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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

Downingtown, PA
Identification of plant with speckled green leaf
I have a purple (or brown) speckled green leaf plant with tiny yellow daisy-like flowers. The leaf is fuzzy looking on the edge. Self seeds freely in my shady garden.
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Downingtown, PA
Shade plants to replace a lawn in PA
Our neighborhood is built into a hill and our backyard is along the slope. We cannot keep grass in the area (except for a few clumps). The area is mostly shaded and moist-dry however when rain comes t...
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Downingtown, PA
Low Ground Cover for Steep, Shaded PA Site
I am located in Downingtown, PA, right on the border between Zone 6 and 7. Please provide a recommendation of a native ground cover for the following conditions: steep slope (greater than 45%), full s...
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West Chester, PA
Ground cover for a dry slope in PA
My side yard is a slope with rocky (a lot of small serpentine rocks) soil under white and black pine trees. I can grow lots of weeds :-) but would like to plant a low (0-3in) evergreen ground cover th...
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West Chester, PA
Ground cover under Spruces from West Chester PA
Trying to get a native groundcover (or any grass/wildflower/fern) planting established under a small stand of spruces. Established stand (30+ years old), so lots of needles on ground. Just about tot...
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West Chester, PA
Need grasses to stabilize a moderately steep slope in Pennsylvania
Hello. We have a moderately steep slope in a shady area that is in need of some help. The grass that is in place there seems to be thriving - nice and green, with good growth. However, kids running...
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Chester Springs, PA
Evergreen vine or plant that is non-toxic for horses in Pennsylvania
I am looking for an evergreen vine or plant that can grow in shade and is not toxic to horses. I live 30 miles west of Philadephia. Can you help me? I would like to camouflage a wire horse fence. It ...
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Thornton, PA
Identity of fern-like plant in woodland garden
what is the fern-like, hairy fleshy-stemmed, 12"-18" ht plant in my woodland garden
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Honey Brook, PA
Native plants to stabilize a steep bank in Pennsylvania
I would like to use native plantings to stabilize a steep bank of a septic leach field in eastern Pennsylvania. My purpose is to control erosion and to eliminate the need for mowing. What would you r...
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Glen Mills, PA
Damaged leaves on bottlebrush buckeye from Glen Mills PA
My recently planted bottlebrush buckeye plants' leaves are looking damaged but it doesn't look like insect or fungus damage. They look battered by wind but I don't understand why that would happen...
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Phoenixville, PA
Edibility of native and non-native wild onions
I'd like to know if the seeds of the wild onions found in southeastern Pennsylvania (possibly called Allium ascalonicum) are edible at all- these are the seeds that grow on top of the stalk, after ...
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Valley Forge, PA
Planting ironweed in Valley Forge
I work in a national park and we have one population of Vernonia glauca (tawny ironweed), a state-listed endangered species in Pennsylvania. Last year we collected seed and have been successful in gro...
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Mont Clare, PA
Rules for picking wildflowers
I've always heard that, if not in a park or posted area, it is ok to pick one wildflower for every 13 and therefore leave a dozen. Is this at all true?
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Mont Clare, PA
Plant Identification
Hi, I live in ne pa.i have always had a fasvorite wild flower with yellow flowers in the spring. the plant lasts all summer and fall til first frost. It gets small thin bean like seed pods that I save...
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West Grove, PA
Is Bushy Knotweed carcinogenic from West Grove PA
Is the invasive Bushy Knotweed / PORA3 / Polygonum ramosissimum toxic to the extent that the spores are carcinogenic?
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Devon, PA
Is Asclepias incarnata poisonous to dogs?
Is Asclepias incarnata safe in a farm/yard with plenty of dogs running around? What happens if a dog eats the leaves or seeds or pods? Is eating any of these fatal to dogs?
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Royersford, PA
Thinning out of maple tree following heavy winds
A 15 yr old red maple lost significant fruit in spring from heavy winds, in summer the tree seems thinned out. Is this the reason? Tree is otherwise very healthy and has always had thick foliage in ...
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Newtown Square, PA
Plant to stabilize a stream bank in PA
Native plants to stabilize steep stream bank in semi shade to full shade. Southeastern PA. Thanks
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Newtown Square, PA
Safe Concrete Planters For Plants?
We are building low concrete walls around a patio (in Washington, DC). Can we create the walls to act as planters or will the lime leaching make the soil too inhospitable for most plants?
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Newtown Square, PA
Deer Resistant Plants for Newton Square, PA
I'm looking for highly deer resistant plants native to PA. Thank you!
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Newtown Square, PA
Ostrya virginiana Compatible with Juglone
Is Ostrya virginiana sensitive to juglone?
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