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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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Questions From Near You

Hillsdale, NY
Meadow planting on a shale slope with shallow soil in NY
Need to elaborate on my previous question which I am sure will produce a different response. We have a very large slope, near the top of a very long driveway, that is in a sunny location and comprise...
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Hillsdale, NY
Plants for a sunny, dry slope in NY
Looking for plants, native to area, that are quick growing to a height of approximately 6" to 12" for a steep slope comprised of shale in a sunny location.
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Gt. Barrington, MA
Sources of native herbaceous plants for Massachusetts
Hi, I am looking for sources of native herbaceous plants, ideally in plug form, and wondered if you had a list you could send me. Thanks.
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Austerlitz, NY
Night-flowering plant that blooms every five years
What plant flowers every five years at night?
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Sheffield, MA
Sources of information for design of prairie meados in Georgia
Dear Ms. Smarty Plants, I am designing a prairie meadow in Covington GA (Zone 7) at the edge of piedmont and coastal ecosystems, primarily lower piedmont. I am trying to restore a 1/2-acre site over ...
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Ghent, NY
From hay to meadow
I have just acquired a 90 acre farm in the Hudson River Valley and would like to turn some hay fields into natural meadows. One, for example is 20 acres, and has been let go to weed (goldenrod, thistl...
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Chatham, NY
Ground cover for New York sloped area
I'm looking for native ground covers (vines?) for steep, heavy shale sloped areas as well as a ground cover in gently sloped area, preferably not higher than 6 inches. All that I've found is non-nat...
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Oakdale, NY
Snow damage to non-native Japanese maple in Oakdale NY
My beautiful 10 year old miniature Japanese Maple was damaged by heavy snow this year. Two of the biggest limbs cracked under the weight of the snow and are just barely hanging on. Can I repair them...
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Salisbury, CT
Native plants to retain slope in Salisbury, CT
We want to plant a newly dug out slope with native plants that will retain the dirt. It is sun to part sun near a lake summer cottage. Thanks!!!
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Hudson, NY
Restoration of hilly area with natives of New York
I have an area, down the street from me, 2 side hills. During the summer, this all becomes over grown with small trees and just brush in general. I have asked our city for over 20 yrs to clear it as j...
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Monterey, MA
Getting rid of Japanese bindweed in Massachusetts
How do you get rid of Japanese Bindweed (mile-a-minute)?
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Monterey, MA
Native plants for septic system in Massachusetts
What native plants can grow on a septic mound safely for the septic system?
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Valatie, NY
Round green seed pods are likely leaf galls
While walking on a tree-lined dirt road after a mid-May storm, I noticed several seed pods but could not locate the plant they fell off of. The pods were round, light green and looked like large round...
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Germantown, NY
Field of Dreams
I planted a field of sunflowers in April. I transplanted some of the crowded plants to different rows in mid-May - no problems. I have tried to transplant some of the plants this first week of June ...
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Red Hook, NY
Problem with non-native weeping willow
I have a weeping willow tree that is approximately 6 years old..The problem is a fibrous growth is growing between the trunk & the bark -pushing the trunk & bark away from each other..Not sure what it...
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Saugerties, NY
Vines for Shade in Upstate New York
Hello! I am looking for a non-invasive vine that will grow in heavy shade near my house in upstate New York.
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Stanfordville, NY
Ground covers for sandy hill in New York
We have just built a new home and a sandy fill was needed around the house. It sits on a hill and the fill is very sandy. We would like to plant something to stabilize the bank that is native to the a...
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Cairo, NY
Propagation of woody plants by cuttings in Cairo, NY
I have a tree in my yard and I am not sure what it is, it has these gorgeous pink cluster like flowers on it, my friend loves the tree and wants to know the steps to take a piece of my tree so she can...
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Washington , NY
Growing non-native lettuce under artificial light from Washington NY
Which artificial light( UV LIGHT, FLUORESCENT LIGHT AND INCANDESCENT LIGHT) makes a lettuce plant grow the fastest over a time period of 3 weeks and what would be your variables( independent, dependen...
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Millbrook, NY
Shrub that will grow outside in Zone 5 from Millbrook NY
Is there any shrub, tree or other sort of plant that will grow well in zone 5 in a very large container outdoors?
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Riverton, CT
Problems with redbud in CT
My Eastern redbud was planted 4 years ago and has been fine. This Spring it was beginning to pop out buds. Less than a week later, after returning from a trip all the buds were dead, never flowered, ...
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