What belongs in a landscape submittal package
A complete landscape package usually spans:
- Plant list keyed to the plant schedule: botanical name, quantity, size (caliper, height, or container), condition (B&B vs. container), and nursery source
- Photos or certificates for specimen trees where the spec requires pre-tagging at the nursery
- Topsoil and planting mix: source and a soils lab analysis against the specified gradation, pH, and organic content; amendment and fertilizer data
- Mulch type and depth; edging and weed barrier
- Irrigation: backflow preventer, controller (with any smart/EPA WaterSense requirement), valves, heads and nozzles with radius/precip data, drip components, pipe and wire
- Hardscape unit pavers, sealers, and setting materials where in scope
- Site furnishings and exterior lighting cut sheets where carried in your contract
- Maintenance and establishment-period plan when the spec lists it as a submittal
Plant material: substitutions are the norm, so document them
Nursery availability shifts season to season, and landscape architects know it — but they still control the palette. When a specified species or size is unavailable, submit the substitution formally with the proposed species, size, and source, rather than shipping what the nursery had. Size substitutions cut both ways: larger material is not automatically acceptable (transplant shock, budget) and smaller material needs the LA's sign-off in writing. For projects with specimen trees, get the LA to tag trees at the nursery and record the tagging in the submittal file.
The review round-trip
Landscape packages route to the landscape architect, with civil weighing in on irrigation points of connection and the backflow preventer (which the local water authority may also need to approve). Reviews are usually reasonable in speed, but the calendar is the real reviewer: plant approval has to land far enough ahead of the planting window that the nursery can hold or grow the material. Submit the soil analysis early too — failed soil tests cascade into import/export changes that touch the schedule and the budget.
Common rejection reasons on landscape submittals
Where landscape packages get bounced:
- Plant sizes below schedule (2" caliper submitted against a 2.5" schedule) or container sizes swapped without approval
- Soil submitted without a current lab analysis, or an analysis that misses the specified gradation and organic content
- Irrigation heads with precipitation rates mismatched within a zone
- Backflow preventer model not on the local jurisdiction's approved list
- Controller missing specified smart features (flow sensing, weather-based adjustment)
- No source identified for plant material, making pre-tagging impossible
How Submittal.App builds the landscape package
Submittal.App's AI Builder assembles the manufactured side of the package — irrigation components, furnishings, lighting, hardscape products — from indexed cut sheets in minutes, and organizes plant lists and soil reports you attach into the same coherent package with cover sheet and TOC. One link to the GC for review, and approved items feed quotes and purchase orders directly.