Arizona Certified Nursery Professional Program
The Arizona Certified Nursery Professional (ACNP) program is sponsored by the Arizona Nursery Association (ANA) and is one of the most popular educational programs in the industry.
Qualifications:
Applicants must complete and pass all four parts of the exam with a score of 70 percent or higher, with an overall score of 75 percent. Only parts of the exam not passed need to be retaken. All four parts of the exam must be successfully completed within two years from the date first taken.
If not passed, it is necessary to start the testing process over again.
The ACNP study manual is an 84-page text that covers the following subjects:
- How plants grow
- Houseplants
- Annuals and perennials
- Turfgrass
- Fruit trees, vegetable gardening
- Landscape design and plant selection
- Xeriscape
- Soils
- Fertilizers
- Planting and establishment
- Water and irrigation methods
- Plant pest problems
- Insects
- Diseases
- Animals
- Weed and weed control
- Naming of plants and plant lists
- Basic retail nursery overview
- Salesmanship
The price of the manual is included in the cost of the class.
Classes:
The class is designed to help prepare participants for the exam. A certificate of completion will be issued at the conclusion of the class. The ACNP manual will be available at the beginning of the class. Please bring any materials necessary to take notes.
Exam:
Part 1 – General Information (167 questions, 60 minutes) This portion of the test covers soils, chemicals, plant diseases and pests, salesmanship and other relevant subjects. The answers are true or false, multiple choice, or matching.
Part 2 – Landscape Design (20 questions, 30 minutes) A landscape plan showing the building location, direction of exposure, locations of plants to be selected, and general information regarding the type of plant for each area will be provided. Grading is based on using the correct type of plant for the location with regard to exposure, whether or not each is positioned correctly to be suitable when mature, and also on overall selection to create a pleasing and workable design.
Part 3 – Descriptive Identification of Plants (60 questions, 30 minutes) Each question will be a description of different plants, leaf types, sizes at maturity, types of flowers or berries, and hardiness. There will be multiple choice answers of botanical names to choose from to best fit the description.
Part 4 – Visual Plant Identification (25 questions, 60 minutes) Twenty-five different plants will be placed throughout the room. Each plant must be correctly identified by both common and botanical names with their correct spelling. Ten of these plants are selected by the examiner for more information such as height, exposure, blooming season, hardiness, etc.
The next ACNP classes and exam will be held August 10th at the 2012 SHADE conference. More information about registration and class/exam times will be coming soon.
2012 Class Schedule
Phoenix Metro Area
SHADE Conference
August 10, 2012
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Renaissance Glendale
9495 W. Coyotes Boulevard
Glendale, AZ 85305
2012 Exam Schedule
Phoenix Metro Area
Refresher Class & Exam
TBA
Pre-registration is required!
For more information and registration call the ANA office,
(480) 966-1610.
