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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers Nan Hampton, Jimmy Mills and Barbara Medford to be the culpable and capable parties. Yet, others think staff members Damon Waitt, Joe Marcus and Philip Hawkins might play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

Questions From Near You

Sturgis, SD
Problems with spreading juniper in Sturgis, SD
I live in Sturgis, South Dakota and I have two different varieties of Spreading Juniper in the yard as ground cover. They have developed an orange colored fungus that goes dormant in the winter but a...
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Sturgis, SD
Deer Resistant plants in South Dakota
Plants and flowers that deer wont eat and will grow in Black Hills, SD
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Rapid City, SD
What about planting a Colorado Blue Spruce in Rapid City, SD?
What would be the best tree to plant in my small front yard that would be low maintenance? I live in Rapid City, SD, and we are landscaping our front yard. We were thinking of Colorado Blue Spruce b...
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Rapid City, SD
Native plants for erosion control in South Dakota
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants: I live in the Black Hills of South Dakota at about 5000 feet ASL. My house is on a steep hill. I had to clear a perimeter around my house of all the pine trees for fire supp...
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Rapid City, SD
Sources of seeds for Cudweed Sagewort and Artemisia ludoviciana
Where can a person buy seeds for Cudweed Sagewort. Artemisia ludoviciana?
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Rapid City, SD
Weird-looking rootless plant, perhaps a fungus
While out it my backyard (i.e. the Black Hills of South Dakota), I spotted a weird-looking rootless plant (I think it may be a fungus) growing beneath the Ponderosa Pines. It was the only one in the a...
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Box Elder, SD
Grasshopper invasion in Box Elder SD
I just bought a new home and there is an infestation of grasshoppers throughout the neighborhood. What shrubs and/or flowers could I plant that they may not like to eat?
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Enning, SD
Recommendations for house plants for South Dakota
Thank you for your web site! I live in Enning South Dakota, and I am new to this beautiful part of the United States. I would love to grow house plants but don't know where to start looking or what k...
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Crawford, NE
Prairie and wetland restoration in Nebraska
We recently bought property south of Crawford,NE near the Pine Ridge area. It has been grazed by horses for years. We'd like to restore the native grasses and flowers. I have no idea where to begi...
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Alliance, NE
Plant identification, Russian olive or buffaloberry
Thank you for the info I found here regarding the silver buffaloberry and the russian olive. I need help in identifying which small shrub I have(it is one or the other)that was transplanted here on o...
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Mclaughlin, SD
Information on medicinal plant uses by Dakota Indians
I would like to know what the plants were that were used for medicinal purposes by the plains Indians in the Dakotas. Is there a place/site that I can go to to research the data?
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Casper, WY
Need a shrub that can tolerate high winds in Casper, WY.
I need a medium height evergreen shrub that can tolerate severe winds, extreme cold, and requires little water. I live in Casper WY, which is high-desert, 5,000 foot elevation, zone 4. We have roaming...
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Casper, WY
Antelope Resistant Plants for Casper, Wyoming
What are some drought resistant, full-sun plants for Wyoming that are Antelope resistant - Deer are not much of a problem, but antelope are!
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Kimball, NE
Changing blooming patterns on sunflowers from Kimball NE
The common sunflower seems to be very prolific some years, not so much others. Is this weather related or cyclical?
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Riverton, WY
Can a hibiscus survive in Wyoming?
Can a hibiscus survive in Wyoming if it is taken care of properly? If so, can you tell me how to make it happen?
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Billings, MT
Possible fungus growing on mountain ash (Sorbus sp. or Fraxinus sp.)
We have a mountain ash with something growing several feet off the ground that looks like duckbills or mushrooms. Can you tell me what is wrong with it. We lost one mountain ash tree to something an...
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Billings, MT
Use of the word annual
Why is the word 'annual' used to describe plants with one grow season, when in all other cases it's used to describe things that reoccur year after year? i.e. Events, celebration, salary?
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Stratford, SD
Can Calycanthus floridus survive in South Dakota?
Calycanthus in South Dakota? I've recently purchased some seeds for a calycanthus plant (floridus I think). I'm going to start them indoors but am wondering if this can survive a South Dakota winter...
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Greeley, CO
Groundcovers for area under blue spruce in Colorado
I have a 40 ft blue spruce limbed up 6 ft in my yard on the west in Greeley, CO (50 mi N Denver, zone 4 or 5). It gets some sun underneath in the later afternoon and evening. Can you suggest 4 to 5 ...
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Bridger, MT
Number of seeds per pound for Curvepod fumewort from Bridger MT
Do you know or where can I find the number of seeds per pound for Corydalis curvisiliqua-scrambled eggs?
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Cody, WY
Trimming back wildflower beds in Cody Wyoming
I live in Cody Wyoming and I have some wildflower beds in front of my house that didn't get trimmed back this summer...they look like swamp plants now, super nasty. Should I trim them now?
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