A simple guide to plant spacing, explaining when to go tighter or wider for healthier plants and more effective landscape design.
How to use Ozbreed’s Desktop Specification Guide
The new Ozbreed Desktop Specification Guide 2025-26 is more than a catalogue. It is a working tool designed to support plant selection, specification, and decision-making across all stages of a project.
Used properly, it reduces uncertainty, improves consistency, and helps avoid common specification errors.
How to Navigate the Guide
By Plant Type
Browse by categories:
This is useful when you already know the general plant form required, but you want to browse different varieties alphabetically by genus.
By Functional Use
Selection guides allow you to select for key performance criteria:
- Erosion control
- Hedges
- Screening
- Biodiversity support
- Feature planting
- Much more
This approach leads to long-term performance of a planting scheme within its specific context.
Height Selection Guides
These provide side-by-side comparisons of similar plants, helping refine choices based on size, shape, colour, texture and more.
Using Plant Palettes for Faster Specification
Several plug-and-play plant palettes group compatible plants by use case, allowing you to:
- Build cohesive planting schemes quickly
- Ensure visual and functional consistency
- Reduce time spent cross-referencing species
For specifiers working under time pressure, palettes shortcut the selection process without sacrificing quality.
Using “Top Lists” to Shortlist Quickly
Top lists are designed for rapid decision-making.
They highlight:
- Proven performers for specific applications
- Plants with consistent reliability across projects
- Options that balance aesthetics and function
These are particularly useful when:
- You need a quick, defensible shortlist
- You are working on standardised or repeatable designs
- You want to avoid specifying unproven material
Designing for Maintenance, Not Just Installation
The guide provides insight into how plants behave long term.
This allows specifiers to:
- Anticipate pruning requirements
- Avoid high-maintenance combinations
- Specify plants that hold their form over time
This is where many planting schemes succeed or fail.
How Specifiers Should Use It
Early Concept Stage
Use the guide to shortlist plants based on function and performance, not just appearance.
Detailed Documentation
Confirm:
- Mature size
- Spacing recommendations
- Growth habit
- Tolerances
This reduces ambiguity in specifications.
Plant Substitution Checks
Use the guide to assess whether a proposed substitution matches the original design intent.
Daniel’s Wrap
The Desktop Specification Guide is a valuable decision-making tool, with hundreds of hours spent by myself and the rest of the marketing team. We truly hope you find it helpful in your plant specification endeavours.
Access the guide here.
This material is protected by copyright. Except for use in landscape plans and fair dealing for private study, criticism, or review under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced without written permission. Direct enquiries to Ozbreed Green Life Pty Ltd.
The views expressed may be personal and not official policy. Plants are natural products and may die for various reasons. Ozbreed believes the information is correct at publishing but does not guarantee accuracy or accept liability for inaccuracies or photo colour discrepancies. Images are illustrative and may not reflect the actual product’s size, colour, or appearance.
All information is for general guidance and not a substitute for professional advice. Ozbreed makes no warranties, express or implied, regarding the fitness or suitability of any plant or product for a particular purpose. Plant performance may vary based on regional climate, soil type, and other conditions. Users should independently verify the suitability of plants, products, and advice, consulting local experts to determine the best choices for their location.
Some plants may cause allergic reactions or require specific care. Users should research potential allergies, toxicity, or safety concerns before selecting or planting products. Review technical specifications to ensure products or plants meet your requirements. Ozbreed is not liable for how information is used.
Ozbreed is not responsible for the content or accuracy of third-party websites or resources linked on this site. Links are for convenience only and do not imply endorsement. Information is subject to change without notice. Ozbreed reserves the right to update or modify content as new information becomes available.
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