** Gently remove the plant from the tissue culture medium using sterilized tools to avoid contamination. 
 
****2. Rinsing:**** Wash off any remaining gel-like culture medium from the roots using lukewarm, distilled water. 
 
****3. Acclimation:**** Place the plant in a container with a mix of sterilized peat and perlite or another suitable potting mix. Cover it with a clear plastic dome or bag to maintain high humidity. 
 
****4. Gradual Adaptation:**** Over the next week or two, gradually increase ventilation to allow the plant to acclimate to lower humidity levels. 
 
****5. Transplanting:**** Once the plant has adjusted, transplant it into a larger pot with well-draining soil. 
 
****6. Care:**** Provide indirect light, maintain consistent moisture, and avoid extreme temperatures to ensure the plant's continued growth and health. 
 
You can purchase pots and soil at home & garden centers or on campus in the Benson building greenhouse. If the science and art of working with plants interests you, click on the Majors in the Applied Plant Science department link previously shown to learn more. 
 
If you would like more information or to speak to a faculty member, contact the Applied Plant Science department chair, Ross Spackman, at 208-496-4576, spackmanr@byui.edu.

Majors in floral design learn how to create arrangements for weddings, corporate events, holidays, and other special occasions. You could also work in a flower shop or boutique studio. 
 
Coursework includes- 

- HORT 235 Floral Design (3)
- HORT 287R Practicum in Floral Design (1)
- HORT 325 Interiorscaping (2)
- HORT 328 Wedding and Event Planning (2)
- HORT 435 Advanced Floral Design (2)
- HORT 438R Bridal Couture Floral Design (2)

If you want to own your own flower business, we recommend you combine classes like these with business classes as part of a Bachelor of Science degree. 
 
If you would like more information or to speak to a faculty member, contact the Applied Plant Science department chair, Ross Spackman, at 208-496-4576, spackmanr@byui.edu.

Find information about program requirementsdifferent majors within the Applied Plant Science department. 
 
If you would like more information or to speak to a faculty member, contact the Applied Plant Science department chair, Ross Spackman, at 208-496-4576, spackmanr@byui.edu.

Students often ask what can be done with a degree in the programs in the Applied Plant Science (APS) department. This guide might help. These are career paths specific to APS, not general guidance. For example, Forestry, Fisheries, and Range Management are aligned with Agronomy in the big picture but we do not prepare you specifically for jobs in these areas. There are other departments on campus that can assist you better. Salaries are not included because they are all over the place and a lot depends on experience. This is certainly not an all-inclusive list of every job out there. We typically have more unfilled job solicitations from employers than we have graduates. 
 
Agronomy, in this document, refers to field-scale food and fiber production or related employment. Horticulture focuses mostly on greenhouse, residential, event planning, and small acreages that are intensively managed as a business rather than a hobby. There is a lot of overlap between the two and they are NOT exclusive of each other. The basic principles of soils, plant, and water are all the same, only the application is different. 
 
****Agronomy Possibilities**** 
 
**Farmer-** Grows plants on large tracts of land using automated equipment. The old adage of you must "inherit it or marry it" aptly applies to professional farming operations. Unless you are growing a niche specialty crop that requires only a couple of acres, it is difficult to be the primary owner of a professional farm that you did not inherit or marry into. The cost of land and overhead is cost-prohibitive for most people. 
 
**Farm consultant-** This is where most of the jobs are for Crop and Soils majors. Consultants work for professional farms full-time or they work for another company that provides a specific service to the farmer. Irrigation, pesticide, fertilizer, precision chemical application, and soil consultation is important for these large farms. The pay is pretty good, but the hours can be long during the growing season. Some consultants are heavily involved with sales while others are not. 
 
**Government Ag.-** The state and federal government employees a lot of people with agricultural expertise. There is a lot of paperwork, but you can get out of the office too. Usually, during the heat of the summer and bad winter weather, you can plan office work. The pay is not as good as private sector, but the health and retirement benefits are very good, and you have a regular 40-hour workweek with holiday leave. You need a B.S. or M.S. degree. This is a very broad category but gives you an idea: 

1. Natural Resource Conservation Service- works with farm programs focusing on erosion control and soil health.
2. Inspector- Safeguard the quality of commodities by sampling for disease and insect problems.
3. Environmental specialist- Implement and enforce laws related to environmental protection. They collect samples of air, water, and soil for analysis and compliance with laws. Sometimes you are involved with legal actions against individuals as a government representative.

