Getting the Most Out of the Plant Encyclopedia
This tutorial will teach you about all the parts and features of the Plant Encyclopedia. Specifically you can learn about:
Using the Plant Encyclopedia Main Page
Other Encyclopedia Pages, including the:
Plant Care Calendar
Using The Plant Filter to Find the Right Plant for Your Landscape
The Plant Encyclopedia contains comprehensive information on 7500* different varieties of plants. You can retrieve information about any plant, choose plants based on certain criteria, research potential diseases that each plant might suffer from, or learn how to care for a given plant. You can use the Plant Filter to select a smaller group of plants based upon chosen criteria.
The Plant Encyclopedia Main Page
Click on the name of any part of the main page to jump to a description of that feature.
| Name | Other Page Tabs | Usage Window | Plant Description Windows | Season
Color Diagram |
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| 3D Plant Preview | ||||||
Main
Page Tab
Clicking this tab brings up the Main page that you see above if you are
in Encyclopedia mode. This page is where the majority of information on
any plant can be found.
Other
Page Tabs
Clicking on any of these tabs brings up the selected page. The function
of each page is dependent on whether you are in Encylopedia or Filter
mode. See the section below for more information on Other
Encyclopedia Pages and Filtering Options.
Plant
Encyclopedia Mode
Clicking on this tab puts you in Encyclopedia Mode, where you can find
information on the 7500 plants in the program, as well as diseases that
might affect them.
Plant
Filter Mode
Clicking on this tab puts you in Filter Mode, where you can use different
criteria to search for a specific type of plant to meet your needs. See
the section below for more information on Plant Filter Mode.
Name
The banner across the top of the page shows the Latin and Common name
of the currently selected plant in the plant list. You can switch which
name is listed first by clicking on the Latin/Common button.
Plant
Image
This is a real-world image or artist's rendering of the plant. The box
below the image indicates which part of the plant you are seeing - i.e.
bark, flower, roots, etc. Some plants may have more than one image. Click
on the different icons to change the image in the frame.
Plant
List
This list contains all the plants that fit the criteria you have selected
with the Plant Filter. If you have not made any filter selections, the
list includes all 7500 plant varieties in the database. The list is ordered
by the Common or Latin plant name. You can switch between Latin and Common
names by using the Latin / Common button.
For each selected plant you can see different information such as: image, profile, common and Latin classification, height and width, type of plant, light needs, moisture needs, temperature needs, life expectancy, and so on. Clicking on a plant in the list results in all the information fields being updated with that plant's details. You may scroll through the list by dragging the leaf to the right of the list, or by using the up and down arrow keys.
Search
Edit Field
The box at the top of the plant list allows you to jump to the plant you
want by typing in the first few letters of the name. The list of plants
will move to the closest match as you type.
Usage
Window
This window shows all the possible ways of using the current plant. Click
any of the phrases to view brief usage descriptions in the Plant Usage
dialog.
Plant
Description Windows
The small windows to the right and below the Usage Window provide information
on the plant and its appropriate growing environment. From top to bottom,
the window to the right indicates: Plant Type (flowers, bushes, deciduous
trees, etc.), Temperature Preference (warmth loving to frost resistant),
Lighting Preference (full sun to full shade), Water Requirements (constant
watering to only when dry), Complexity of Care (easy or complex). Some
plants include Growth information for height and/or spread.
From left to right,
the window below the Usage Window indicates: Soil Preference (alkaline,
acidic, heavy, etc.), Rheder's Zone (ranging from 1 for Sub-Arctic to
10 for Sub-Tropical), and Lifetime (in years).
Season
Color Diagram
The circle on the upper right corner of the Encyclopedia Main Page gives
you an idea of what you can expect from the chosen plant throughout the
year. The outer circle shows the months in which the plant blooms and
the color of its flowers. Fruits are also indicated in this circle, showing
the period when they ripen and the color of their fruit. The inner circle
indicates when the plant has foliage (including autumn leaves) and the
color of its leaves.
