The Landscape Sub
That Doesn’t
Generate Warranty
Calls Back to Your
Office
Most landscape subs in South Florida do mid-job work fine. The closeout is where they fail. Closeout binder before TCO walk. Lifetime plant guarantee that transfers to the owner. Plant material relationships that survive shortages.
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14
Commercial Projects Closed (18mo)
3
Avg Punch List of SC
100%
Closeout Binders Before TCO
$1.5M
Bonding Capacity
Commercial Landscape Subcontractor for General Contractors in South Florida
If you are a commercial GC running projects in Broward, Palm Beach, or Miami-Dade, you already know the landscape sub is the trade most likely to either get you to TCO clean or stretch the punch list into month four. Most landscape subs in South Florida do mid-job work fine. The closeout is where they fail. As-builts arrive late or do not arrive at all. The maintenance manual the owner needs is missing. Plant warranty paperwork shows up in three different formats from three different folders, none of which match the spec. The crew demobilizes the day after substantial completion and you spend the next two months chasing them for documentation that should have been delivered with the keys.
Green Image Landscaping is built to be the landscape sub that does not generate warranty calls back to your office six months after handover. We have closed 14 commercial projects in the last 18 months in Broward and Palm Beach. Average punch list at substantial completion: 3 items. Closeout binder delivered before TCO walkthrough every time. The lifetime plant guarantee on every install transfers to the owner if they continue with us on the maintenance contract — which means the owner gets a warranty no other landscape sub can match, and you get a sub whose interest is keeping the install alive long after you have moved to the next project.
The Real Problem: The Closeout Is Where Landscape Subs Fail
The construction phase of a commercial landscape installation is straightforward. Plant material gets ordered. Irrigation gets installed. Sod goes down. Trees get staked. The crew works against the GC’s schedule and most of the time the trade either keeps up or it does not. The pain comes later.
Three closeout failures recur on commercial landscape projects in South Florida:
Documentation that does not exist or arrives late. The as-built irrigation plan was never started. The maintenance manual that the owner’s facilities team needs is a three-page PDF stitched together the day before the TCO walk. Plant warranty paperwork is missing the species, the size at install, the install date, or all three. The owner’s facilities team takes possession of a property they cannot maintain because the sub did not document what they installed.
Plant warranties that mean nothing. Most landscape subs offer a 90-day plant warranty that starts at substantial completion. The owner’s facilities team takes the keys, the project moves out of the GC’s punch list, and 90 days later — exactly when most install-stress mortality is starting to show — the warranty is dead. The replacement falls on the owner. The owner asks the GC about it. The GC explains it is a sub issue. The owner remembers that conversation the next time they hire a GC.
The sub disappears. The crew demobilizes the day after substantial completion. The PM’s calls do not get returned. The 6-month warranty walk that was in the contract never happens. The 12-month warranty walk definitely does not happen. The owner ends up calling a different landscape company to do work that should have been covered, which becomes another bill the owner remembers.
Each of these is preventable. The fix is operational, not magical. The fix is a sub whose process actively closes the project out, instead of a sub whose process stops at the last invoice.
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How GCs Should Select a Commercial Landscape Subcontractor
If you are evaluating a landscape sub for a project — whether you are putting it out to bid, adding a sub to your standing bid list, or replacing a sub mid-project — here is the framework. Same framework we recommend whether or not we are one of the bidders. We give the long version in our GC Field Guide to Selecting a Landscaper, linked at the bottom of this page.
Closeout Documentation — Ask for a Sample
Ask every prospective sub: “Show me the closeout binder you delivered on your last commercial project.” The answer separates real operators from the rest. A sub who can produce a sample closeout binder — with the as-builts, the maintenance manual, the plant warranty paperwork, the irrigation startup procedures, the COI at completion — is telling you they have a system. A sub who has to “put one together for you” is telling you they will be putting yours together the week of TCO.
