Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Ask Mr. Smarty 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.

Support NPINHelp grow the Native Plant Information Network by giving to the Plant Database Fund or subcribing to Wildflower magazine.

Subscribe online now
Mr. Smarty Plants would give Wildflower magazine two thumbs up...if he had two thumbs.
Share

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.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

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!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

Questions From Near You

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...
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

Rapid City, SD
Sources of seeds for Cudweed Sagewort and Artemisia ludoviciana
Where can a person buy seeds for Cudweed Sagewort. Artemisia ludoviciana?
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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?
view the full question and answer

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?
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

Sturgis, SD
Deer Resistant plants in South Dakota
Plants and flowers that deer wont eat and will grow in Black Hills, SD
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

Casper, WY
Need a shrub that can tolerate high winds in Casper, WY.
I need a medium height evergreen shrub that can tolerate severe winds, extreme cold, and requires little water. I live in Casper WY, which is high-desert, 5,000 foot elevation, zone 4. We have roaming...
view the full question and answer

Casper, WY
Antelope Resistant Plants for Casper, Wyoming
What are some drought resistant, full-sun plants for Wyoming that are Antelope resistant - Deer are not much of a problem, but antelope are!
view the full question and answer

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
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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,...
view the full question and answer

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 ...
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer

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...
view the full question and answer