Start with the opening note of the issued Section 32 93 00 and confirm that the planting plan shows every planted area with its layout, that the plant list or schedule gives each plant’s botanical name, size, root ball type, and key number, and that subsurface drainage and planting accessories such as stakes, guys, edging, weed fabric, and root barriers are drawn. Then check that the topsoil source, planting soil mixture, pit and bed details, clearances, mulch, staking and guying, and planting dates kept in the section match the schedule and details, and that the irrigation, earthwork, drainage, and establishment work the section relies on appears in the documents that carry it.
Assemble the review package
Gather the planting plan and plant schedule or list, the planting details for tree and shrub pits, plant beds, ground cover spacing, staking and guying, watering basins, edging, mulch and weed control fabric, root control barriers, and subsoil drainage, the landscape grading plan with the civil grading, storm drainage, and site utility plans, the tree protection plan for existing trees and shrubs to remain, the irrigation plan, the geotechnical report and any soil tests, the erosion and sediment control plan, the landscape design analysis, the construction schedule, and the issued Section 32 93 00 with Sections 32 05 33 and 31 00 00, the irrigation section, and the seeding, sodding, sprigging, and transplanting sections where used. Trace one tree and one shrub bed from the schedule through their details before assuming the others match.
WBDG publishes UFGS 32 93 00: Exterior Plants as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 4, 2026). Use your project’s issued specification and amendments for the actual comparison; the guide specification does not automatically govern your project. The checklist below is an original suggested review workflow, not a reproduction of the UFGS requirements.
Eight checks to run against the issued set
Use one record per location or system. The CSV contains the same eight prompts plus fields for source revisions, observed evidence, the review owner, the decision, and closure references.
| Check | Sources to compare | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| What the drawings must show | Opening designer note on drawings + Regulations and Varieties article + planting plan, plant schedule, and details | Does the set show every area to be planted with the plant layout, the plant list, the subsurface drainage, and the planting accessories, as the note lists, and does each plant or group of plants carry a key number that the nursery certifications can repeat, as the Regulations and Varieties article requires? |
| Plant schedule and nursery stock | Regulations and Varieties, Plant Size, Root Ball Size, Growth of Trunk and Crown, Nursery Certifications, and Plant Material Photographs articles + plant schedule + irrigation plan | Does each schedule row give the botanical and common name, size, and root ball type in the terms ANSI/ANLA Z60.1 uses, is the form of growth described for specimen or special purpose plants, as the note asks, is the photograph paragraph kept if the schedule includes trees of the size it covers, and if the bracketed phrase about no supplemental irrigation once established is kept, do the irrigation plan and design analysis say the irrigation is for establishment only? |
| Topsoil source and planting soil | Existing Soil, On-Site Topsoil, Off-Site Topsoil, Composition, Planting Soil Mixtures, and Topsoil Composition Tests articles + Section 31 00 00 + grading plan + pit and bed details | Is one topsoil option kept, and does it agree with the stripping and stockpiling in Section 31 00 00 or the topsoil borrow areas indicated, are the composition blanks filled in, is one planting soil mixture chosen and named the same way in the pit and bed details, and are the soil test sample areas to be marked on a planting map, as the test article asks? |
| Plant pits, beds, and setting | Individual Plant Pit Excavation, Plant Beds with Multiple Plants, Handling and Setting, Plant Bed Preparation, and Earth Mounded Watering Basin articles + tree and shrub pit details + bed outlines | Do the pit and bed details give the depths the articles say are shown on the drawings, is one pit size option and one setting option kept and drawn the same way, do the details agree with the section on the root ball’s relation to finished grade, and is the watering basin option kept the one the details show? |
| Subsoil drainage and percolation | Drainage Pipe for Plant Pits and Beds and Subsoil Drainage for Plant Pits and Beds articles and their designer notes + Percolation Test article + planting and storm drainage plans + Section 33 40 00 | Do the drawings indicate the areas that need subsoil drainage, as the note says they must, is one drainage pipe type chosen, are both drainage paragraphs deleted where the project uses Section 33 40 00 instead, as the notes direct, and do the documents say how a drainage system or soil penetrant will be added if the percolation test calls for one? |
