The perception and use of native plants in the landscape: understanding the practices of landscape architects in the Southeast United States

Landscape architects and designers have the ability to construct plantings in a landscape with native or non-native plants, or a combination of both plant types. The question at hand is, why choose one over the other? This study explores what might impact the plant choice decisions of practicing landscape architects in the southeast United States. A survey is utilized to understand how respondents make plant choice decisions and perceive native plants. Comparisons between previous studies are made focusing on their distribution methods, survey populations and major findings. The findings of this study are not conclusive due to a small response rate; however, they can be applied to the survey population. The results may indicate that the most common obstacles when using native plants are limited availability of natives and difficulty sourcing them, aesthetics and negative client perception, and the maintenance requirements and lack of maintenance knowledge of native plants