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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 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!

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Thursday - September 09, 2010

From: Leesburg, GA
Region: Southeast
Topic: Trees
Title: Looking for a tree to plant as a memorial in Leesburg, GA.
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

I'm looking for tree to plant as memorial to my brother who died. It must be native, for South Georgia, zone 8, open fields. It should provide mast for wildlife. Heat zone 8, good drought-tolerance. He loved to hunt and enjoyed watching birds and mammals. A Chinkapin oak, Quercus muehlenbergii was suggested. Is rated a zone 7. Will this work in my area? Thanks.

ANSWER:

Planting a tree is always a good thing, and doing it as a memorial is even better.

The Chinkapin Oak Quercus muehlenbergii (Chinkapin oak) is a good possibility. It is a handsome tree (at maturity) and can reach up to 60 ft. tall. It produces acorns for wildlife, and has pretty fall foliage, and can grow in USDA Hardiness zones 5-8. Clicking on the link above will pull up its NPIN page that has a description of the plant and tells about its growth characteristics and requirements. These links from Discover Life  and Floridata have expanded descriptions of the Chinkapin oak.

So you won't think that the Chinkapin oak is the only tree that grows in Georgia, let me show you how to use our Native Plants Database to explore some other options for trees. After clicking on the Database link, scroll down to the Combination Search box and make the following selections: select Georgia under State, ; select Trees under Habit, and select Perennial under Duration. Check Sun under Light requirement, and Dry under Soil Moisture. Click the Submit Combination Search button and you will get a list of 48 plants that meet these criteria.Clicking on the name of each plant will bring up its NPIN page with information and photos.

Once you have made some choices, our National Supplier Directory  can help you locate businesses that sell native plants in Georgia.

 

 

 

 

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