Using Plant Templates

Note: The following catalog of content covered in this webinar is time stamped to allow you to follow along or skip to sections of the video that are relevant to your questions. You can also search for content on this page using the FIND command in your browser (CTRL + F in Windows, Command + F in Mac OS.)

• Intro & TOC
• Where Do I Start?
• Ideas for Organizing
• Create a Plant Template
• Use a Template to Start a Project
• Follow-Up

0:00 – 6:50: Intro & TOC

6:51 – 12:30: Where Do I Start?

Scenario 1: Brand-new Users (6:51)

Key Points:

1.     Do (or redo) a few projects first.

2.     Collaborate with a team and/or a leader. Never organize anything alone unless you’re a sole practitioner.

3.     Have a clear plan, and stick to it.

4.     Organize for efficiency and clarity.

5.     Start your template project(s) and import all the plants you need.

6.     Edit and add as necessary from a local nursery database.

 

Scenario 2: You’ve been using Land f/X for a while but want to become more efficient. (11:45)

Key Points:

1.     Collaborate with a team and/or a leader. Never organize anything alone unless you’re a sole practitioner.

2.     Have a clear plan, and stick to it.

3.     Organize for efficiency and clarity.

4.     Start your template project(s) and import all the plants you need.

5.     Edit and add as necessary from a local nursery database.

12:31 – 15:16: Ideas for Organizing

By Project Type:

• Street trees
• Storm pond
• Commercial
• School
• Daycare

 

By Plant Characteristic:

• Native
• Ornamental
• Shade/sun
• Drought tolerant
• Salt tolerant

 

By Plant Type:

Shade tree

• Conifer
• Flowering tree
• Palm
• Grass
• Perennial

 

By Region:

• Zones 1–4, 5–7, 8–12
• North America, Asia, Australia

 

Notes:

• Sole practitioners can generally get by with a single plant template.
• Plant subcategories do not import!

15:17 – 36:59: Create a Plant Template

Step 1: Start a new drawing, and set the measurement system as needed. (Actual units don’t matter, but Imperial or Metric will.) (15:17)

 

 

Step 2: Start a new Land F/X project (note: All templates start as a project.)

 

Give the project a number, and a name that is appropriate to the type of template you are creating (example: Park Plants) (16:20)

 

Do not base the template on another template.

 

Step 3: Open the Plant Manager and add your plants. (17:50)

 

Options for adding plants:

Option 1: Add plants manually using the New button in the Plant Manager (18:00)

• Add data to each plant as you would in any project (container size, plant codes, etc.)
• Base costs on a local nursery catalog. If you work for a design-build firm, we recommend assigning YOUR cost (including installation). Otherwise, we recommend including the contractor’s installation cost for each plant.
• Assign 2D, Color, and SketchUp (3D) symbols

 

 

Option 2: Import plants from other projects (22:50)

• Click the Import button in the Plant Manager, and import plants as needed. (23:00)
• Highlight plants to import in the Add from dialog box (hold down SHIFT or CTRL key to highlight multiple plants), and click Add to Project. (23:40)
• Then click Done, and you’ll see all the added plants in the Plant Manager (24:30)

 

 

Overview of the data in the Plant Info dialog box for the imported plants (note that all data will still be attached to the plants you’ve imported) (24:40)

 

 

Editing plant data as needed, including changing a plant’s symbol (25:00)

 

 

Note that plants from each category (Trees, Shrubs, Shrub Areas, Groundcovers) need to be imported separately. Example: Importing shrubs (25:15)

 

 

We don’t recommend placing plants in subcategories at this point. Remember: Subcategories won’t import! (26:20)       

 

 

Adding multiple sizes of the same plant variety to a template, adding them separately and changing the plant code for each. Optional: changing the symbol and symbol width for each size (26:45)

 

 

Suggestion: Develop a system for creating new plant codes for new sizes of the same plant (31:30)

 

 

Closing the Plant Manager ands saving the template (open the Projects dialog box and click Save as Template). (32:29)

 

 

Note: Be careful when naming a template. If you choose the same name as an existing template, the new template will overwrite the existing one.

 

 

The template will be saved in the Templates area at the bottom of the list of projects. (33:40)

 

 

Note: The Planting Preferences include an option for whether or not your plant codes will be in all caps. (35:40)

37:00 – 52:15: Use a Template to Start a Project

Starting a new project (37:00)

 

 

Suggestion: Do not base a project directly on a template. If you were to base a project on a template, you would bring in ALL plants you would ever use. Instead, we recommend starting a project and importing the plants you need from a template. (37:55)

 

 

Importing plants from a template (again holding down the SHIFT or CTRL key to import multiple plants) (38:55)

 

 

Placing plants in a drawing (examples of plant placement tools: placing multiple plants at once using the Plant Shotgun tool) (41:00)

 

 

Using Match Plant & placing plants in a rectangular array (43:50)

 

Using the Copy Along Line and Copy Along Arc components of the Plant Shotgun tool (44:45)

 

 

Labeling plants and placing a Plant Schedule (45:45)

 

 

Editing plants to change notes or remarks (46:40)

 

 

Important note: Do not open a template in an actual site design drawing. The template will be assigned to the drawing, and plants can be mistakenly deleted from the template. Instead, open a new drawing and import plants from your template. (47:30)

 

 

Generating a list of all plants in a template by running a schedule and selecting Entire Palette (50:30)

 

 

Bringing the template plant palette into a spreadsheet for printing, including costs, etc. (51:40)

 

52:16 – end: Follow-Up

What to do at the end of the process (52:16):

• Write down the template’s standards, and save them in a common place.
• (In a multi-person office) Assign a template manager who will determine whether additions to or deletions from the template will match the office standards. (A manager’s roles: planning, organizing, directing, controlling.)
• Add new plants as they’re used.
• Periodically update your plant templates for new prices and check that things are still organized.

 

 

How to add your plant symbols to Land F/X (54:40)

(Please see our Add Your Plant Symbols documentation page.)

 

 

Exploding an existing symbol and making edits and additions (56:18)

 

 

Using the Save Block tool to save a customized plant symbol into the Land F/X system (56:45)

 

 

Assigning a custom symbol to a plant (58:50)

 

 

Note: You can also pull in a whole folder of your custom symbols. (59:47)