| Clearances to buildings, paving, and utilities | Layout, Plant Bed Preparation, Protection, and Regulations and Varieties articles + planting plan + site utility plan + building and paving plans + tree protection plan | Is the bracketed planting distance from building walls, pavement edges, and fence or wall edges in the Layout article chosen, does it agree with the fixed tree distance from utility lines and building walls in the Plant Bed Preparation article, do the trees on the plan respect both, are mature sizes clear of structures and utilities, as the plant selection article requires, and is protective fencing shown no closer to plants that remain than their drip line? |
| Mulch, fabric, edging, and root barriers | Weed Control Fabric, Mulch, Edging Material, and Root Control Barrier articles + Weed Control Fabric Installation, Mulch Topdressing, Installation of Edging, and Root Control Barrier execution articles + bed details + paving plan | Is one weed fabric and one mulch type chosen, with the mulch depth blank matching the bed detail, is the edging kept, wood, recycled plastic, or a concrete mowstrip, the one the plan legend shows, with expansion joints where a mowstrip meets rigid paving, and are root barriers drawn where trees sit near paving, curbs, or utilities, with the vertical, horizontal, or surrounding application chosen? |
| Staking, guying, dates, and guarantee | Staking and Guying Material, Staking, Guying, Deadmen, Anchors, Flags, Planting Dates, Restrictions, and Guarantee articles + staking and guying details + construction schedule + Section 32 05 33 | Does the staking or guying detail show the number of stakes, the guy material, and the anchor type the section keeps, with turnbuckles where it says they are indicated, are planting dates filled in from the local extension service or deleted for continuous growing conditions, as the note directs, is one guarantee option chosen, and does its start agree with the plant establishment period in Section 32 05 33 and the contract completion time? |
Worked example: shade trees over a water service and an edging no article covers
Illustrative example: a new administration building on a clay site has shade trees in lawn panels along the parking lot, a shrub bed along the entrance, and ground cover on a slope. The plant schedule gives sizes but no root ball types or key numbers, the issued Section 32 93 00 keeps both the on-site and off-site topsoil paragraphs and every planting soil mixture option, the tree pit detail shows no drainage although the geotechnical report describes slow percolation, two trees on the planting plan sit over the domestic water service shown on the utility plan, and the edging callout reads steel edging, a material none of the kept edging articles covers.
Ask the landscape architect to add root ball types and key numbers to the schedule, keep one topsoil source and one soil mixture that agree with Section 31 00 00, and decide with the geotechnical and civil engineers whether the pits need the subsoil drainage this section offers or storm drainage under Section 33 40 00. Ask them to move the two trees clear of the water service under the section’s clearance articles and either change the edging callout to a kept material or add a steel edging paragraph to the section.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 32 93 00 covers new exterior plants. Moving existing plants follows Section 32 96 00 Transplanting Exterior Plants, turf follows the seeding, sodding, and sprigging sections (32 92 19, 32 92 23, and 32 92 26), plant establishment and pesticide use follow Section 32 05 33, topsoil stripping and trench backfill follow Section 31 00 00, wood and plastic lumber edging follow Section 06 10 00, concrete mowstrips follow Section 03 30 00, drainage may sit in Section 33 40 00, and irrigation follows whichever irrigation section the project issued: this section’s related requirements name 32 84 24 Irrigation Sprinkler Systems, while 32 84 23 Underground Sprinklers is the other UFGS irrigation section. Check those before calling a requirement missing. Plant species, soil amendment and fertilizer rates, and pit sizes are design decisions the notes leave to the landscape architect, with soil tests and the local extension service. The current guide section cites ANSI/ANLA Z60.1, ASTM D5268 and D4972, the USDA Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory Methods Manual, and TCIA A300 Part 1 and Z133; confirm the editions your project invokes with the landscape architect.
When requirements disagree, follow the project’s document-control and clarification process. Do not assume that drawings always override specifications, or the reverse. Identify the exact sources and request an authorized decision.
Close the issue across the affected documents
Record the location or tag, drawing and specification references, issue dates, observed difference, and the decision needed. Assign an owner and keep the item open until the response identifies the governing requirement. Check the revised drawings and specification references together; a response email alone may leave the issued package inconsistent.
For the overall process, use the guide to drawing and specification conflicts. Mark an inapplicable checklist row with a reason, and distinguish a verified correction from a question that still needs design information.
Where Groundbook fits
Groundbook’s drawing and specification review helps investigate potential disagreements in the documents you supply. Include the relevant specification sections and drawing references, then verify the cited evidence with the responsible reviewers before acting on a finding.