You will study eight units, which make up this Certificate. These are:

1. Plant Identification

2. Plant establishment

3. Plant propagation

4. Plant health

5. Plant care:  how  to implement garden maintenance plans

6. Plant pruning

7. Care and maintenance of a range of garden features

8. Establish and maintain grassed areas

There are also four 'Qualification-wide Outcomes' of Health and Safety, Sustainability, Best Practice and Equality and Diversity which are referenced in all eight units, as well as in the theory qualification.

Click here for the RHS Level 2 Certificate in Practical Horticulture syllabus which provides you with a complete overview of the course.

Click here for a link to the RHS website which explains more about their new format qualifications which were introduced in September 2022.

Course delivery: 

The course runs over an academic year.  Home study from September - June, with two weeks of practical work and assessment at our Ryton centre in February and late May, then an online multiple-choice examination taken at home in June.

Enrolling on this course involves a commitment to a full year of study.  

You will be given a structured programme which explains which topics you should work through and what  course materials you need to cover each week; for seasonality this will run roughly parallel to the weekly taught courses at our centres, but of course you will have leeway to work around your local weather conditions.

You will be expected to carry out a series of tasks  - in your own garden, a garden to which you have access or your place of work - and upload pictures of your work in a series of assignments to get feedback from your course tutor. 

 This will help you to practice and prepare for two block sessions of practical work at our Ryton centre. These weeks are designed to help you improve the techniques you have practised at home and to become proficient, ready for assessment  by an external RHS examiner at the end of each week.

Online resources:
Course notes covering all the topics in the syllabus are downloadable from the online classroom (or available in printed form to purchase separately); these provide the background information for each part of the syllabus which is tested in the final online exam known as an OCA (online competence assessment).
Self-test quizzes in the online classroom will help you check your knowledge.
Narrated presentations in the online classroom  cover the key points for each practical topic;  there are also videos demonstrating the tasks, which with the Horticultural Standards in each section help you to identify the key points for proficiency and avoid errors in technique.

Plant identification  is part of all three assessments (the PCAs and the OCA), and is supported by weekly narrated presentations with self-test quizzes to help you to learn botanical names.
Once a month there will be a plant identification test from a video of  live specimens.

Click here to see some sample study materials  (please note, with 'guest access' quizzes and interactive elements are not available).

RHS assessments:

 At the beginning of the academic year centres are told the main topic areas from within the full syllabus which may be assessed at each PCA, so the programme we devise covers these topics amongst others; some parts of the syllabus are for PCA1 the winter assessment, others for PCA2 in late spring/summer.   Each PCA covers three tasks from the syllabus and a plant identification test; it is assessed  by an external RHS examiner and a Centre assessor.  The centre does not know the tasks until the PCAs are being prepared. 

The tasks are marked according to method and proficiency; the pass mark is 50%, and this element  (both PCAs combined) provides 80% of the full assessment. Dates for assessment are arranged by the RHS and the centre at the beginning of the year.
A 75-minute online test (Online Competence Assessment) is taken at home at the end of the course in June.   The test is taken in line with RHS exam procedures and consists of multiple choice questions based on 'real world scenarios' of horticultural situations; it is designed to test the application of knowledge.  The pass mark is 50% and this provides 20% of the assessment.
Final marks will only be awarded when both parts of the Assessment have been undertaken, but the Qualification will be graded as Pass, Merit or Distinction.

Ryton teaching weeks and practical assessments:

Dates for this cannot be altered as an RHS Assessor has to be booked at the beginning of the year for the programme.

You will come to our Ryton centre for two weeks: 

Monday  - Thursday 15-18 February and 31 May - 3 June will be days of practical work, designed to perfect your skills, correct any poor techniques and also to give you a chance to practise any tasks which are not easy to cover  or resource at home ( e.g. planting trees or using pH and EC meters) culminating in a 'mock' PCA , working against the clock under assessment conditions.  You will be given plant identification tests each day.  On Friday the centre will make preparations for your two-hour PCA assessment on Saturday: PCA1 on 20th February 2027, PCA2 on 5th June 2027.