Insurance and Bonding
Verify before they hit your site: General liability of at least $2M aggregate. Workers compensation, current. Commercial auto, current. Certificate of Insurance naming your project (and your owner where applicable) as additional insured. Bonding capacity that covers the project value, with a reference letter from the bonding company on request. The sub that hesitates on documentation is the sub whose paperwork is not current.
Plant Warranty Structure
Standard industry warranty is 90 days. That is the warranty the owner forgets they have until the plants start dying at month four. Ask: “What does your warranty look like, and can it transfer to the owner if they continue maintenance with you?” The right answer is a structured warranty that has terms past 90 days and a transfer mechanism the owner can actually use. Ours is a lifetime guarantee that transfers to the owner if they continue with us on the maintenance side — which makes us the sub whose interest is keeping the install alive after handover, not the sub whose interest stops at the last draw.
Crew Continuity and Field Leadership
Ask: “Who is the crew lead on my project, and will they be there from mobilization through punch list closeout?” The answer should be a single name. Crews that change leads mid-project are crews where the second lead does not know what was supposed to be installed at the first lead’s stations. Construction is hard enough without losing institutional knowledge halfway through.
Schedule Reliability
Ask for three references on schedule performance, specifically: “Did the sub finish on the date we agreed to, and if not, why not?” Landscape work is dependent on plant material availability, sod availability, weather windows, and irrigation supply chain. Real subs have plant material relationships that survive shortages. Subs without those relationships are subs that move TCO three weeks for a sabal palm shortage.
Punch List Discipline
Ask: “What is your average punch list count at substantial completion on your last five commercial projects?” The number tells you how the sub thinks about closeout. Single-digit punch lists are operational discipline. Twenty-item punch lists at SC are a sub that does not self-inspect. We track this number internally — average across the last 14 commercial closeouts is three items.
References From Comparable Projects
Three references from GCs that ran projects similar in scope, value, and complexity. Drive by two of them if you can. Talk to the project manager, not just the principal — the PM is the person who actually worked with the sub and will give you the unvarnished view.
Three Things We Do That Most South Florida
Landscape Subs Do Not
Closeout Binder Before TCO
Every commercial project we close ships with a complete closeout binder delivered to the GC’s PM no later than the day before the TCO walk. Inside the binder: as-built irrigation plan with controller programming sheet, plant inventory list with species/size/install date for every install, full maintenance manual written for the owner’s facilities team, plant warranty registration paperwork, irrigation startup procedures, fertilization schedule recommendation, lien releases and final COI. The PM walks TCO with the binder in hand. The owner takes possession of a property they can actually maintain.
Lifetime Plant Guarantee That Transfers to the Owner
Standard industry plant warranty: 90 days. Our warranty: lifetime, transferable to the owner if they continue with us on the maintenance contract. The owner gets a warranty no other landscape sub can match. The GC gets a sub whose interest is keeping the install alive long after handover. The handover conversation between GC, sub, and owner becomes a conversation about ongoing relationships, not about who pays for the dying hibiscus at month four.
Plant Material Relationships That Survive Shortages
South Florida has chronic plant material supply issues — sabal palm shortages, queen palm shortages, foxtail palm price spikes, container shortages on common ornamentals. Most landscape subs are dependent on whichever wholesale yard their PM happens to call first. We have direct relationships with multiple growers in Florida and Georgia that survive most shortages, which means we can hold a TCO date when other subs have to push it.
How We Work With General Contractors
Step 1 — Bid Walk
Once you flag us for a project, we walk the site with the PM, review the landscape architect’s drawings, and identify any constructability issues we can flag pre-bid. The walk happens within five business days of the request. We do not bid blind.
Step 2 — Bid
Our bid uses the same fixed-format scope template on every project. Line items, quantities, exclusions in plain language. The bid arrives on or before the bid date. No “pending material confirmation” placeholder language.