3D
Plant Preview
The preview provides sizing (in meters or feet) of the typical height
and spread of the current plant, and represents how the plant will look
in any 3D view.
Note: The scale of height indicates a plant's total height, including any underground or underwater parts. Underground parts relate only to vegetables. Underwater parts refer only to water plants. Width for bushes and flowers can be affected by how they are pruned. The plant will reach optimum size at maturity and under favorable conditions.
Select
Button
Click this button to choose the currently selected plant and make it available
for placement in your landscape plan. This button is only available when
you are adding a new plant element to the Master Catalog in the Catalog
Manager or when you're editing a plant already in your project.
Latin
/ Common Button
To switch to the name type indicated, click on the button. For example,
if the Plant List is currently displaying Common names, the button will
read "Latin". Clicking it will change the names displayed to
Latin.
Tip: This function is useful when you need to search for a particular plant species and you only know the Latin name, or the Common name isn't coming up with a match.
Other
Encyclopedia Pages
Additional pages with
helpful tools are displayed as tabs across the top of the Encyclopedia
Main page. To access any of these pages, click on the tab. The view of
the window will change and provide the desired information for the currently
selected plant.
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Plant Care Calendar
This page shows monthly care information about the currently selected plant species. The plant care information is organized in a table; the months are shown in columns and the various operations shown in rows (planting, watering, fertilizing, etc.). The icons show which gardening operation the current plant needs in each month. An icon in the upper right corner of the page allows you to toggle between indoor and outdoor care tasks.
| Plant Care Task Icons | Plant Care Dialog | Indoor/Outdoor Care Toggle | ||
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| Animate Button | Close Button |
To see detailed information
about each plant care task, click on the icon. A Plant Care dialog will
be launched. Some dialogs include helpful animations with tips on how
to complete a given task. Click Animate to play the animation and Stop
to stop it. In the upper right corner of the Plant Care dialog is an icon
for the Tools Window. Clicking on it will open a dialog showing the tools
you'll need to complete the task.
World
Map Page 
This page shows a World map that indicates the region of the world from
which the currently selected plant originates. Right-click to see details
about the climate and growing conditions most favorable for plants indigenous
to the region.
Notebook
Page 
Use this page to view and edit notes on the currently selected plant species.
Click in the box on the right side of the page and type in your notes.
You can use the Plant List and Search field as described for the Main
Encyclopedia Page to find the plant for which you would like to add notes.
When you move to another tab or close the Plant Encyclopedia you will
automatically save any changes made to your notes.
Collage
of Plant Pictures Page 
This page contains thumbnail images of all the available plant species.
You can browse through the images manually or by using the arrows at the
top of the page.
| Double
click on the image. - OR - |
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| Click on the Mode button |
| to switch to Picture Mode. Click again to return to thumbnails. |
Plant Diseases Page
This page shows a list of the possible diseases, pests, or other problems that may affect a plant (current plant, selected plants, or all plants from the Encyclopedia). You will see a picture of the disease, details of its symptoms, and care information.
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Symptoms Window | Control Window | ||||
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Disease/Pest
Image
This is a real-world image or artists rendering. The box below the image
indicates what you are seeing - i.e. the part of the plant (flower, bulb,
leaf, etc.) or type of pest (vermin, insect, etc.). If the window below
the picture shows more than one icon, the selected disease has additional
pictures or video. Click on the icons to change the image in the picture
frame.
Disease/Pest
List
The Disease/Pest List works the same as the Plant List on other pages.
Use it as described for the Main Encyclopedia Page.
| Click the Current button in the bottom right corner of the page to limit the Disease List to diseases that affect the currently selected plant only. Click the All button to display the entire list. |  |
To change the plant list by disease:
| If you want to search in reverse fashion to find all plants affected by a chosen disease, click the Filter button at the bottom of the page. Doing this will open the Main Encyclopedia Page. To restore your Plant List, return to the Plant Diseases Page and click the All button. |  |
Search
Edit Field
The box at the top of the list allows you to jump to the disease or pest
you want by typing in the first few letters of the name. The list will
move to the closest match as you type.
