Plant substitution requests, and knowing what's still short on every job

The short answer. A plant substitution request the landscape architect can act on has five parts: the line as specified (botanical name with cultivar, size, root, quantity and plan reference), the proposed substitute with exactly what differs, a one-sentence reason, proof of non-availability, and the credit or extra cost. Proof of non-availability means the dated availability lists you checked, showing which nursery carried the plant, on what date, at what size and in what quantity; "we called around" is not proof. Substitutions usually follow their own procedure, separate from change orders, as Levelset's guide to substitution requests explains, and the substitute should not be bought until the written answer is in hand.

Every commercial landscape installer knows the moment. The plant schedule calls for twelve black gums at 3 inch caliper, balled and burlapped. You've called four nurseries. Two have black gum, but only at 2-1/2 inch. The general contractor wants the site planted before the window closes, and the spec says no change of size, grade, variety or species without the landscape architect's written approval.

So you write a substitution request. Whether it comes back approved quickly, or bounces with "please provide proof of non-availability," depends on what you attach. And while you're doing that for one line on one job, the same thing is happening on other lines across every job you have running.

This article covers both halves: building a request the landscape architect can say yes to, and keeping one honest list of what's still short.

Last reviewed: November 11, 2026

What a substitution request needs

Many planting specs put the burden on the contractor: show that the specified plant can't be had, and propose an equal or the closest thing that can. In practice, a request the landscape architect can act on has five parts:

  • The line as specified: botanical name with cultivar, size, root (B&B, container), quantity, job and plan reference.
  • The proposed substitute, with exactly what differs: smaller caliper, another cultivar, container instead of B&B.
  • The reason, in one sentence.
  • Proof of non-availability: every availability list you checked that carried the plant, from which nursery, on what date, at what size and in what quantity. Dated lists are proof; "we called around" is not.
  • The money: a credit to the owner if the substitute costs less, or the extra if it costs more.

Substitutions usually follow their own procedure, separate from change orders, and getting the request in on time matters as much as getting it right, as Levelset's guide to substitution requests explains. Don't buy the substitute until the written answer is in hand. An answer of "approved as noted" needs the note recorded with it.

A worked example

The figures here are illustrative, made up for this article.

Say a park job calls for 10 red maples, 3 inch caliper, B&B. This week's availability lists from five nurseries show:

  • Nursery A: none.
  • Nursery B: 6 at 2-1/2 inch caliper.
  • Nursery C: 14 at 2-1/2 inch caliper.
  • Nursery D: 4 at 3 inch caliper, a different cultivar.
  • Nursery E: none.

No one has 10 as specified. The cleanest request is 10 at 2-1/2 inch from Nursery C, with the five dated lists attached as proof. If the 3 inch trees were priced at $420 each and the 2-1/2 inch at $340, the request offers a credit of $80 a tree, $800 to the owner.

Notice what the lists also tell you: Nursery D's four trees are a cultivar change, which is a separate substitution, not a fill. Compare sizes the way nurseries write them (2-1/2" cal. is 2.5 inch caliper), and never compare a caliper size with a height or a container class.

Tracking what's still short across jobs

A plant line is short by what's needed, minus what's on hold or tagged at a nursery, minus what's been delivered. The trouble is that most firms keep that inside one workbook per job, so nobody can answer "what's still short, on every job?" without opening them all.

Holds make it harder. A hold that has expired, or that the nursery quietly sold, still looks like a filled line on the sheet. And money paid for plants still standing at a nursery is easy to lose track of.

Doing it better in a spreadsheet

One workbook for all jobs beats a workbook per job.

  • One plant lines table across every job: job, botanical name, cultivar, size, root, quantity needed, held, delivered, and short as a formula.
  • One holds table: nursery, line, quantity, date held, expiry date, paid or not. Format holds expiring within a week in red.
  • One offers table: paste each nursery's availability list in, with the nursery and the date on every row. That table becomes your proof of non-availability.
  • A substitution log: line, proposed substitute, date sent, answer, date answered, and the note. Nothing is ordered from a line with a request still waiting.

The weak spot is the offers table. Each nursery's list arrives in its own layout, often weekly, and someone has to read it line by line against every open plant line on every job.

How a system does it

The demo is Tallis Grove Site & Landscape, a fictional commercial landscape contractor. Its sourcing board shows every plant still short on every job, holds about to expire, money paid for plants still standing at nurseries, and warranty replacements to buy.

The plant buyer drops in a nursery's availability list, and the AI reads it against every open plant line on every job, saying which rows fill a line exactly and which would only be a substitution. The system's rules check every match: if the AI calls a smaller tree "as specified," the rules overrule it and show the row as a substitution. Nothing is held until the buyer ticks it. The demo reads Excel and CSV lists; reading PDF lists is part of a build.

A substitution request carries its own evidence, every list on file that offered the plant, and goes to the landscape architect as a one-page PDF. In the demo, the request for the park's black gums (12 needed at 3 inch caliper, a 2-1/2 inch offer) shows the specified and proposed plants, the reason, a $960 credit to the owner and the proof of non-availability. Buying the substitute is blocked until the written answer is recorded.

The AI reads; the rules check; the buyer and the landscape architect decide. The system never decides whether a substitute is acceptable.

See it for yourself

The commercial landscape installation page covers the whole system, including planting windows and warranty walks. The live demo lets you sign in as the plant buyer, let the AI read this morning's nursery list, and send a substitution request with its evidence. Sign in with one click, with no account; the data resets every night, so you can't break anything.

A typical build costs $8,000 to $25,000 at a fixed price, and hosting and support start at $350 a month, with no per-user fee.

Questions

What counts as proof of non-availability for a plant substitution?

Dated availability lists from the nurseries you checked, showing which nursery offered the plant, on what date, at what size and in what quantity. A note saying you called around does not count.

Can I buy the substitute plant before the landscape architect answers?

No. Wait for the written answer, and if it comes back "approved as noted," record the note with it.

How do I work out how many plants are still short on a job?

A plant line is short by the quantity needed, minus what is on hold or tagged at a nursery, minus what has been delivered. A hold that has expired, or that the nursery sold, should not count as filled.