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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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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

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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

Massapequa, NY
Dog Friendly Privacy Hedge for Long Island
Can you please advise me of some plants for a privacy hedge that are non-toxic to dogs and that would thrive on Long Island, NY? I am looking for a hedge to grow to about 6-8 ft.
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Wantagh, NY
Photographing and Identifying trees of Long Island
After being in a car accident I got into photography as sports are a distant memory due to my injuries. As a new hobby I thought of taking pictures of trees and then finding out their species name. ...
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Wantagh, NY
Plant identification from New York
I have a sunflower like plant growing mysteriously in our garden. Its leaves are large heart shaped. It is a single stem plant. The base of each branch is a small, orange colored bud looking as if...
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wantagh, NY
Sources of native wildflowers for Long Island, NY
What wildflowers are native to Long Island and where can I buy seeds/plants? There is so much information out there that I find my region, Long Island, seems to get lost. There is only 1 loca...
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Wantagh, NY
Need perennials for a long shady bed in Wantagh, NY.
Looking for perennials to be planted in long narrow beds that receive mostly shade with late day sun. Reside in Long Island, New York. Thank you
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Levittown, NY
Tree for memorial in Levittown NY
I am planning a tree planting memorial in Wantagh Park and I don't know what will be hardy enough to grow there. There are the constant breeze and salt water elements to deal with there and of course...
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Levittown, NY
Non-native chocolate mimosa in Levittown NY
I purchased about 2 ft chocolate mimosa tree in early June of this year from a local nursery located in Nassau County, New York. It was doing in our Long Island soil just fine for over a month, I woul...
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W. Gilgo Beach, NY
Long Island Barrier Beach Plants
I live on the south shore of Long Island on a barrier beach and am landscaping my property as a result of Sandy damage. I am going with a sand base, and I am looking for suitable trees and shrubs for...
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North Merrick, NY
Competition between peony and bulbs
I am planting 3 herbaceous peony bare roots 3 feet apart from each other. I am told it will take 3 years before I get blooms. In the meantime, can i safely plant springtime flowering bulbs in th...
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Nassau County, NY
Trees for privacy in NY
I am looking for trees native to New York that I can plant in front of my backyard fence that is six feet tall that will not hide my fence or overshadow my east facing garden beds and plants underneat...
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East Meadow, NY
Dicentra Late in Emerging in the Spring
I have had a bleeding heart plant that has come up for over 50 years. This year it did not come up. Is there anything I can do? Is there a chance that it will come up next year or should I assume that...
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Roosevelt, NY
Plant identfication for Roosevelt Park, NY
Looking for the name and chemical breakdown of a tree. Its leaves are green with heart like puffs blooming out. This tree was seen at Roosevelt Park, Long Island NY 11575
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Babylon, NY
Replacing shrubs with perennials in NY
We removed a lot of shrubs from our back yard that had been there for many years. We now want to plant perennials but there seems to be a lot of very deep roots in the soil. The roots look dead but I...
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Babylon, NY
Fast Growing Groundcovers for Long Island
Can you please suggest a few fast growing groundcovers suitable for the south shore of Long Island? The area is fairly sunny and dry.
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Melville, NY
Ivy for shady wall in New York
I live in Melville, New York. The house is adjacent to the Long Island Expressway and there is a cement sound barrier wall about 25 feet high that runs along the backyard of my 1 acre property. I ...
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West Islip, NY
Spot for communion and tree planting on Long Island
I'm planning to combine my son's communion and a tree planting memorial for his uncle/godfather that passed on Valentine's Day. I'm looking for a venue on Long Island that can combine both on May ...
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Baldwin, NY
Something killing evergreens on Long Island from Baldwin NY
What seems to be killing so many of the evergreens on Long Island - see more and more dying each day - doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason - can it be helped? Many thanks.
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Rockville Centre, NY
Small native evergreen tree for Long Island, NY
Hi, I am looking for an evergreen tree to plant on Long Island NY. I plan on planting it in my front yard. At maturity to about 10-15ft about 5 ft wide. Not sure about soil, the area gets good AM sun ...
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Rockville Centre, NY
Prickly pear doing poorly on Long Island NY
First, thanks for your reply on 11-3-12, re.Can a prickly pear cutting from Harker Heights, TX find happiness in Long Island, NY. The plants were set before a southern window in the attic, temp. ra...
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rockville centre, NY
Can a prickly pear cutting from Harker Heights, TX find happiness in Long Island, NY.
Took a cutting of a prickly pear cactus from my daughters garden in Harker Heights, Tx. Her plants are 5'ht.& wt. Set it into a 10" pot with garden mix soil. Early July 2012, brought it home to Long...
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Oceanside, NY
Learning to identify native plants in backyard
Please let me know how a layman like myself can identify native plants in my backyard. I don't know the plant names and don't know if they are dicots or any other technical terms (that some websites...
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