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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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Madison, WI
Plants for a hillside in WI
I live in Wisconsin and am currently doing a research project on plant variation on the north and south sides of a hill. I was wondering you could suggest any books to me that would address this issue...
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Rubicon, WI
Edible wild plants in Montana
Where can I find information about wild edible plants in Montana?
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Appleton, WI
Effect on taste of honey from pollen gathered by honeybees in Appleton WI
in the flower box.. We are planting perennial or self-planting annuals on our fields and open areas to feed honey bees for our apiary. We found a source and then lost it telling what effect these wil...
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West Bend, WI
Plants causing skin irritation in West Bend WI
Is there a list of plants that cause blistering in this area? I have a friend who gets it bad every year-I find no evidence of cow parsnip or poison ivy---thanks.
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Little Chute, WI
Native trees or shrubs for containers on roof in Wisconsin
Looking for native trees/shrubs to be planted in containers on a flat roof w/south-southeast exposure. Gets pretty warm in the summer and pretty cold in the winter. How big would the container have to...
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Hancock, WI
Plant identification
I am looking for the name of plant my Grandma used to own. She always referred to it as a spider plant. The green part of the plant looked very similar to a spider plant but growing around the base of...
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Wisconsin Dells, WI
Possibility of survival of Genus Castilleja in Wisconsin
In traveling through Texas last week we noticed many many little orange flowers which are absolutely fascinating. I found a picture of that flower in your website for Wildflower Days 2005 in the to...
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Black Creek, WI
Short flowering plant that will grow in sand in Black Creek WI
I would like to know what kind of flowering plant would grow good in sand? A short plant.
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Baraboo, WI
Wildflowers for bridal bouquet in Baraboo WI
Hi! I have recently been asked to assist a bride in choosing wild flowers for her wedding bouquets. I am wondering if you can recommend some simple, long stemmed wildflowers that will hold up well ...
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Deerfield, WI
Tree with brown spots on leaves containing caterpillars
We have a new little tree we planted in our yard and I went over to admire it and on each leaf there is a brown spot in which little worms are living. They are alive and moving around in the pocket th...
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Sheboygan, WI
Hedge for steep slope by sidewalk in Wisconsin
I have a fairly steep slope from the sidewalk to my yard. The space is about 48" high, 30" deep and 120' long. I was thinking that a boxwood hedge would fill that space nicely but no one else aroun...
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Sheboygan, WI
Wisconsin Ground Cover for Acid Soil
What type of native wisconsin ground cover plants do best on acidic bare areas under pine trees such as blue spruce?...and where is best source for these plants or seeds? Thanks so much for your help
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Sullivan, WI
Catalpa and maple with dying branches in Wisconsin
We have a northern catalpa in our front yard. It's been there for about three years now and is probably 25' high. This year it appeared to be doing great. It flowered and then all of sudden last ...
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Madison, WI
Law against planting cottonwood in Madison WI
I was told that there is an ordinance against planting cottonwood trees in Madison, WI. Is this true?
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Madison, WI
Vines non-poisonous to dogs from Madison WI
Are there any vines or crawlers that are non poisonous to dogs? Everything I am finding is poisonous, I want to plant some vines up a fence on their kennel run.
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Madison, WI
Smarty Plants on wildflowers in Wisconsin
May I have information on wildflowers in Wisconsin and how to grow them?
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Madison, WI
Halophytic biofilter plants native to Wisconsin
I am trying to design a biofilter using native WI plants. These plants must be very salt tolerant and low maintenance (as this biofilter will be used to treat storm water runoff from a salt shed), so ...
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Madison, WI
Vines for Madison, Wisconsin
What are some good options for non-aggressive native vines for southern Wisconsin? I am looking for something that can cover a chain-link fence and benefit local insects. I don't want it to take ov...
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Manitowoc, WI
How to prune my Linden tree?
We have a 15 yr old Linden in the backyard. North side of home. It can use some pruning at the lower branches. Which branches do we prune and when? Also we have some river birches back there. Oth...
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Brookfield, WI
Plant Identification
We live near Milwaukee Wisconsin. This summer a 5' plant grew by itself in the middle of my flower bed. It has elongated oval green leaves, but its the flowers that are exceptional. They are long,...
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Waukesha, WI
Transplant shock in Chestnut Oak in Waukesha WI
Bought and had nursery install a 4" diameter, 16' tall chestnut oak. Watered it as instructed-every 2nd or third day-hose stream size of my pinky for 45-60 minutes. It was planted in July. Just l...
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