Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members 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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Privacy screen from Simpsonville SC May 04, 2013 My neighbor cut down his part of our shared woods so now we see his whole "outside patio area". What kinds of fast growing shade loving trees and shrubs can we plant on our property line that will c... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Flowers under pine trees from Elkhart Indiana May 02, 2013 I have a number of pine trees at the back of my lot and would like to plant flowers under the tree. What can I plant? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Groundcovers & Shrubs for Shade in North Carolina April 30, 2013 Mr Smarty Pants, My neighbor planted cypress trees as a border between his yard and ours and it is sucking up every drop of water and nutrient. We also have a purple plum in the area which creates ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Smoky Mountains Shaded Slope Plant Suggestions April 29, 2013 We live in a very shady spot in Great Smoky Mountains in Western North Carolina. We would like to plant vegetation on a sloped area behind our cottage to stop erosion after building an addition. Our h... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Vines for Shade in Upstate New York April 23, 2013 Hello! I am looking for a non-invasive vine that will grow in heavy shade near my house in upstate New York. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Shady Perennial Groundcover Suggestions for Indiana April 21, 2013 Could you please recommend perennial groundcovers for Indiana that are low and leafy, self-spreading, non-invasive, deer resistant, and moisture tolerant; and that are good for erosion control on a sh... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Privacy screening from Phoenix AZ April 14, 2013 I live in the center of Phoenix, Az. On the eastern side of my house we have some 2 story condos next door. The width of the side yard is about 12'-15' and it gets lots of shade. I also have my powe... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Plant for deep shade in Pennsylvania April 09, 2013 Hi! I am landscaping our house and trying to use only plants that provide seasonal benefit to bees, butterflies, birds etc. not the deer though. My question is that I have a fairly steep slope of abou... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Shade tolerant plants for Waynesville MO April 09, 2013 We moved to Waynesville, MO (gardening region 6) and when we bought our house there was a nice looking gardening area in front of the house. It is shaded moderately by a Redwood Tree and was "occupie... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Flower color under large pine tree from South Elgin IL April 05, 2013 I have a very large pine tree that I would like to plant some flowers under. I have hostas, stonecrop and fern, but like to add some color. What do you suggest? Thank you. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Replacement for shade grass in El Paso TX April 05, 2013 We currently have a Honey Mesquite tree with thinning bermuda grass underneath in our front yard. I suspect that the filtered shade is killing the bermuda. I was thinking of planting Buffalo Grass, or... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Nimblewill grass for a shady area in Dallas April 04, 2013 i have a very shady backyard and reading some of your post I think Muhlenbergia schreberi (nimblewill) will survive. Two questions: Is it drought resistant? Where can I buy the seeds? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Plants to grow in shady sand in Florida March 31, 2013 We live in central Florida (directly between Orlando and Tampa). Our yard is mostly sand for soil and difficult parts in shade almost all day from large trees. What ground cover (grass) and hedges can... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Deer resistant, shade tolerant foundation plants for Kerrville TX March 30, 2013 I'm looking for foundation plants for shade that are deer resistant. Tall as well as medium height. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Deer resistant, shade tolerant trees for part shade in Highland MD March 29, 2013 Deer resistant privacy trees for partial shady area in Highland, MD. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Evergreen, deer resistant privacy screen for Villanova PA March 29, 2013 Looking for something that is deer resistant and ideally evergreen to block a shed and fence that my neighbor recently installed. Live in Eastern PA. Not the best drainage and also shade for most of... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
South Austin Groundcovers for Oak Shade March 29, 2013 Hi! I live in S. Austin now but used to work at the Wildflower Center! My backyard is shady with several oak mots. Do you have any suggestions as to what if any ground cover will grow in all that sha... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Plants to grow in shady area near a pecan tree in Maryland March 26, 2013 I live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I have planted only natives in my front lawn. My backyard, which sports a pecan tree, fir, fig tree, and others I can't identify is dirt, just dirt. I have... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Tolerance of plants in area of Amarillo TX March 24, 2013 I want to know tolerance in the Amarillo area for Diospyros texana, Berberis trifoliata, and Capsicum annuum where it gets colder, is dry, and intensely hot in summer. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
How to stabilize a slope under Red Oaks? March 19, 2013 A portion our front "yard" (20x40 feet) is a limestone hillside shaded by 3 large spanish oaks. The small amount of grass holding onto the hillside is now gone from the drought, and the hill has er... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Native turkscap failing to thrive in Shiro TX March 19, 2013 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Two years ago I transplanted several native (not cultivars) Drummond's turkscaps in the proximity of water oaks in the front yard. All get shade and some sun. They seemed to ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Shade Tolerant Grasses and Groundcovers for Waco TX March 15, 2013 What is the best shade-tolerant grass? What is the best shade-tolerant ground cover? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Foundation Landscape Tree Suggestion for New Jersey March 05, 2013 I need to replace a shrub (boxwood) in a landscaped area directly in front of my house. I would like a tree that grows about 10-15' maximum. However, I have a drainpipe that runs from the house to th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Plants for under Oak Trees in LA. March 05, 2013 What type of plants and grass can be planted under and around oak trees View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Enough sun from San Marcos TX February 22, 2013 I would like to plant both Lantana urticoides and Salvia farinacea in area that only has morning to 1pm sun..Will this amount of sun be enough? