1999 National Nursery Landscape Exam

Name:

Multiple Choice

Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Which plant produces a spectacular show of red/orange berries?

a.	Crepe Myrtle	c.	Ginko
b.	Sweet Gum	d.	European Mountain Ash

Which of the following plants is most likely to suffer health damage if planted in a low, moist, semi-shaded area?

a.	Juniper	c.	English Ivy
b.	Dogwood	d.	Maple

Traditional garden centers, in many cases, have been able to compete with chain department stores by providing:

a.	lower prices	c.	better refund policies
b.	better service	d.	cleaner stores

On which section of the golf course is the grass usually cut the shortest?

a.	green	c.	fringe
b.	fairway	d.	rough

Why is it undesirable to have a weedy overgrown area next to your lawn?

a.	The weeds go to seed and spread to your lawn and adjacent areas	c.	The roots of the tall weeds interfere with your plants' root systems
b.	It is not undesirable because the insects are attracted to the overgrown plants instead of your landscape	d.	When weeds are overgrown, they give off an unpleasant odor

Though not recommended, if 2 cycle engine fuel is actually used in a 4 cycle engine:

a.	the engine will not start, or will be hard to start	c.	the engine will be much louder than normal
b.	there is no problem, the engine will run just fine	d.	the engine will likely smoke a lot, but it will run

What is the process that gradually exposes young transplants to stress, making crops adapt to somewhat cooler temperatures?

a.	Hardening	c.	Volatilization
b.	Vernalization	d.	Stratification

When Lindsey pulled up some of the cuttings she was trying to root, she noticed that they did not have roots, but they had a gnarled, whitish growth on the base. This growth is called:

a.	callus	c.	lenticels
b.	preroots	d.	scarring

If you determine that the pH of your soil is 5.2, how much lime will it take to bring the pH up to the proper level?

a.	5 pounds per 1000 square feet	c.	50 pounds per 1000 square feet
b.	15 pounds per 1000 square feet	d.	There is no way to tell without an adequate soil test

10.

“Scalping” is a term used in:

a.	turfgrass mowing	c.	propagation
b.	pruning	d.	landscape drawing

11.

Which soil will drain best, if all other conditions are the same?

a.	clayey	c.	sandy clay
b.	sandy	d.	loamy

12.

Which pine is smallest at maturity?

a.	Austrian pine	c.	Mugo pine
b.	Scots pine	d.	Eastern white pine

13.

What is the difference between landscape and hardscape?

a.	Hardscape is the installation of cold hardy shrubs into the landscape	c.	Landscape is the installation of plants into the hardscape, which is the entire area
b.	Hardscape involves installation of physical elements such as fences and patios in the landscape	d.	Landscape is a design of the area, and hardscape is the planting of the crops

14.

Which one of the following hardiness zones is warmer than Zone 5?

a.	Zone A	c.	Zone 4
b.	Zone 6-Y	d.	Zone 6

15.

Large berms are often used to:

a.	add landform interest and divert noise	c.	trim golf greens
b.	shade sun-sensitive plants	d.	stock landscape ponds

16.

One characteristic of Roundup (Glyphosate) that customers sometimes object to is:

a.	it's long lasting effect	c.	that it is extremely toxic to pets
b.	that it takes several days to kill weeds	d.	that it temporarily stains the soil surface orange

17.

Which LD-50 rating listed is most toxic to man?

a.	1750	c.	945
b.	84	d.	10,000

18.

Larger nursery pots are measured by the:

a.	gallon.	c.	inch.
b.	ounce.	d.	height

19.

Water ____________ to help reduce disease in nursery crops.

a.	late in the afternoon	c.	at night
b.	early in the day	d.	with overhead sprinklers

20.

Which of the following is a beneficial insect?

a.	Lady beetle	c.	Fungus gnat
b.	Aphid	d.	Thrip

21.

Which of the numbers listed below is a normal fertilizer analysis you might find on a fertilizer bag?

a.	12-12-12	c.	8-12-12-12
b.	10-10	d.	4-0-0-4

22.

Of the following choices, which would be the best soil mix for potted nursery crop production?

a.	1 loam: 1 sand	c.	1 sand: 1 silt: 1 vermiculite
b.	1 peat: 1 sand: 1 perlite	d.	1 vermiculite: 1 sand: 1 perlite

23.

A plant which dies to the ground at the end of each growing season but comes back from the same rootstock year after year is most accurately described as a(n):

a.	perennial	c.	annual
b.	biennial	d.	herbaceous perennial

24.