Step 3 — Mobilize
Once awarded, we issue a project schedule with our mobilization date, lead crew name, daily report cadence, and our weekly meeting attendance commitment. We show up to weekly OAC meetings. We hit the schedule. If a material shortage threatens the schedule, we surface it the week we know, not the week before TCO.
Step 4 — Build
We document daily. Photos, plant inventory tracking, irrigation as-built updates as we go (not at the end), and ongoing punch self-inspection. Mid-project punch reviews at 50% and 90% so the closeout punch is small. Owner walks attended on request — we do not surprise the owner at TCO with anything the GC has not already seen.
Step 5 — Close Out
Closeout binder delivered before TCO walk. Final COI, lien releases, and warranty paperwork in the PM’s hands. Maintenance contract proposal to the owner if requested by the GC. 6-month and 12-month warranty walks scheduled at SC. Crews demobilize from the site clean and on time.
Commercial Landscape Installation Services for GCs
New construction landscape installation
full design intent execution under landscape architect drawings
Irrigation installation
full system install under Certified Irrigation Contractor with as-built deliverables
Sod installation
site-wide grading and sod, athletic-grade or ornamental
Plant and tree installation
including specimen trees, palm relocations, and large-format installs
Hardscaping
paver walks, retaining walls, courtyard hardscape, plaza work
Drainage
French drains, catch basins, rough drainage to integrate with civil scope
Landscape lighting
low-voltage installation, controller programming, transformer integration
Erosion control
for sites with retention ponds or water bodies; delivered through our Shoreline Erosion Control division
Tenant improvement (TI) landscape work
entrance refresh, courtyard installs, grand-opening prep on tight schedules
Maintenance contract continuity
owner can continue with us on maintenance after TCO, which keeps the lifetime plant guarantee active
Case Studies — Commercial Landscape Installation Projects
Anonymized for client privacy. Numbers and circumstances are accurate. GC and project management references available on request.
The Pompano Office Build
92,000 SF Class B Speculative Office
Setup
92,000 SF Class B speculative office build in Pompano Beach. National GC running the project. Landscape package valued at $310,000. Original landscape sub fired at 60% completion for missed deadlines and an unverifiable plant inventory. The GC’s PM had four weeks until TCO and needed a sub who could pick up mid-project, validate what had been installed against the landscape architect’s drawings, finish the install, and deliver a clean closeout.
Approach
We mobilized within five business days. Did a full plant inventory walk against the landscape architect’s drawings — flagged 11 substitutions the prior sub had made without RFI documentation, three of which had to be replaced to meet spec. Ran the install to TCO on schedule. Closeout binder delivered the day before the TCO walk.
Result
TCO achieved on the original date. Punch list at substantial completion: 4 items. The owner continued with us on the maintenance contract, which kept the lifetime plant guarantee active. The GC’s PM added Green Image to their standing bid list for South Florida projects.
The Pre-TCO Save
145,000 SF Multi-Tenant Retail in Doral
Setup
145,000 SF multi-tenant retail center in Doral. Anchor tenant grand opening tied to TCO. Six entrance palms specified at 25-foot height. The original landscape sub bid 6 weeks lead time on the entrance palms, which would have pushed TCO past the anchor tenant’s opening date and triggered a co-tenancy clause.
Approach
We were not the original landscape sub. The GC’s PM called us at 7am on a Tuesday. We sourced equivalent material in 8 days from our existing grower relationships in Florida and Georgia, delivered and installed within the original schedule, and held the TCO date.
Result
TCO held. Anchor tenant opened on the scheduled date. The original landscape sub remained on the project for the balance of the install, but Green Image got added to the GC’s primary bid list across their South Florida portfolio. Result of one phone call on a Tuesday: a steady flow of bid invitations for the next 18 months.
Frequently Asked Questions From General Contractors
What size commercial projects do you take on?