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Erosion Control for Shady Ditches January 24, 2013 What plants can you recommend for erosion control along shady ditches in Northwest Indiana? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Hedge shrub for shade in Jacksonville FL January 17, 2013 Looking for shrub or hedge ( no Azaleas please )to line front of house that is full time shade in Jacksonville Florida ( something different, on the lines of tropical if possible). View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Plants for water park January 03, 2013 Hi, I usually have no problem locating the right species for a given situation, but I may need some advice for this. I am looking for plants -- from annual & perennial flowers to shrubs and small t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Native Plants for Shaded North Slope in Ohio January 03, 2013 I have a shaded north hillside which needs erosion control plants. Mostly moss and very thin grass grows there now. Please help! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Plants for oak shade from Whitney TX December 24, 2012 I live in Whitney, Texas and have a number of beautiful Live Oak trees in a portion of my yard providing deep shade. Asian Jasmine grows in about 5 ft circle around them and then nothing! I have walk ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Texas native shade plants for metal troughs in Austin December 22, 2012 Interested in finding Texas natives that would do well in metal troughs in the shade. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Vine for complete shade in California December 21, 2012 I'm looking for a vine to put over my back door which is in complete shade. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Shrub for mostly shaded area in The Woodlands TX December 19, 2012 What large shrub will grow in a partially shaded to mostly shaded tree area in The Woodlands(Spring), Texas which is north of Houston, Texas between Houston and Conroe? The Woodlands is in the very so... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Butterfly plants from Austin TX December 17, 2012 I have a butterfly garden in the front part of the house facing the south side. However it is also mostly under a few Oak trees that cast shadow over half of the front yard starting early afternoon. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Plants under Oak Trees in Austin TX December 10, 2012 Half of my small yard is in the shade of one big live oak and one kumquat. Nothing I plant grows in this shade. The other half of my yard gets sunlight. It is planted with Jasmine grass which grows w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Ground cover under Spruces from West Chester PA December 06, 2012 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Evergreen Privacy Screen for Maryland November 19, 2012 I am looking for an evergreen that will suffice to be planted as a privacy screen between my property and my neighbors. Looking to plant a row at the property line. The lot is shaded most of the d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Groundcover to prevent erosion in Florida November 04, 2012 I live on a hill and put in a new side driveway and now I am seeing erosion along the driveway and can see the bottom of my concrete. Grass won't grow because its all shaded. What would be the best g... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Evergreen shrub for East Texas October 31, 2012 I am looking for a small to medium evergreen shrub (native to east Texas) for a location that receives some sun in the morning but mostly shade. Something that blooms & attracts butterflys & hummingbi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Destructive landscape crews in The Woodlands TX October 20, 2012 Hi. We need help. We recently moved to a house where landscape crews have been blowing away the leaf litter from the front yard for many years. The underbrush was also cleared long ago. The result... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Is straggler daisy deer resistant from Austin October 08, 2012 Is straggler daisy (horseherb) deer resistant? We have lots of deer in our NW Hills, Austin neighborhood, and a lot of shade where not much will grow. Is that plant a good candidate for ground cover... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Area under live oaks from Austin October 08, 2012 We have many live oaks in our mostly shaded half acre. While I have tried to plant mostly native plants, often beneath them, the plants are showered with leathery leaves, acorns and sap, while oak sp... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Lantana failing to bloom from Tampa FL October 04, 2012 I reside in central Florida. I have planted several lantana the orange,red,yellow type. I don't have proper species name. They have been in the ground 3 weeks with 2" of potting soil around root ba... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Groundcover for rock garden under large oak October 02, 2012 I am planning a small rock garden under a large oak tree. I would like a spreading evergreen ground cover that will grow in the shade. Drought-tolerant would be preferred as I live in the high plains... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Low maintenance grass for shade in Conroe, TX September 15, 2012 What is the best low maintenance grass to plant in front lawn shaded, no traffic area? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Ground cover under Juniper for San Antonio September 14, 2012 I have a shaded area under juniper in the Hill Country of Texas that has many sprouts from the tree. We have to weed whack it to keep them under control. What ground cover could I use to enhance tha... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Stream Bank Erosion Control for Bryan/College Station August 16, 2012 I live in the Bryan/College Station area and need a ground cover to abate erosion on the bank of an intermittent stream. The bank is shaded. Do you have any suggestions? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Deer resistant, drought- and shade-tolerant plant for Pennsylvania August 14, 2012 Hello, I need a deer/drought resistant, shade tolerant, rocky soil perennial. I would like it to have some winter appeal. I live outside of Philadelphia, PA. Thank you so much for your time... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Oak leaf hydrangeas from Edwardsville IL August 13, 2012 Hello, I live in West Central Illinois (across the river from St. Louis) and I am considering planting several Oak leaf Hydrangea's in my yard. The location where I would like to plant them is und... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Groundcovers for area under blue spruce in Colorado August 10, 2012 I have a 40 ft blue spruce limbed up 6 ft in my yard on the west in Greeley, CO (50 mi N Denver, zone 4 or 5). It gets some sun underneath in the later afternoon and evening. Can you suggest 4 to 5 ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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