Which method of reproduction provides the most opportunity for variability, adaptability, and change within a plant species?

a.	chip budding	c.	natural serpentine layering
b.	asexual reproduction	d.	sexual reproduction

25.

The amount of water which the soil can hold against the pull of gravity is called:

a.	available water	c.	soil moisture tension
b.	field capacity	d.	osmotic water

26.

Which plant pathogen or pest can generally be controlled only through the use of good cultural practices—preventing initial infection?

a.	nematode	c.	virus
b.	bacteria	d.	fungus

27.

PPM stands for:

a.	performance pest management	c.	pints per mole
b.	parts per million.	d.	pounds per meter

28.

The soluble salt content of soil in plant containers can usually be reduced by:

a.	stratification	c.	leaching
b.	scarification	d.	adding lime

29.

One reason modern horticultural fabrics used in landscaping are said to be better than black polyethylene film is they:

a.	prevent moisture from penetrating too deeply	c.	allow exchange of gases between soil and air
b.	make a better base for rock mulch	d.	completely control weeds

30.

Who is responsible for establishing the binomial system for naming plants?

a.	Aristotle	c.	Weinberg
b.	Linnaeus	d.	Bernuli

31.

The part of a newly grafted plant that will form the branch system is the:

a.	scion.	c.	branch stock
b.	shoot stock	d.	graft stock

32.

Which plant type below has the most limited range of planting time, generally late fall through late winter?

a.	containerized trees and shrubs	c.	containerized ground covers
b.	bare root trees	d.	potted seedlings

33.

The best type of sand to use in soil mixtures for container grown plants is _____ sand.

a.	beach	c.	white, fine textured
b.	fine textured	d.	coarse textured

34.

Which plant has thickened, fleshy roots for food storage?

a.	Boston ivy	c.	Bluegrass
b.	Day lily	d.	Spirea

35.

Scientific names generally consist of two words, the first being the genus and the second being the:

a.	species	c.	order
b.	family	d.	cultivar

36.

Changing the form of the land during landscaping, is done by a process called

a.	grading	c.	topography
b.	sloping	d.	bush hogging

37.

Which term is not a principle of design?

a.	simplicity	c.	realism
b.	proportion	d.	balance

38.

Which is a warm season grass?

a.	Kentucky bluegrass	c.	Rye grass
b.	Zoysia grass	d.	Fescue

39.

What is the most desirable topsoil for general use in the landscape?

a.	sandy	c.	loamy
b.	clayey	d.	platey

40.

In _________, old branches that are large and unproductive are removed.

a.	thinning	c.	renewal pruning
b.	heading back	d.	topiary pruning

41.

Which of the following statements about pots is true?

a.	Tall pots drain better than short pots	c.	Gravity forces more water out of shorter pots than from tall pots
b.	Shorter pots generally have a smaller saturated soil area	d.	Shorter, wider pots are best for almost all crops

42.

Which of the following is generally true about shrubs that bloom in the early spring?

a.	They bloom on new wood	c.	They bloom on spurs generated in late winter
b.	They bloom on old wood	d.	The earlier they bloom, the more profuse the bloom

43.

In what area(s) of the country can plants such as Schefflera and Norfolk Island Pine be grown in the outdoor landscape?

a.	Southern California and southern Florida	c.	In zone 5
b.	California, Oregon and southern Washington state	d.	In any state south of Kentucky

44.

A tumor in plants caused by bacteria is called a:

a.	vegetative tumor	c.	canker
b.	rector	d.	gall

45.

Fire blight is caused by what type of organism?

a.	Bacteria	c.	Insect
b.	Virus	d.	Fungus

46.

Which is a Signal Word on a pesticide label?

a.	Slight	c.	Careful
b.	Extreme	d.	Caution

47.

In the name Acer rubrum 'October Glory', 'October Glory' is a :

a.	species	c.	genus
b.	cultivar	d.	variety

48.

What is the function of the axillary bud on the stem?

a.	to provide food storage	c.	to produce a new leaf or stem
b.	to aid in seed dispersal	d.	to help heal wounds of the plant

49.

Why is Ginko biloba a great focal point of interest in the fall?

a.	The leaves turn bright red	c.	The leaves turn bright yellow
b.	It keeps its leaves throughout the season	d.	It has bright pink flowers

50.

Compacted and poorly drained soils contain little _____, a gas that tree roots need to survive and grow.

a.	Zenom	c.	Oxygen
b.	Carbon Dioxide	d.	Hydrogen