Which Plant Where, a new plant selector tool available to local governments, landscape architects and urban greening professionals, gives these entities the ability to determine which plants to select for certain projects.

Delivered through Hort Innovation and led by Macquarie and Western Sydney Universities, the tool is the first of its kind in Australia.

“The Which Plant Where plant selector tool is the first of its kind in Australia. It will become an invaluable resource to ensure we are making the right decisions when it comes to plant selection,” says Which Plant Where Program Manager Gwilym Griffiths.

“Our living green assets play such an essential role in our urban environments, we cannot afford to play the guessing game when it comes to investing in our future.

“In the coming weeks, we will be running a series of webinars and instructional walkthroughs for potential users, which will dive into the science, functionality, and use of the tool.”

Greenlife Industry Australia CEO, Joanna Cave, says the tool only seeks to benefit the greenlife industry.

“Growers will be able to use the tool to help guide their own stocking decisions based on the areas and market segments they are targeting,” says Cave

“It can also be a valuable tool for sales teams at production and retail nurseries.

“Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it will allow customers, including local government, landscape architects, landscapers and town planners to make climate-ready purchase decisions that benefit our communities of today and tomorrow.

“Climate change is not going away, so being able to plan stock mitigates the risk of losing species that may not be able to cope in the coming decades.”

The tool will provide users with the option of a free or paid subscription. Information on over 2500 plant species, their performance, and climate functionality will be freely available to all users, as will numerous best practice guides covering topics such as plant selection, plant procurement and urban tree management.

The subscription version will include plant climate suitability information with maps highlighting changes in climate suitability for plants under predicted climate change scenarios in 2030, 2050 and 2070. Users will be able to create plant palettes, access key information and download spreadsheets to send to nurseries to check on plant availabilities.

“By industry investing in the use of the tool, it provides supporting funds to add further research and keep the tool updated. This will ensure industry is armed with current and correct information to future plans for urban green spaces,” Griffiths says.

Professor Michelle Leishman, Lead Researcher from Macquarie University, says the tool will prove pivotal in the coming years for many professionals.

"It is really exciting to see five years of research come to fruition. We are very proud of the Which Plant Where plant selector tool and hope that it will become the 'go to' urban greening resource for the industry."

To access the tool, head to www.whichplantwhere.com.au.

Jarrod Reedie

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