If you fail the plant identification section of a PCA you will be able to retake this online on a date set by the RHS.

If you just fail to reach the pass mark for one or two of the practical tasks, you may be able to retake them on the Sunday following the PCA so please factor this day into your travel plans. If this is not possible you will need to return to our centre on an agreed Saturday or Sunday within one month to retake the tasks.

If you fall below the basic level on two tasks, you will need to return to the centre to undertake a complete new PCA with different tasks.

All retakes will incur further RHS exam fees. 

When you have successfully completed all the constituent parts of the qualification The Royal Horticultural Society which award The RHS Level 2 Certificate in Horticultural Practice, graded either Pass, Merit or Distinction.

If you combine this with the RHS Level 2 certificate in Horticultural Principles, The RHS will award you with an RHS L2 Certificate in the Principles and Practices of Horticulture.

Most of this course is made up of online study at home, supplemented by practice in your workplace, garden or allotment.  Blocks of teaching and assessment will take place at our Ryton centre near Coventry.

Fees for 2026-7: RHS fees £230, tuition and materials £1470 = Total £1700

The RHS fees for the new Level 2 Practical Certificate are £230 for registration  and assessment.   These RHS fees are now due at the beginning of the course as an itemised part of the initial payment.

 You can pay £1700 in full for your course or in four instalments of £430 (£1720).

If you choose to pay in instalments your first payment of £430 constitutes a booking fee and your RHS fees which are non-refundable once paid to the RHS even if you decide not to take assessments. 

Please note: In the event of the course not running, the booking fee will be returned to you. 

The remainder of the course fees can be paid in three equal instalments of £430, on weeks 8, 16 and 24 . You can make these payments via the 'Make Payment' tab on the website.

Or you can ask us to set up a direct debit mandate when you book the course by indicating 'yes' on the enrolment form and we will be pleased to send you a mandate form by email. Once this has been returned to us we can request payments from your bank on or about weeks 8, 16 and 24 .

You will receive statements of account during your course; please note these are statements not additional invoices.

Please consider before you enrol on this course whether:

(1)  you have access to a garden (your own or your workplace) so that you can carry out the necessary preparation work during the year; assignments are not part of the RHS assessment but without them we cannot gauge whether you are making progress towards readiness for an external assessment

(2) you are physically able to undertake tasks like single digging, planting a tree or using a battery-powered hedgetrimmer

(3) you can commit to attend on the published dates for training and assessment; there are no alternatives available in 2026-7.

There are no formal entry requirements for this course.

THe RHS states: 'This qualification has been designed to provide learners with the breadth of horticultural knowledge and skills required to carry out routine tasks proficiently in a variety of contexts. It supports progression to employment within areas of the horticultural industries (such as professional gardening, landscaping, plant production and garden retail), as well as supporting learning in entry level roles in the early stages of a horticultural career. It is also designed to meet the needs of the amateur gardener. It also provides learners the opportunity of personal development, including the changing of careers and engagement in their learning and offers an opportunity to develop transferable skills such as problem solving, implementing management plans / programmes, and communication as part of their applied learning.

In terms of progression, it allows learners the opportunity to progress to further learning opportunities at Level 3, allowing progression to higher education, career advancement or entry in the horticultural industries at a more advanced, technical level.'

An RHS Level 2 qualification is well respected in the horticultural industry and can be the first step in changing to a career in horticulture.This Certificate is an accepted route into the horticultural profession for the National Trust and many other large employers.

From this, you can go on to study the RHS theory Certificate, The RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Plant Growth and Development and work towards the RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles and Practices of Horticulture.

It also gives you the opportunity to progress on to a level 3 course ( the new RHS Level 3 Practical Certificate and to an eventual Level 3 Diploma with a Level 3 theory Certificate and Award in Horticultural Investigation), in turn allowing progression to higher education or perhaps career advancement into supervision or management positions within the industry.