Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

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.

Support NPINHelp grow the Native Plant Information Network by giving to the Plant Database Fund or subcribing to Wildflower magazine.

Subscribe online now
Mr. Smarty Plants would give Wildflower magazine two thumbs up...if he had two thumbs.
Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

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

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

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

New Egypt, NJ
Companion Plants for Rhododendron periclymenoides
Could you identify companion plants that work well with the pink azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides)?
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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.
view the full question and answer

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.
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

Bordentown, NJ
Plant identification--Mock Orange
I "grew up" with what I was told was a "Mockorange Bush." I've been looking around to be able to try to identify what variety it was. To be specific, the one that I am familiar with had little...
view the full question and answer

Robbinsville, NJ
Should black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta) plants be cut back
I have black-eyed susan plants that were beautiful last year and flowered for a long time. Do they need to be cut back and if so, how much?
view the full question and answer

Mount Holly, NJ
Transplanting crabapples in NJ
I purchased a mature Red Baron crabapple in march of this year from a reputable nursery here in southern NJ. The tree was in the ground when I first viewed it, and since it was march and hadn't bloom...
view the full question and answer

Southampton, NJ
Pruning smooth azalea in NJ
I have a Smooth Azalea growing in my woods. It was verified by the Master Gardeners of Burlington County New Jersey. It's 12 feet tall and lanky. Can it be trimmed in hopes of thickening up? If s...
view the full question and answer

Trenton, NJ
Differences in Plant Growth
How do plants grow differently?
view the full question and answer

Trenton, NJ
Springbeauty in New Jersey and Dog Allergies
Is Claytonia virginica in New Jersey and could my dog be allergic to it?
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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....
view the full question and answer

Plainsboro, NJ
Plant identification
It is a small, thin vine growing in the grass in the shadier parts of the lawn. Every 3-4 inches it has two thin stems about three inches long sprouting from almost exactly the same place on the vine...
view the full question and answer

Willingboro, NJ
Problem with non-native peach tree in Willingboro NJ
I have a peach tree in my back yard. The tree was in the yard when I bought the house. I have lived at my address almost six years. This year the peach tree is dripping a thick jelly-like sap from ...
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

Lawrenceville, NJ
Native New Jersey plants to remove iron water from Lawrenceville NJ
Are there any native New Jersey plants that can remove iron water
view the full question and answer

Toms River, NJ
Propagate a trumpet vine from a cutting in Toms River NJ
Can you propagate a trumpet vine from a cutting?
view the full question and answer