Symptoms
Window
This window provides a description of the indications that a plant is
a victim of the currently selected disease or pest.
Control
Window
This window describes steps that should be taken to control or eliminate
the currently selected disease or pest.
Filter Button
Clicking this button switches you back to the Encyclopedia Main Page and
filters the plant list to include only plants that might be affected by
the selected disease or pest.
Current
Button
Clicking this button filters the list to only include diseases and pests
that might affect the plant currently selected on the Encylopedia Main
Page.
All
Button
Clicking this button restores the list to include all diseases and pests.
Using the Encyclopedia
in this mode will allow you to filter out unwanted plants and reduce the
Encyclopedia's Plant List by selecting various criteria. To make use the
Plant Filter, click the lowermost tab on the left side of the Encyclopedia
Window.
| The total number of plants available - based on the filters you have applied - is indicated on the leaf in the upper right corner of the window. Any time you want to remove all filters to access the complete plant list, click on the Reset button. The number will return to 7500. |  |
Setting
Criteria for the Plant Filter
All the icons and scales represent plant selection criteria. Each group
of icons and sliders corresponds to a single criterion (e.g. water requirements,
lifetime, etc.). Click on an icon or adjust a slider position to start
filtering. To deselect a button or icon, click on it again.
| If you select more than one icon within a single group, then all plants with any of the checked properties will be selected. For example, selecting full sun and partial sun will end up excluding all plants that flourish under shade conditions. |  |
If icons/sliders of more than one type are checked/moved, then plants that satisfy all the chosen criteria will be selected. For example, if you click on the deciduous tree icon in the Type box, the full sun icon in the Lighting Preference box, and the white square on the Color box, then only hardwood trees that flourish in full sunlight, require minimal watering, and produce white flowers will be selected.
Filtering
Options - Main Page
Choosing the Main Encyclopedia Page tab allows you to set Plant Type,
Watering Needs, Lighting Preference, Soil Preference, Zone, Color (for
flower, leaf, autumn leaf, and fruit), Height, and Blooming Season.
Filtering
Options - Plant Care Calendar Page
Choosing the Plant Care Calendar tab allows you to set Complexity of Care
required, Speed of Growth (for both height and width), Life Expectancy,
and Usage.
Filtering
Options - World Map Page
Choosing the World Map tab allows you to set the region of the world where
the plants originate. For example, if you wanted to find plants for an
Asian-themed water garden, you would click on the Asian region of the
map to exclude any plants that aren't indigenous to Asia.
Filtering
Options - Notebook Page
Choosing the Notebook tab allows you to filter plants by notes you've
entered previously on the Notebook Page. For example, you could peruse
the encyclopedia to find all the plants that might work for your landscape
plan. You could type a note of "Front Yard" on the Notebook
Page for plants you like for that purpose. When you lay out the front
yard of your landscape plan, you could then go back to the Plant Filter
and limit your Plant List to only the plants you've pre-chosen for your
front yard.
Filtering
Options - Collage of Plant Pictures Page
Choosing the Collage of Plant Pictures tab allows you to limit your Plant
List by the part of the plant shown in its photo.
Filtering
Options - Plant Diseases Page
The filter option available by choosing the Diseases Page tab is different,
because it affects the Disease List, not the Plant List. To use this filter,
click on the image that represents the part of the plant affected or type
of infestation, then click on the tab above the Filter tab to switch to
the regular Diseases Page. For example, if you are considering planting
lilies or daffodils in your garden, and want to know what type of diseases
you might have to contend with, click the Bulb image, then go to the Diseases
Page.
*Design Suite Deluxe and Landscape Design Deluxe include 7500 plants, but other versions of the program may include fewer plants.