Field
Notes
Technical writing on plant science, growing practice, biosecurity, and landscape specification from the Cape Nursery team. Written for landscape architects, contractors, and horticulture professionals.
Fast-growing screen trees for Australia — 200mm to 100L compared
Realistic growth rates and year-3 / year-5 height expectations for Australia’s most-specified screening species, by climate zone and container size.
Read article →Research and technical writing on species selection, growing methodology, and commercial specification practice.
Psyllid Resistance in Lilly Pilly Selections: What the Evidence Shows
The lerp psyllid has fundamentally changed how landscape architects and contractors specify hedging plants in subtropical Australia. An examination of the evidence behind psyllid-resistant cultivar selection.
Coastal Conditioning and Establishment Success: The Case for Provenance-Matched Stock
Plants grown in sheltered inland environments and then installed in coastal conditions face a period of significant stress. This article examines the physiological basis for provenance-matched stock specification.
Biosecurity in the Landscape Plant Supply Chain: A Practical Framework
Soil-borne pathogens — particularly Phytophthora cinnamomi — represent the most significant and least visible risk in commercial landscape plant supply. A practical guide to specifying for biosecurity compliance.
Best coastal screening plants for Australian sites
A specifier’s guide to coastal screening plants in Australia: salt-tolerant lilly pillies, casuarinas, westringias, and the placement zones each one belongs in.
Container sizes explained: when to specify advanced trees
140mm tube stock through to 1000L landmark specimens. When to use which size, what each one delivers on day one, and when to step up.
NGINA, NATSPEC, AS2303: an accreditation glossary
What each Australian nursery accreditation actually requires, and how to combine them into a supply specification clause that holds up.
Fast-growing screen trees for Australia — 200mm to 100L compared
Realistic year-1 and year-3 height figures for Australia’s most-specified screening species, by climate zone and container size.
Why advanced trees cost what they cost
What drives wholesale advanced-tree pricing in Australia — the cost components, the time-in-production, and why a 400L is rarely four times the price of a 100L.
Council-approved street trees — Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Northern Rivers compared
A specifier’s reference to current council-approved species across the four catchments Cape supplies into, with links to the published documents.
Field Notes is Cape Nursery’s technical publication. It covers species science, growing methodology, biosecurity, and specification practice for landscape architecture and construction professionals.
Articles are written by the Cape Nursery growing and technical team, drawing on over 35 years of wholesale nursery production experience on the Northern NSW coast. We aim to produce content that is genuinely useful for professional specification decisions.