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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.

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Toms River, NJ
Native Texas Plants for SC
I just visited your beautiful facility for the first time and loved it! I'm planning to move to Charleston, SC and would love to replicate some of the wildflower and walkway areas I saw. Would the fo...
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Toms River, NJ
Propagate a trumpet vine from a cutting in Toms River NJ
Can you propagate a trumpet vine from a cutting?
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Brick, NJ
Yellowing leaves on non-native weeping birch in Brick NJ
I have a young weeping birch-planted in spring-we water regularly, it gets good sun-and rain has been perfect--the leaves get yellow--and now they are a lot! Whats the matter? I love my little tree.I ...
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Brick, NJ
Plant ID from Brick, New Jersey
I live in Brick, New Jersey. I planted some wildflower seed from an assorted packet. There is a very tall, thick center stem with orange flowers. I'd like to send photo but don't know how.
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Point Pleasant, NJ
Promoting growth on non-native dipladinias (mandevillia) from Point Pleasant NJ
My Dipladinias were almost dead when I bought them last year, but after a little TLC, they blossomed like CRAZY in pots outside. They stopped blooming in November (I brought them into the house in Se...
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Howell, NJ
Center of Yucca filamentosa looking rotten in Howell, NJ
I live in central NJ. I planted some Adam's Needle Yucca in my garden around 5 years ago. Since then, they kept growing and ended up developing three trunks off of the main trunk. I noticed recentl...
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Fairfield, NJ
Plants for floodplain in Fairfield, New Jersey
I have an easy question for you... I hope... We just moved into the floodplains of NJ in Fairfield and are interested in some plants. We would like to know what plants are best suited to grow in flood...
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Hamilton, NJ
Care for non-native red orchid
In a nutshell, I was away for about a week and before leaving I watered my red orchid (as instructions said you were only supposed to water it once a week and place in a spot with sunlight but not dir...
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Avon by the Sea, NJ
Tree for New Jersey shore
I'm looking for a small tree (max. 15 ft. with small spread) that will tolerate salt spray, wind, and full sun at the NJ shore. There is no protection in this location.
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Manahawkin, NJ
How to remove plume from Yucca elephantipes in NJ?
In Manahawkin, NJ, how do we cut plume (2" diameter) off 10' Yucca elephantipes?
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New Egypt, NJ
Invasive phragmites from New Egypt NJ
I have some wetland near a road. It has been taken over by phragmites. How is the best way to remove these grasses and add some diversity to this area. The area in question is approx. 100 by 30 feet.
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New Egypt, NJ
Companion Plants for Rhododendron periclymenoides
Could you identify companion plants that work well with the pink azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides)?
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New Egypt, NJ
Native Shrubs to Plant with Viburnum in New Jersey
Please provide me with a list of native shrubs, plants etc. for New Jersey that would work with my existing native viburnum.
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New Egypt, NJ
Developing fields with native plants from New Egypt NJ
I have several acres of fields that I want to develop with native grasses and flowers. I would like to know the best time to mow the fields so that bushes and volunteer trees don't take over and that...
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New Egypt, NJ
Butterfly Bush Alternatives in New Egypt NJ
I have a Non Native Butterfly Bush near my house. I heard that it could be invasive. What alternative plants could replace this bush as it is a butterfly magnet in late summer. Swallowtales and monarc...
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Freehold, NJ
Poison ivy? vine in NJ
I have a vine growing among some vegetation in my backyard. It has a leaf with 3 "points" with ridges along its edges. The smaller leaves are reddish which is why I thought poison ivy but definite...
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Freehold, NJ
Identity of vine growing in New Jersey
Hello! I am hoping you may be able to help me out in identifying a vine plant that has started to grow from under my deck, through the lattice and up the outside of my deck. I bought the house 2 y...
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Freehold, NJ
Shade Shrubs for a NJ Slope
I live in central NJ and have a 15' shaded slope behind my home with a creek on the bottom. The slope erodes a little every year and I want to plant native plants on the slope to stop the erosion. Wha...
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Elberon, NJ
Solarization and hand-pulling to remove invasive weeds
We are planting a field of native grasses, and prepared the landscape by solarization last July. However it now seems that the weeds returned with great vigor. Is there any other method to get rid of ...
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Eatontown, NJ
Pruning Saucer Magnolia in Eatontown, NJ.
Adult Saucer Magnolia (tulip tree). Branches were getting heavy to where they were ready to break. I pruned them back leaving 1 to 3 inch diameter cuts on many branches. Should I put something on th...
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Englishtown, NJ
Plant identification
I am looking for the name of the plant that looks like the spider plant but can survive the cold weather of the northeast. It looks just like the indoor spider plant but it does not produce offshoots....
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