Remove a plant or item from a design

Remove plants, trees, and other items from an AI design or a photo. Use a custom AI prompt on Plus, deselect plants from an AI template, or delete elements you placed yourself.

How you remove something depends on what it is. Click the plant you want gone:

A selection box and red trash icon appear. You placed it from a library — see Delete an element you placed.
Nothing happens. It's part of the image, from your photo or an AI generation. Use one of the AI methods below.

Here's the difference that trips people up: an AI result is a flat picture. AI doesn't drop in a hundred movable plants; it paints a whole new image of your space. Everything in it is baked into that one image, which is why you can't grab an AI plant and drag it elsewhere.

Helpfully, AI treats an AI-generated image and an uploaded photo exactly the same. Removing a shrub works the same either way.

Remove anything with a custom prompt (Plus and higher)

The best way to remove something from an image, and it works on any image.

Open your design and click the AI tab (the sparkles icon).
Type what you want removed. Be specific about which one and where: "Remove the palm tree on the left side of the yard."
Send your prompt (press Enter, or click send).
Check the result. It's applied to your design automatically — AI shows the before and after side by side, with the new version marked as active. Don't like it? Click Restore (or the "before" thumbnail on the left) to put your previous version back.

Custom prompts are part of SimplyScapes Plus and higher.

Tips:

Name one thing at a time when the result matters.
Say where it is. "The tall shrub right of the front door" beats "the shrub."
Clear the whole slate in one go. "Remove all plants and leave bare soil" is a great way to start fresh before placing plants by hand.
Generate again if it's not right. Results vary each time.

Leave plants out of an AI template (any plan)

Every AI template comes with a plant palette, and you can deselect the plants you don't want before generating. Open a template, toggle off any plant (or remove it, or add your own), then generate.

One honest caveat: deselecting tells AI not to ask for that plant, but it isn't a hard guarantee. A deselected plant will usually be gone, though it can still turn up. If it does, generate again, or remove it with a custom prompt on Plus.

Delete an element you placed

Anything you dragged in from the Plants, Objects, or Images library is a real element on the canvas:

Select it on the canvas.
Click the red trash can icon in the bottom left, or press the Delete key.

Changed your mind? Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac). See Delete a design element.

Cover something up by hand

No Plus plan, or want precise control over a small patch? The Clone Tool copies a nearby patch of grass, gravel, or fence to lay over what you want hidden. It's manual, but it's on every plan. For most removals a custom prompt is faster and cleaner.

Want full control instead?

If you're fighting AI to get one plant in one spot, switch tools. We recommend using AI to prepare the site and generate a concept, then clearing the site and placing plants by hand. See What AI can and can't do.