OSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture launches new ornamental plant app

Monday, April 14, 2025

Media Contact: Gail Ellis | Editorial Communications Coordinator | 405-744-9152 | gail.ellis@okstate.edu

The OSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture will soon release Plant-It OK, a new horticulture app designed to help Oklahomans make informed decisions about landscapes and plants.

The app is undergoing final pilot testing and will be available for download in April.

The platform will provide a comprehensive and easy-to-use database of Oklahoma-centric ornamental plants in collaboration with the OSU App Center. It was designed by Justin Quetone Moss, head of the department of horticulture and landscape architecture, Brenda Sanders, OSU Extension assistant, Mike Schnelle, Charles and Linda Shackelford endowed professor of floriculture and David Hillock, senior Extension specialist of consumer horticulture.

The database includes more than 275 plants, ranging from native species to those well-adapted to the state’s ecosystems. The app is intended for homeowners, landscapers and gardening enthusiasts. It offers tools to create personalized plant lists, search for plants based on specific criteria and access detailed plant information.

“The idea with the app is to have all that information in one spot, right in your hands to pull up what you want to find. Instead of going through five or six physical copies of fact sheets, you have one app to rule them all,” Moss said.

Plant-It OK is built on the research and resources of OSU Extension fact sheets. In addition to plant recommendations, the app allows users to identify plants for their projects, like front garden beds or shade gardens.

“As you’re looking for plants, you can just put those in a list so that when you go to a garden center, you can see if they have them,” Sanders said.

The app will provide links to full fact sheets from the OSU Extension website for users who need more in-depth information. In future updates, the team plans to integrate AI-powered plant identification, allowing users to identify plants from photos.

“We’re not there yet,” Moss acknowledged. “We’re not computer programmers, we’re horticulturists. Maybe in the future, we could add something like that. This is version one.”

The app is being developed with support from a U.S. Department of Agriculture specialty crop block grant that is administered by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. In collaboration with the OSU App Center, an on-campus resource for designing and developing web and mobile applications, the team worked closely with app designers and developers to ensure the app's functionality and user-friendly interface.

“We hope it helps the consumer and the homeowner in Oklahoma who just want to have a beautiful landscape and want some help with choosing good plants for their home. At the other end, we hope it helps our industry, too,” Moss said.

The app will be downloadable for iOS and Android devices through the app store and from the OSU Extension website.

Story By: Jacy Gehlsen | jacy.gehlsen@okstate.edu