**Field research technician-** Assists with research studies, works under someone with a graduate degree on soil fertility, pesticide testing, irrigation management, and/or crop variety testing. The growing season is really busy but less so during the winter. Employment is year-round because during the winter, there are reports to be written and samples to be analyzed. 
 
**Ag./Horticultural research-** see below 
 
**Teaching-** see below 
 
****Horticulture**** 
 
**Floral designer and event coordinator-** You will sell, plan, and organize floral arrangements for events. Events include weddings, funerals, conferences, dances, holidays. 
 
**Florist-** Sells floral arrangements to individuals. Floral designers work with flowers and plants to create floral displays for events like wedding bouquets, prom corsages, Christmas wreaths, boutonnieres, Valentines etc. On-the-job training is common. Some floral designers improve their skills by earning professional certification which requires written and practical exams. 
 
**Greenhouse production-** Grows plants under glass or plastic for wholesale or retail sale. Sometimes a wide variety of plants are grown, other times, the varieties are more specialized. You may own the greenhouse or work for someone. The work may be seasonal or year-round. Some operations grow many thousands of only a few plants for wholesale customers. 
 
**Design/Build/Maintain-** A good choice if you are artistic and like to arrange soil, wood, concrete, stone, and water into yards, gardens, and landscapes. There might be only seasonal employment depending on where you live. Some businesses do snow removal during the wintertime. 
 
**Interior landscaping-** This is the practice of designing, arranging, and caring for living plants in enclosed environments like offices, hotels, and public buildings. Plantscaping and interiorscaping are sometimes used synonymously. 
 
**Irrigation Technologist-** These people install and maintain irrigation systems found in residential and urban areas. Depending on where you live, it is mostly seasonal work. It can be quite physically demanding, and you will be working in muddy/wet environments. Designers need a good grasp of algebra and geometry. The pay is good and there are plenty of jobs for both residential irrigation installation and farm-scale operations. 
 
**Arboriculture-** Arborists use hand and power tools to prune, hedge and remove trees. They may specialize in disease prevention, growing trees, or landscaping. You might be in an office doing design work some days and outside on others. Climbing trees may be an important part of this job. 
 
**Grounds management-** Grounds managers coordinate landscaping efforts and related outdoor maintenance services. They train staff and ensure performance quality and are responsible for administrative procedures. Parks, large office complexes, athletic fields, government offices, and cemeteries are among the locations that employ grounds managers. 
 
**Horticultural marketing-** These people are involved in the wholesale or retail sale of fresh or processed fruits and vegetables, seeds, cut flowers, house plants, floral arrangements, or nursery stock. You may work as a buyer for a chain store, a government or private institution, or wholesale distributor. 
 
**Ag./Horticultural research-** If science is your interest, this is a good choice. These scientists seek ways to improve the yield and quality of fruits, vegetables, fiber, feed, flowers and ornamental plants. You should have an analytical mind with aptitude for applied math so you can conduct and interpret statistical evaluations. A Masters degree will take you about two more years beyond a Bachelors. A Doctorate will take about four years beyond the Masters. Most of the time, you can have your education funded by a university. You will be living a very modest lifestyle but should not have school debt when you are done. The Crop and Soils Agronomy option at BYUI is probably the best choice for getting into graduate school because it is more math and chemistry intensive than our horticulture options. 
 
**Teaching-** Opening the world of plant growing to people of all ages and presenting new ideas to those already wise to the ways of plants can be rewarding. The United States needs qualified teachers of horticulture and general agronomy in high schools, technical schools, and universities. County extension agents and extension specialists often teach horticulture to adults. Extension agents are employees of a university and usually hold a Masters degree with good public speaking skills. If you want to teach high school ag., you should complete two years here then transfer to a university that has an Agricultural Education program. 
 
**Communications-** Writing for farm and garden magazines, newspapers, television and radio can be a rewarding field for men and women trained in horticulture and agronomy. 
 
****Good websites with general job categories-**** 

- USDA guide to employment opportunities for college grads.
- American Society for Horticultural Science
- USAJobs.gov

If you would like more information or to speak to a faculty member, contact the Applied Plant Science department chair, Ross Spackman, at 208-496-4576, spackmanr@byui.edu.