Horticulture Technology Program
Piedmont Tech’s Horticulture Technology program will give you the tools you need to succeed in one of South Carolina’s largest industries. With the support of a diverse group of instructors, you’ll get extensive hands-on experience. And, you can be sure that your education here creates a foundation for success.
Credentials offered
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A Career in Horticulture
If you love to work with your hands and you've ever wondered how a perfectly manicured golf course or a well-landscaped backyard was created and maintained, a career in horticulture might be right for you.
Piedmont Tech's Horticulture Technology Program will give you the tools you need to succeed in one of South Carolina's largest industries. With the support of a diverse group of instructors, you'll get hands-on experience through our campus greenhouse complex, the Landscapes for Learning project and an extensive co-op program. And with our transfer partnerships with four-year colleges and universities, you can be sure that your education here creates a foundation for success.
A Variety of Career Paths
Horticulture is a diverse industry that offers careers for many different interests, including greenhouse management, growing and propagating ornamentals, landscape design, landscape maintenance, landscape installation, turf science and even commercial and home fruit and vegetable production.
So whether you want to work in a greenhouse, manage athletic fields, own a landscaping business, diagnose peach tree diseases or research treatment programs for turf diseases – it all falls under horticulture. There are even rewarding opportunities in sales for input suppliers (e.g. fertilizer, equipment, seed and plants).
Be Part of the Largest Industry in the State
According to the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, farming generates more than $2 billion a year at the farm level, but the impact on the state’s economy goes far beyond the farm gate. Agriculture has a direct and indirect economic impact of $33.9 billion a year, provides $7.5 billion in labor income and creates and supports almost 200,000 jobs across the state.
Horticulture is an important part of South Carolina’s ag industry. In fact, the greenhouse, nursery, turf and floriculture industry accounts for more than $300 million in annual receipts and ranks as South Carolina's second-largest cash crop. This important industry continues to grow and prosper in our state. From lawn grass to landscape plants and flowers, ornamental horticulture and turf accounts for over a significant portion of agribusiness’s cash receipts in South Carolina.
Bridge to a Bachelor's Degree
If you’re headed toward a bachelor’s degree, you can start with our Horticulture program and earn credit toward a degree at Clemson University. Our smaller student-to-teacher ratio and locally accessible classes help students adjust to college life, and the real-world experience in horticulture you’ll get at PTC will give you an advantage when you’re ready to enter the workforce. Best of all, because of Piedmont Tech’s affordable tuition rates, you’ll save thousands in tuition and fees by completing your first two-years here.
Career Quick Facts
- Career Outlook
Landscaping Supervisors
- Median Salary Average: $54,725
- SC Salary Range: $40,029-$66,974
- 86% placement rate for 2022-2023 graduates
Salary and career information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Entry Level Positions
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
- Tree Trimmer and Pruner
- Grounds Supervisor
- Pesticide Handler, Sprayer or Applicator
- Nurseryman
- Landscape Contractor
- Small Business Owner
- List of Employers
Recent graduates have found work at:
- Augusta National Golf Club
- Bartley Lawn Care
- Carolina Fresh Farms
- City of Greenwood
- Cold Creek Nursery
- Custom Landscaping and Concrete
- Davey Tree Company
- Evan's Landscaping
- Fuji Film
- Greenville County
- Greenwood Nursery
- Kiawah Island Golf Resort
- Lighthouse Baptist Church
- Lowe's Gardening Centers
- Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse of Simpsonville
- Martin Nursery
- Megan's Lovely Landscapes
- Metroliner
- Michelin Tire Corporation
- Mid Carolina Country Club
- Native Plants Garden Center Inc.
- Persimmon Hill Country Club
- Plant Partners
- Pleasurecraft Engine Group
- Reynold's Plantation
- Savannah Lakes Village
- Scott's Lawn Service
- Self Regional Healthcare
- Stoney Point Golf Course
- The Cliffs
- Trugreen Land Care
- Walmart Gardening Centers
- Wyatt Farms
Virtual Tour
Program Information
The Horticulture program at Piedmont Technical College prepares students for supervisory, middle management and technical positions in horticulture. Graduates of the two-year Horticulture Technology major may pursue careers in landscape design, implementation, maintenance, as well as nursery operations, professional sports turf, lawn care and allied horticulture operations. Students will gain a foundational knowledge of plant materials, soil, pest control, maintenance, landscape management, as well as landscape construction and implementation.
The college also offers certificates in landscape management, landscape design and installation, greenhouse management and turfgrass management..
