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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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.
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Saturday - January 24, 2009
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Leaf color in non-native sago palms
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I have two sego palms planted in my front yard. Lots of sun. The fronds have turned a lime green color instead of the dark green color. Please help...(alkaline soil)ANSWER:
At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, our expertise, as well as our experience, is with plants native to North America. Cycas revoluta, sago palm is native to Japan. You probably already know that it is not a true palm, but a cycad, a very primitive plant that had ancestors around when there were dinosaurs lunching on them. Since it is non-native, we have no information on it in our Native Plant Database, but found two websites that might be able to help you: Jungle Music My Cycad is in Trouble and another Jungle Music website The Sago Palm, Cycas revoluta.
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Non-native mint invading flower beds in Kendallville IN
April 26, 2011 - A few years back we were given two sprouts of something referred to as peppermint tea. We planted in our flower bed and now it has taken over. It seems to start slow in the spring but doesn't take lo...
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