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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!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

Questions From Near You

Flagler Beach, FL
Plant ID of succulent from Flagler Beach FL
file:///C:/Users/CircuitCity/Downloads/All%20sizes%20%20%20baby%20plants%20growing%20on%20succulent%20leaves%20%20%20Flickr%20-%20Photo%20Sharing!_files/3901143728_dcf227ea85.jpg I have a succulent t...
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Palm Coast, FL
Live oaks lifting up sidewalks in Palm Coast FL
My live oak trees roots are lifting up my side walks. Can I cut just the roots that are causing the problem without hurting the trees? Thank you.
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Palm Coast, FL
Care for non-native Desert Rose (Adenium obesum)
I was given a desert rose and i'm looking for general information about planting, watering, how much sun it needs etc. I hope you can help. Thanks
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Palm Coast, FL
Salt tolerant plants for shade in wet Florida site
We live in north Florida and have an area that nothing will grow there, it is about 12 ft. long and very wet due to neighbors sprinklers. It is shaded and gets brackish water. Only 400 yards from oc...
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Palm Coast, FL
Groundcover for beachside planting in Florida
What type of ground cover is best for beachside planting. Looking to replace lawn with salt tolerant, weed resistant, drought tolerant, little mowing, insect resistant ground cover. Any flowers are a ...
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Palm Coast, FL
Non-flowering Tecoma stans from Palm Coast FL
I have an adult tecoma stans that flowered for a few days in the spring and has not flowered since. What can I do?
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St Augustine, FL
Treatment of black mildew on magnolia
I think my magnolia has black mildew. How do I treat it?
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St Augustine, FL
Flowering plants for shade in St. Augustine FL
I would like to know what flowering plants I can purchase that grow in a shaded area in St Augustine Florida
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St. Augustine, FL
Looking for a source for Dollarweed in St. Augustine FL.
I need a source of Dollar Weed Seed and/or plants. The back yard has been regraded to correct direction of rain water drainage.
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St. Augustine, FL
Will non-native and invasive Mexican petunias grow under oak trees from St. Augustine FL
Will Mexican Petunias grow under an Oak tree?
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St. Augustine, FL
Vine for lanai in St. Augustine FL
What vine can I grow to attach to a screened in lanai around my pool? Will it damage my screen?
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St. Augustine, FL
Late blooming Esperanza in St. Augustine FL
I bought an Esperanza at a plant expo- I was told it was a Florida native Allamanda. It took me two years to figure out what I had. Mine grows 8 ft. tall and is huge! But it doesn't bloom until alm...
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St. Augustine, FL
Plant identification
Greetings, Sir/Madam! What is the name of that weed that grows ubiquitously in St. Augustine, Fl (literally overnight when it rains) and has two skinny "arms", with little greenish beads on the arm...
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St. Augustine, FL
Dwarf foundation plants for St. Augustine FL
Need to put in fast, low growing (3' max) foundation plants that would be frost hardy and work well in the St. Augustine area of Northeast Florida.
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St. Augustine, FL
Pruning of wax myrtle in St. Augustine FL
How severely can we prune our wax myrtle? It had grown 10 feet tall and very spindly and we want it to be a border hedge in front of the preserve in back of our yard.
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St. Augustine, FL
Identity of garlic-like plant in Florida
Please tell me what this plant is. It is not Society Garlic and it is not Meadow Garlic. It has THREE curling purple leaves and lots of bulbs flowering from the same stalk. The pointy leaves are edg...
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DeLand, FL
Information about Berlandiera spp. from DeLand FL
I am looking for information (something cool) about green eyes, Berlandiera spp. Information such as any medical use or story associated with the plant. Thanks
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Deland, FL
Slow growing, non-native Viburnum sandanqua in Deland FL
Hi. I live in central FL, and planted sandankwa viburnum as a hedge 3 years ago. I was told they would grow quickly, but they are growing very slowly, although they look healthy with deep green leaves...
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DeLand, FL
Problems with redbud in DeLand FL
My native Redbud trees leaves are turning yellow and a sucker branch has died. What could it be?
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Cassadaga, FL
Lantana poisonous to people, animals
Mr. Smarty Plants, I read your response to the woman with the cow eating her plants over her neighbors fence. Just so you know- Lantana is poisionous. To humans and cattle. You recommended it as a...
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St Johns FL, FL
Growing Chilopsis in Florida
I live in St. Johns County, FL between Jacksonville and St Augustine. I live inland, not near the beach. I bought a small desert willow plant in Victoria, TX and brought it back to FL to grow. I plan ...
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