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

Knowlesville, NY
Possible identification of common mullein in New York
OK I have a monster size plant, growing beside my patio, looked weedlike similar to a burdock when young, but different and interesting. So we let it grow its now about 7'2" tall grows about 2-3" ...
view the full question and answer

Lyndonville, NY
Container native plants for New York area
I live near Lake Ontario (zip 14098). Would like to know what to plant in window boxes that have southern exposure and are in direct sun 4-6 hrs a day
view the full question and answer

Newfane, NY
Plant ID from New York
I have a large leaf from a plant that my grandfather has. We live in Niagara county NY. The large leaf is green and has a red stem, growing on a stalk THICK like a sunflower, now has red or black berr...
view the full question and answer

wilson, NY
Plants to hold a slope in Northern New York
I'm looking for native (South shore, Lake Ontario) plants to slow erosion on a steep, 20 foot bank. They don't have to be decorative (although flowering plants are always nice), but they should SPRE...
view the full question and answer

Williamsville, NY
Identity of plant with purple flower and tomato-like fruit
Along the Lake Erie shoreline in Buffalo there is a summer blooming plant with a purple flower and hard flattened tomato like fruit, diameter of a quarter. It has pretty small green leaves with fine ...
view the full question and answer

Greenfield Center, NY
Deer resistant evergreen shrubs for Saratoga Springs, NY
Deer resistant, evergreen shrubs for Saratoga Springs, NY.
view the full question and answer

Tonawanda, NY
Non-native, invasive Arctium minus in New York
For as long as I can remember, my family has been picking and eating a wild plant which we and other Italian families call " cardoons". I've often heard to it referred to burdock but no one knows t...
view the full question and answer

Rochester , NY
Propagating a magnolia by cuttings in Rochester, NY
How can I start a magnolia snip from my already existing tree, to grow another one from it, like a starter to pass on to someone?
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Shrubs for a fenceline in NY
Need to replace shrubs along a fence. Currently have Honeysuckle and they are very old. Would like to have something different with more color & interest during winter months. The line of shrubs are h...
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Identification of plant that looks like a spider plant
Okay Mr. Smarty Pants, I have an identification for you. I have no pictures, but I've been staring at this plant for weeks trying to figure out what it is. I got it as a cutting from a friend who got...
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Bare feet-friendly native groundcovers for New York
We own land at elevation 1600', near Sherburn, NY. We want to walk barefoot around the tipi area, but don't want to plant grass (mowing grass). What native ground cover would be kind to bare feet ...
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Failure to bloom of 4-year-old redbud in Rochester, NY
I planted a redbud four years ago and it still hasn't flowered - it does get the lovely leaves. When I planted it it was only an 18 inch stick. How long before it will bloom or is something wrong?
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Short or mowable plant for walkway
I'd like a short and/or mowable plant to use as a walkway in and around a vegetable garden in upstate NY. I was planning on clover, but I want to use a native plant if possible. The native clovers ...
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Plant identification
Hello Mr. Smarty Plants: We conducted an Internet search to find a name for a plant we have that has 2 opposing leaves on stalks, and is starting to grow a purple flower in the middle, near the groun...
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Two-leafed trilliums
Turns out our 2 leafed plant IS a trillium..I saw that another person from our town also asked about trilliums..we are happy to have them, but it is confusing when the third upper leaf is absent or ve...
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Want salt, shade, drought tolerant plant for Rochester, New York
I am looking for a ground cover plant for western NY to grow on a strip alongside a road that gets very little sun in summer (lots of tree branches shading it). It gets a lot of road salt in winter a...
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Shade Loving Plants for Under a Black Walnut Tree in Rochester, NY.
Please advise on plants that will grow in the shade under a black walnut tree in Rochester, NY.
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Bug repelling plants from Rochester NY
I live in Western NY (zone 6?) and have a shady area where I hang my swing, but it's so buggy under the tree I can't use it! The soil is very dry, rocky. Is there a plant/shrub that I can grow the...
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Endangered species of trillium on disturbed soil in New York
Hello, I live in Rochester New York, near a gully/ravine by woodland. Quite a gem. Anyway here's my question and concern. In the past 35 years there have been trillium in small "pockets" or sing...
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Vegetables for sustainable garden in Rochester NY
I have decided to start growing a small sustainable garden. Therefore I have decided to plant mostly North American native greens and vegetables. I live in upstate New York and so the plants designed ...
view the full question and answer

Rochester, NY
Plectranthus (native of South Africa) winter care and insects
I was recently given a beautiful plant which is now in a pot in my yard. I live in Rochester, NY and need to know what to do with this plant in the fall. The plant is 'Mona Lavender' Plectranthus p...
view the full question and answer