Native Plants
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.
Questions From Near You
Alliance, NE
Plant identification, Russian olive or buffaloberry
Thank you for the info I found here regarding the silver buffaloberry and the russian olive. I need help in identifying which small shrub I have(it is one or the other)that was transplanted here on o...
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Crawford, NE
Prairie and wetland restoration in Nebraska
We recently bought property south of Crawford,NE near the Pine Ridge area. It has been grazed by horses for years. We'd like to restore the native grasses and flowers. I have no idea where to begi...
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Kimball, NE
Changing blooming patterns on sunflowers from Kimball NE
The common sunflower seems to be very prolific some years, not so much others. Is this weather related or cyclical?
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Snyder, CO
Dogwoods cross-pollinating from Snyder, CO
I have a red twig and a yellow twig dogwood. Will they cross-pollinate to produce berries? Thank you
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Rapid City, SD
Native plants for erosion control in South Dakota
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants: I live in the Black Hills of South Dakota at about 5000 feet ASL. My house is on a steep hill. I had to clear a perimeter around my house of all the pine trees for fire supp...
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Rapid City, SD
Sources of seeds for Cudweed Sagewort and Artemisia ludoviciana
Where can a person buy seeds for Cudweed Sagewort. Artemisia ludoviciana?
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Rapid City, SD
What about planting a Colorado Blue Spruce in Rapid City, SD?
What would be the best tree to plant in my small front yard that would be low maintenance? I live in Rapid City, SD, and we are landscaping our front yard. We were thinking of Colorado Blue Spruce b...
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Rapid City, SD
Weird-looking rootless plant, perhaps a fungus
While out it my backyard (i.e. the Black Hills of South Dakota), I spotted a weird-looking rootless plant (I think it may be a fungus) growing beneath the Ponderosa Pines. It was the only one in the a...
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Box Elder, SD
Grasshopper invasion in Box Elder SD
I just bought a new home and there is an infestation of grasshoppers throughout the neighborhood. What shrubs and/or flowers could I plant that they may not like to eat?
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Eaton, CO
Infestation of flies around euonymus in summer
I have 3 shrubs planted in my backyard. I think they are a type of euonymus (but I'm not sure). My question is why do they attract huge nasty flies. The first year we had them they didn't. But the l...
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Fort Collins, CO
Smarty Plants on mockoranges
I live in Colorado where it is common to have 1 or 2 late frosts. I planted 4 littleleaf mockoranges (Philadelphus Microphyllus) 2 years ago and they are pretty much in full sun most of the day. I h...
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Sturgis, SD
Deer Resistant plants in South Dakota
Plants and flowers that deer wont eat and will grow in Black Hills, SD
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Sturgis, SD
Problems with spreading juniper in Sturgis, SD
I live in Sturgis, South Dakota and I have two different varieties of Spreading Juniper in the yard as ground cover. They have developed an orange colored fungus that goes dormant in the winter but a...
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Loveland, CO
Columbines for September wedding in CO.
My daughter is planning a September 2010 wedding in Colorado. Is there any way for me to buy Columbines in the spring and keep them cool so that the pots all bloom in September for the wedding?
Also,...
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Loveland, CO
Are junipers tainting the soil in Loveland CO?
Have several varieties of junipers around my yard. Each year I try to place a small garden in a corner of my yard, the plants don't do well at all. Growing up nearby, I gardened with my parents so ...
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Enning, SD
Recommendations for house plants for South Dakota
Thank you for your web site! I live in Enning South Dakota, and I am new to this beautiful part of the United States. I would love to grow house plants but don't know where to start looking or what k...
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Drake, CO
Can a Texas Mountain Laurel be grown in Drake CO
I live in Colorado, in the mountains near Estes Park, and would like to plant the Texas Mountain Laurel. Can they be grown in this environment. I would be willing to grow them in containers so I could...
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Longmont, CO
Growing Texas Bluebonnets in Colorado
I bought bluebonnet seeds from your wildflower center last August when visited Austin. Being a Texas native, I want to enjoy bluebonnets here in Colorado. When do I plant my seeds outdoors? In the gro...
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Longmont, CO
Trumpet vines on wall in Longmont CO
I purchased three trumpet vines to plant on the NW wall of my house back in 2002. Although the leaves are a beautiful healthy dark green, none of them have ever bloomed despite regular fertilizing pe...
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Longmont, CO
Sources of seeds for Quercus buckleyi
I'm looking for a source for Liners or seed of "Texas oak (Quercus buckleyi)". Can you tell me any sources?
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Longmont, CO
Pollinator friendly lawn for Longmont CO
I have a sunny, treeless, South-facing yard, with a slight South-facing slope in Boulder County, CO. It has one patch of buffalo grass, but is more then half some other type of grass. I would like t...
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