FL Landscape study guide
FL Landscape · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The FL Landscape credential is a Florida contractor-type license for people who install, maintain, and repair landscapes for hire. It is aimed at working landscape professionals - crew leaders, foremen, owner-operators, and people moving from maintenance into installation and construction - who need to contract directly with the public rather than work as a subcontractor under someone else's license. The FL Landscape study guide has 10 sections and about 4,838 words.
01Florida Landscape Business Practices and Contracting
Business Practices and Contracting covers how a Florida landscape company may legally sell, staff, and get paid for work: licenses and exemptions, contracts and cancellation rights, construction liens, taxes, insurance, and the 811 damage-prevention law. Questions are scenario-based - a date, a contract term, or a mix of credentials that makes a job legal or illegal.
526 words, about 3 min02Plant Identification, Selection, and Installation
This domain tests whether you can name Florida-adapted trees, palms, shrubs, and groundcovers; judge whether a plant is legal to sell and appropriate for a given light, soil, salt, and cold exposure; and install it to ANSI A300 Part 6 and UF/IFAS standards so it survives past the warranty period. USDA cold hardiness spans 8a in the Panhandle to 11b in the Keys, so a plant that thrives in Miami can freeze in Tallahassee.
543 words, about 3 min03Irrigation and Water Management
Irrigation and Water Management tests design hydraulics (precipitation rate, matched heads, pressure), Florida code and water management district rules (rain sensors, day-of-week limits, backflow), and scheduling that applies water no faster than the soil can absorb it. Florida law requires a functioning rain sensor or similar shutoff on every automatic irrigation system, and it must remain operational, not just present.
412 words, about 2 min04Soils, Fertilization, and Plant Nutrition
This domain tests Florida soil behavior (sand, low organic matter, low cation exchange capacity, rapid leaching), the state fertilizer rule and local ordinances, soil testing, and the arithmetic of applying nutrients at labeled rates. Most Florida upland soils are deep sands such as Myakka fine sand, with less than 2% organic matter and cation exchange capacity of only a few cmol/kg, so nitrogen, potassium, and water move down and out quickly.
455 words, about 2 min05Landscape Pests, Diseases, and Integrated Pest Management
This domain tests pest and disease identification in Florida landscapes, the legal boundaries of who may apply what, and the IPM sequence: identify, monitor, set a threshold, combine tactics, and evaluate. Chapter 482, F.S., and Rule 5E-14, F.A.C., govern application for hire.
447 words, about 2 min06Landscape Construction, Hardscape, and Grading
This domain tests drainage and grading tolerances, base and subgrade preparation for pavers and concrete, retaining wall and pool barrier requirements, and the erosion and sediment controls required on a Florida construction site. The Florida Building Code requires finish grade to fall about 6 inches within the first 10 feet of a foundation, and site grades must drain positively to a swale, street, or easement with no ponding.
525 words, about 3 min07Landscape Maintenance and Pruning
This domain tests whether you can hold a property to a defensible maintenance standard: ANSI A300 pruning, correct mowing heights and intervals, palm pruning limits, mulch depth, and routine scouting that prevents callbacks. No topping, no lion-tailing, and no flush cuts; cut at the branch collar and use the three-cut method on limbs too heavy to hold.
491 words, about 2 min08Florida-Friendly Landscaping and Environmental Best Practices
This domain tests the nine Florida-Friendly Landscaping principles, the statutes that protect them, the fertilizer and stormwater rules that follow from them, and the water savings you can defend to a client or an HOA. Right plant, right place; water efficiently; fertilize appropriately; mulch; attract wildlife; manage yard pests responsibly; recycle yard waste; reduce stormwater runoff; protect the waterfront.
418 words, about 2 min09Safety, OSHA, and Equipment Operation
This domain tests OSHA standards as they apply to landscape crews, excavation and utility-locate rules, heat and equipment hazards, and the reporting deadlines that follow a serious injury. Florida has no approved State Plan for private employers, so federal OSHA enforces 29 CFR 1910 for general industry and 29 CFR 1926 for construction; landscape work touches both.
535 words, about 3 min10Plan Reading, Estimating, and Bidding
This domain tests whether you can read a landscape and irrigation plan accurately, build a defensible takeoff and price, and submit a responsive bid on Florida public or private work. Read the title block, north arrow, and graphic scale first.
486 words, about 2 min