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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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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!

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Questions From Near You

Davie, FL
Seeding south Florida native wildflower meadow
Information about seeding a south Florida native wildflower meadow. Have only found information north Florida.
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Davie, FL
Identification of wildflowers in Wyoming
I have taken some photos of wildflowers in Wyoming and although I have looked in several books and this website, I am still unable to identify a few. 1) very small white and lt. blue flower with 5 sep...
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Edgewater, FL
Sap from agave causing reactions from Edgewater FL
Not only was I stuck with the century plant thorns and needle like ends when I was digging up its pups, but I also broke the carrot-like root of a few when I was transplanting and got the white sap on...
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Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Kudzu for Ft. Lauderdale, FL
I just inherited a piece of land and am very much interested in starting some kind of homeopathic herbs. Can you tell me about Kudzu and where I can purchase some of these seeds?
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Fort Lauderdale, FL
Native ground cover for Fort Lauderdale, FL.
I just moved into a duplex with a narrow back yard with dark sandy soil and no irrigation system. I travel and am looking for a hardy ground cover that can take heat, drought and limited sun between 1...
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SUNRISE, FL
Dwarf oyster plant dying in Sunrise FL
WHAT WOULD BE KILLING MY DWARF OYSTER PLANTS
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Sunrise, FL
Resources for designing a landscape in Florida
I have a large backyard that was devastated by Hurricane Wilma 2 years ago. I am tired of looking at bare grass. Is there a good lanscaping resource that I can design a rather large landscape. I reall...
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Sunrise, FL
Does cutting off the budding agave bloom save the plant from Sunrise FL
I have an Agave(century plant) just starting its long flower stalk. I have read the mother plant will die after flowering. Can I cut off the stalk before it flowers to save the plant? If not, how do i...
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Ft Lauderdale, FL
Seeding rates for Florida.
What formula do you recommend for seeding Florida Native Wildflower meadows? I recently read in a text on Western U.S. Wildflower Meadow seeding that: a) ratio would differ if sowing a monoculture ver...
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Ft Lauderdale, FL
Wildflower Garden for a June wedding in Pepper Pike OH
Greetings, We have a grand idea to plant a wildflower garden for an outdoor wedding in June. Located in Pepper Pike, Ohio at the home of the groom. They have a large property and we wondered what woul...
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North Miami Beach, FL
Mosquito repellant plant?
Is there such a thing as mosquito repellent plants? If so, what are they?
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North Miami Beach, FL
Identification of shrub in Florida
Hello Mr. Smarty Plants, I have a question about identifying some bushes. The bushes I have seen through areas of Florida and they seem to be used most often as natural fences. These are the charac...
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Sunny Isles Beach, FL
Florida hanging vine with occasional red tongue-like leaves
I live in south Florida and I used to grow a hanging vine that had green slender leaves and an occasional red leaf that looked like a tongue that protruded horizontally from the plant. do you know wha...
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Opa Locka, FL
Removal of leaves before transplanting
Before transplanting a plant, is it a good idea to remove leaves?
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Biscayne Park, FL
Wild flowers in North Texas for October wedding from Biscayne FL
I am getting married in north Texas in October. I want to use wild flowers in addition to daisies. Which ones are in bloom in early oct? I've heard using flowers in season are more reasonably priced....
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Coral Springs, FL
Doggy berries
I recently wrote to you regarding my Doggy ingesting some berries from a neighbors out of control fence line-falling onto our property. The answer you gave was 100 % correct! Despite my feeble attempt...
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Coral Springs, FL
Identification of plant with red berries toxic to dogs
I recently retrieved my poor doggy from the Vet. He had eaten a berry from an invasive-commonly seen brushy plant growing along my neighbors fence line. We try to keep our side clear-but the small lar...
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Lighthouse Point, FL
Problems with iguanas in Ft. Lauderdale FL
I live on the intracoastal waterway near Ft. Lauderdale,FL and I am having problems with iguana. They will not eat lantana or buttercups; however is there a poisonous ground cover, preferable with fl...
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Lighthouse Point, FL
Groundcover for Lighthouse Point FL
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants: I am looking for mowable ground cover for part of my back yard. Due to a Mahogany tree, a hammock, surrounding foliage and a fence, there is alot of shade in the area, alon...
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Miami, FL
Problems with non-native Canary Date Palms from Miami FL
Hi: The fronts of my canary date palm, which I planted about 6 years ago, has been getting brown from the bottom of the tree and working itself towards the top for the past several months now. The b...
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Miami, FL
Information about non-native Night Blooming Jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum)
Hello, I have been trying to identify a shrub that has been in my backyard for many years, and I happened to come across your website. I was able to identify the plant as Night-Blooming Jasmine, but t...
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