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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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Audubon, NJ
Roots in foundation of home in Audubon NJ
I live in an old house (almost 90 years old), and within the past year I have noticed in one area the concrete basement floor breaking. Today I finally made time to investigate. In these old houses ...
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Haddonfield, NJ
Beautyberries not poisonous to cats and dogs from Haddonfield NJ
Are beauty berry plants poisonous to cats/dogs? Would like to use branches w/berries and leaves as indoor decorations.
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Collingswood, NJ
Shrubby options for a bird lover in New Jersey
Could you please recommend a native shrub to NJ that grows to about 3-4 feet, is very low maintenance, does well in afternoon sun and is also something the birds will like? Thank you.
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Glendora, NJ
Seeds native to New Jersey from Glendora NJ
My sister is getting married and would like to send out native wildflower seeds to the guests in her save the dates. We want these seeds to be NJ native seeds, but we are actually having some trouble ...
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Cherry Hill , NJ
Mystery plant in New Jersey
We are trying to find the name of a shrub, growing in Southern New Jersey. with red berries that grow in a group much like lilac or oak leaf hydrangea. It is "feathery", not dense. A neighbor dug u...
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Cherry Hill, NJ
Is crape myrtle deer resistant
Is Crape Myrtle deer resistant?
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Philadelphia, PA
Care of native black-eyed susans after blooming
What is the best way to take care of black-eyed susans once they have lost their blooms? Am I supposed to cut them down to the base, or just let them die out naturally. Also, they all have a white re...
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Philadelphia, PA
Is Panicum virgatum native to Pennsylvania
Is Panicum virgatum native to PA? I do not see it in your database but it is listed as a native in many places.
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Philadelphia, PA
Identifying tiny plant from Philadelphia PA
I would like help identifying a tiny plant. I tried using using the plant identification page, but I don't know enough about this plant and plant terminology to use it. I would like to send you som...
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Philadelphia, PA
Care of non-native, hybrid petunias
I have a beautiful Petunia Tiny Tunia Violet plant which has been flowering nicely (in sun and shade environment). Suddenly, a few days ago, it began to look like it's dying--stalks all dried out. Is...
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Philadelphia, PA
Wildflowers for a slope in PA
I've got a steep southeast-facing slope near the house that is mostly overrun with day lilies. It gets plenty of morning sun. I've had some luck with goldenrod and New England aster along the steps ...
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Philadelphia, PA
Propagation of non-native tulips in pots
We have received a large quantity of eco-cups, some are for our pilot project, First Bloom. But we so many, we wanted to include the entire Club, Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, Germantown Unit,...
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Philadelphia, PA
Lists of edible plants in region of Pennsylvania for school project
Please Help! I'm a grade four teacher in Philadelphia. My students and I are assigned a theme project that involves listing edible plants that grow in our region. Can you recommend a web site(s)...
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Philadelphia, PA
Late-blooming flowers for Northeast PA
We have a weekend house in Northeast PA...Poconos. Pretty rocky terrain....when can we plant wildflowers? Is it too late to plant in late May? If so, when is best? What variety do you recommend fo...
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Philadelphia, PA
Bloom stalks on agave plants
Hi, We have Agave plants in our garden for years. But in the past few weeks, we noticed a giant asparagus looking thing growing out in the middle of the plants. We don't know what it is, but every d...
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Philadelphia, PA
Nomenclatural puzzles
Hi Mr. Smarty Plants. I have been looking all day for this information. I am look for a plant that is in the genus Cucumis but not in the family Cucurbitacea. A plant that is in the family Cucurbit...
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Philadelphia, PA
Copper beech
Hi, I work for a youth camp in southeastern Pennsylvania. The property for the camp was purchased from a farmer in 1958. The farmer was a collecter of unusual trees and one of the trees on our prop...
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Philadelphia, PA
Identification of shrub with thorns
I have a plant in my garden that I need to identify. It is a tall shrub (approx. 10 feet) that has very large thorns on its green branches. It is now showing small white flowers. I don't know if i...
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Philadelphia, PA
Powdery growth in hydrangea in Philadelphia
My hydrangea plants have a weird growth on their leaves that looks like white rice. It looks like it would be powdery if brushed, but I don't want to touch it for fear that it some type of mold. Any...
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Philadelphia, PA
Dying blackeyed Susans in new garden in Pennsylvania
Hi Mr. Smarty Plants! I have recently planted black eyed susans in a newly dug garden along with some cone flowers. The other flowers are doing fine but the black eyed susans have all dried up and are...
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Philadelphia, PA
Best time to plant wetland plants in NY
Hello Mr. Smarty Plants - I'm working on a fresh water, shoreline wetland creation project in New York State. I've created two zones of native wetland plantings, an emergent shallow marsh zone ...
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