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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

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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Sunday - October 02, 2011

From: Bulverde, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Propagation, Seeds and Seeding, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Golden groundsel plants or seeds for Bulverde TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Where can I find golden groundsel, plants or seeds?

ANSWER:

According to this USDA Plant Profile MapPackera obovata (Golden groundsel) does grow naturally in Comal County, so it shouldn't be too hard. According to our webpage (read by followng plant link above) on that plant, it needs shade (less than 2 hours of sun a day) or part shade (2 to 6 hours of sun). From the Propagation Instructions on our webpage on this plant:

Description: Propagate by fresh seed or root division during winter dormancy.

It would seem you might find another gardener who has this in their garden, and would be happy to share either seeds of root cuttings. From The Weekend Gardener, here is how to Propagate Your Favorite Plants with Root Cuttings. Failing that, you can go to our National Suppliers Directory, put your town and state in the "Enter Search Location" box; you will get a list of native plant nurseries, seed suppliers and consultants in your general area. From the resulting list we tried Native American Seeds in Junction, TX and Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, but neither of them listed Golden Grounsel in the seeds they had available. All the firms listed have contact information, so you might get in touch with some of them and find out if they have a source for the seeds you need or perhaps could give you information on ordering. Perhaps the plant is so common in our area that nurseries do not stock it. Here are additional pictures that might help you locate plants where you can take cuttings or gather seeds.

From our webpage on this plant:

From the National Suppliers Directory

According to the inventory provided by Associate Suppliers, this plant is available at the following locations:

Enchanter's Garden - Hinton, WV
Toadshade Wildflower Farm - Frenchtown, NJ

 

From the Image Gallery


Golden groundsel
Packera obovata

Golden groundsel
Packera obovata

Golden groundsel
Packera obovata

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