Plug & Plant Density Calculator
Enter the area you will actually plant. Choose a planning reference, then adjust either plants per square foot or on-center spacing. The grand total is independent of the flat sizes you purchase.
Your planting area
Landscape planning reference: 12–18 inches on center, on a square grid. Adjust for the species and design.
Spacing assumes a square grid, not triangular planting. References help estimate quantities; they do not prescribe spacing for every species or site.
Grand total plants
Equivalent flats—choose one reference, not both
— 38-plant flats, or — 50-plant flats.
Each option is rounded up to whole flats. These are alternatives, not quantities to add together. Available flat sizes depend on the species.
Mixing flat sizes? Tally your order
Copy your quantity summary
How these planning references work
Landscape: the 12–18-inch band is a starting point for quantity comparison. Mature plant size, planting pattern and design goals may call for another spacing.
Warrior Plants: the Natural Communities augmentation reference is 3,000 plugs per acre of the zone being augmented—about 3.81 feet on center. It is not a universal wetland planting requirement.
Diversity planting: 24–36-inch spacing is an illustrative enrichment reference within selected planting patches, not a full-cover restoration prescription. Do not apply a patch density to an entire property unless the whole property will be planted that way.
This calculator estimates quantities only. It does not evaluate site preparation, hydrology, invasive-species control, erosion or long-term management.
Need site-specific guidance? →
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Daniel
Daniel
★★★★★
Natural communities and specifically Nick has been an
excellent and knowledgeable entity to work with on my big project. With the
help of my school, my students, many community partners, and Natural
Communities, we are in the process of restoring an area on a high school campus
to a natural prairie/pond area. Nick has come out to do site visits, he has
recommended various plant species that would work best for us, and he has been
able to get us what we want wholesale. Our site is not an easy project because
we are restricted to only native plants and native seeds and Natural
Communities has excelled in meeting our needs on this. Overall, I am so glad we
ended up working with Natural Communities because they have helped so much.
Ron
Ron
★★★★★
Our company has worked with Nick Fuller since before he
became Chief Ecological Officer for Natural Communities, LLC. His
knowledge of native plants and native seeds is remarkable. Nick was the
original steward of our 4-acre wildflower/wild grass prairie and has served us
as a reliable consultant ever since 2006. His continuing insights have
helped us to maintain and grow a healthy ecosystem.
Kathy
Kathy
★★★★★
I am extremely pleased with the one hour consultation I had
with Nick Fuller regarding our wetland creek. We have invasive plants and
grasses that have taken over our creek bed and we needed guidance on how to
both effectively remove the invasives and restore the area with native
plants suitable for the creek. Nick asked pertinent questions that allowed Nick
to identify plants and shrubs suitable for the area with a timeline for
planting. Nick also provided a detailed outline of the steps needed to remove the
invasives. I highly recommend Nick to anyone seeking help with their native
plant garden or to anyone interested in growing a native plant garden.
Shane
Shane
★★★★★
Spoke to owner in depth regarding a couple of different
projects I’m working on- very knowledgeable and professional. I plan on
purchasing seed for my projects through Natural Communities and will follow up
in the future if necessary. Highly recommend for native/natural projects!