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Indigenous Plants
Residents wanting to grow plants indigenous to the City of Whitehorse (i.e. plant species that grew in the municipality prior to European settlement) can download an indigenous flora list using Council’s Whitehorse Mapping GIS Online system.
Residents can enter their address details to access a list of plants indigenous to their area. They can then use the landscape design tool information below to establish a thriving indigenous garden.
Indigenous plants have adapted to soil types and weather patterns of specific areas, which means they grow better and have greater disease resistance.
Benefits of Indigenous Plants
- Indigenous plants have developed and adapted over thousands of years to be suited to local conditions. Once established in the right location, they require little to no additional watering.
- Indigenous flora provides important habitat for local birds, insects and reptiles. The more indigenous plants in your garden the more local wildlife you will see.
- Indigenous plants can be cheaper to purchase, require less water and maintenance, establish quicker and are very resilient resulting in fewer plant replacement purchases. Many species will also reproduce resulting in free plants through natural colonisation of an area.
- Indigenous plants are very attractive in their own right. Whether using them to recreate a bush landscape or amongst existing garden plants, they create colour and interest to any garden.
- Indigenous plants in backyards, parks and streets help retain the local character of an area.
Landscape Design Tool
The following information is designed to assist with landscaping or planting using plants indigenous to your area. It provides quantities of plants to use based on a generic example of a plant community before European settlement.
For more specialist revegetation projects, thorough scientific examination of natural habitat should be undertaken by qualified experts.
- Step 1. Download plant list specific to your property address. View the list at Whitehorse Mapping GIS Online.
- Step 2. Measure area of your site to be planted (length x width in meters).
- Step 3. Determine if your location is typically wet or dry during most of the year.
- Step 4. Use the wet or dry table below to determine how many plant species and how many total plants are required.
Dry Locations (generally dry area for most of the year) *
Plant Category
(the category assigned to each type of plant) |
Species Per Category
(number of different plant species to select for plant category) |
Total Plants Per 100m2
(quantity of plants required for every 100m2 of garden area) |
| Trees |
Between 1 and 5 |
1 |
| Large shrubs |
Between 3 and 4 |
5 |
| Medium shrubs |
Between 3 and 4 |
15 |
| Small shrubs |
Between 4 and 5 |
50 |
| Groundcovers |
Between 3 and 4 |
15 |
| Grasses, lilies and tufting plants |
Between 10 and 15 |
250 |
| Climbers and scramblers |
Between 1 and 2 |
10 |
| Ferns |
Between 1 and 2 |
10 |
| Aquatics and bog plants |
Between 3 and 4 |
For pond, inundated and bog areas |
* Based on data collected from EVC 47, 55, 127, 175, and plant communities generally suited to dryer conditions and naturally occurring away from lowland or creek-line areas.
Wet Locations (generally wet area for most of the year) *
|
Plant Category
(the category assigned to each type of plant)
|
Species Per Category
(number of different plant species to select for plant category) |
Total Plants Per 100m2
(quantity of plants required for every 100m2 of garden area) |
| Trees |
Between 1 and 5 |
1 |
| Large shrubs |
Between 3 and 4 |
5 |
| Medium shrubs |
Between 3 and 4 |
25 |
| Small shrubs |
Between 4 and 5 |
30 |
| Groundcovers |
Between 3 and 4 |
5 |
| Grasses, lilies and tufting plant |
Between 10 and 15 |
250 |
| Climbers and scramblers |
Between 1 and 2 |
5 |
| Ferns |
Between 1 and 2 |
30 |
| Aquatics and bog plants |
Between 3 and 4 |
For pond, inundated or bog areas |
* Based on data collected from EVC 83, 126, 164, and plant communities generally suited to wetter conditions and naturally occurring in lowland or creek-line areas.
Plant Production
The City of Whitehorse is fortunate to have three indigenous plant nurseries capable of producing a range of local flora. Only plants that can be successfully propagated from a local provenance flora source have been included in the database. Other indigenous plants excluded from this database naturally occurred in Whitehorse before European settlement but unfortunately can’t be propagated due to either a lack of local source (i.e. plant is extinct in area) or successful nursery propagation has proved elusive.
Purchasing Indigenous Plants
Residents are able to purchase local indigenous plants at the following community nurseries.
Bungalook Nursery
63-107 Fulton Road, Blackburn South
Open for plant sales every Friday from 10am–1pm and fourth Sunday of the month from 10am to 1pm.
Greenlink Nursery
41 Wimmera Street, Box Hill North
Open for plant sales every Tuesday from 9am to 12 noon (and occasional Saturdays).
Planners, developers and other commercial organisations should contact Councils ParksWide Department for assistance with plant sourcing.
Terminology/Glossary
- Native flora: plants originating anywhere within Australia
- Indigenous flora: plants originating from and found naturally in a particular region of Australia (may be multiple regions)
- Site indigenous flora: plants originating from and found naturally in a specific site within Australia (may be multiple sites)
- Ecological Vegetation Class (EVC): a system of plant community classification for Victoria defined by a combination of floristics, lifeform, position in the landscape, and an inferred fidelity to particular environments
- Local provenance: plants sourced or grown from existing vegetation within a specific region
- Plant community: a collection of plants that occurs naturally and consistently within a particular local environment
Further Information
Contact Council's ParksWide Department for assistance with indigenous plant selection and sourcing on 9262 6222 or customer.service@whitehorse.vic.gov.au
Visit the Department of Sustainability and Environment's website for more information on ecological vegetation classes.
Visit Sustainable Gardening Australia's website for more informaiton about home gardening.