Most of our commercial install work runs from $50,000 to $750,000 in landscape package value. We have the bonding capacity for larger work and have closed projects above $1M, but our sweet spot — where our crew structure, plant material relationships, and closeout discipline all add up — is the $100K to $500K range. We are honest about what is outside our wheelhouse.
What is your bonding capacity?
Single project bonding capacity covers projects up to $1.5M. Aggregate capacity covers our active project load. We can produce a bonding company reference letter on request. If a project requires bonding above our capacity, we will tell you that on the bid walk, not after the bid is awarded.
Are you licensed and insured for commercial construction work?
Yes. State pesticide applicator certifications under FDACS, Certified Irrigation Contractor on staff, $2M General Liability aggregate, Workers Compensation on every employee, Commercial Auto $1M per occurrence. COIs naming the project and the GC available before mobilization. License numbers verifiable on the public registry.
How does the lifetime plant guarantee work for the owner after TCO?
If the owner continues with us on the maintenance contract after TCO, the plant guarantee stays active. We replace plant material that dies under our continuous maintenance at no cost to the owner — same species, same size at install date, no separate invoice. If the owner switches to a different maintenance vendor, the warranty reverts to a 12-month standard plant warranty on the original install.
Can you handle mid-project takeovers if a current sub is failing?
Yes. We have done four mid-project takeovers in the last 18 months. Process: walk the site with the GC’s PM within five business days, audit what has been installed against the drawings, identify the gap to TCO, deliver a fixed-price proposal to complete and close out. Fast mobilization is what we are built for. We do not punish the GC for the prior sub’s failure.
How do you handle schedule risk on plant material?
We carry direct relationships with multiple growers in Florida and Georgia, which means we have alternative sources for most common species. On specimen trees and exotic palms, we surface the lead time on the bid walk so the GC has visibility before the schedule is locked. We will tell you if a spec’d plant cannot be hit in the schedule, and propose a substitute with the landscape architect’s blessing.
What does your closeout package include?
As-built irrigation plan, controller programming sheet, plant inventory list with species/size/install date, owner-facing maintenance manual, plant warranty registration, irrigation startup procedures, fertilization schedule recommendation, final COI, lien releases. Delivered as a physical binder and a PDF, no later than the day before TCO walk.
Will you attend OAC and weekly subcontractor meetings?
Yes. Our PM attends weekly OAC and any subcontractor coordination meetings on the project schedule. We do not bill for meeting attendance. If something is going to threaten our schedule, we surface it in the meeting where the GC can plan around it, not in the email at midnight before TCO.
Where in South Florida do you take on projects?
Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade. Specifically: Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Wellington, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Coral Springs, Parkland, Pompano Beach, Plantation, Weston, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Aventura, Doral, and most municipalities in between. We extend for the right project.
How do we get on your bid list?
Submit the form below or email Alex on our team. We add GCs to our standing bid list after one project closeout that meets our standards on both sides. The first bid invitation gets responded to in five business days from the bid documents arriving.
Where We Service Commercial Construction Projects
Green Image services commercial construction projects throughout Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade County. Crews based in Boca Raton with active project work across:
- Boca Raton
- Delray Beach
- Boynton Beach
- Wellington
- West Palm Beach
- Palm Beach Gardens
- Jupiter
- Coral Springs
- Parkland
- Pompano Beach
- Plantation
- Weston
- Pembroke Pines
- Hollywood
- Aventura
- Doral
- + Surrounding areas
Local route density and plant material relationships matter for new construction — they are the difference between holding a TCO date and pushing it three weeks for a material shortage.
Get on the Bid List
If you are a commercial GC running projects in South Florida and looking for a landscape sub whose closeout discipline matches the rest of your trades, Alex from our team will walk a project with you and put us on your standing bid list.
Full as-builts, maintenance manual, and warranty paperwork delivered before the TCO walk
If the owner continues with us on maintenance, the warranty stays alive
We hold TCO dates when other subs cannot during material shortages