Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Questions From Near You

Long Beach, CA
Smarty Plants on Resurrection Plant
Hello, I have a plant that my grandmother gave to me. When she gave me the plant it was a dried bundle; but, as soon as she put in water, the plant opened up and came to life again. Then, we let it...
view the full question and answer

Long Beach, CA
Plant identification from photos
I have 3 photos of the same plant, and no one knows what it is. Can I send you the photos, they are small jpegs, for identification? Thank you.
view the full question and answer

Long Beach, CA
Effects of salt sprinkled on garden
The kids accidentally sprinkled salt on the plants in the garden. How do you counter the effect of the salt so the plants will not die. I would appreciate your response. Thank you.
view the full question and answer

Carson, CA
Comparative speeds of flowering from seeds or bulbs
Does a seed flower grow faster than a bulb flower?
view the full question and answer

Carson, CA
Agave with large stem growing
It is a large stem growing from my agave plant in the middle of it. It looks scary and ugly, what is it? Is it poisonous? Is it rare? It gets taller and taller everyday, what to cut it.
view the full question and answer

Carson, CA
Snails in the ice plants in California
Ice plants and snails. Every morning when I go outside I see at least 20 or more snails. Is there a certain way that I should have planted them that would have prevented them from destroying my plant?...
view the full question and answer

San Pedro, CA
Need help controling suckers from an ornamental plum in San Pedro, CA.
I have an ornamental plum tree in my garden which produces a lot of suckers in my vegetable beds. I do not want to use harmful chemicals and cutting them back is a hopeless venture and leaves small...
view the full question and answer

San Pedro, CA
Dense groundcover for full sun on the California coast.
Can you recommend a very dense ground cover that serves as a lawn (in full sun on the coast, pref. drought resistant)? Many thanks in advance.
view the full question and answer

Cypress, CA
Can non-native Mayten tree be grown in 4 ft. container in Cypress CA
We have a mayten tree that is about ten years old, in a planter about 4 ft. wide. We were told that the roots will not be a problem--true or false? So far, no problem, but how about going forward?
view the full question and answer

Torrance, CA
Branches of yucca being blown down in Torrance CA
I have a Yucca tree about 30 ft tall. Lately when the wind picks up in Torrance we have had about 3 branches fall out of the tree. Can you help me with this. I don't want to cut all of the branches...
view the full question and answer

Torrance, CA
Speed of growth of quercus agrifolia from Torrance CA
I planted a quercus agrifolia in my front yard about 2 years ago without considering its ultimate size (it's about 10 feet from the sidewalk and 10 feet from our house). The tree is growing really fa...
view the full question and answer

Torrance, CA
Cultivation of Gossypium hirsutum, Upland Cotton
I got a cotton boll (seeds and all) at a spinning workshop. I spun the cotton and the lady who brought the cotton boles said the seeds could be planted and the plant could be grown in a container on ...
view the full question and answer

Palos Verdes, CA
Flowering tree with non-invasive roots from Palos Verde CA
Want a flowering tree with noninvasive roots for Palos Verdes, CA.
view the full question and answer

Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Plants for steep slope in California
I have steep slope, southwestern facing, minimal shade in Southern California. The soil is rocky. Because of fire danger, I would rather not plant grasses. Do you have a suggestion?
view the full question and answer

Norwalk, CA
Moving Century plants in Norwalk CA
I have two large Century plants that are each 10 1/2 years old. One is 4'x5' tall and wide with about 8-10 small shoots. The smaller in about 3 1/2'x 5' with about 6 shoots. They've grown too l...
view the full question and answer

Westminster, CA
Shrub or small tree to hide walls in southern California
We have multiple issues in our back yard in 92683, and will probably need an assortment of plants to accomplish it. In a nutshell, here are the basics we were hoping to fix: 1) Ugly 5 & 6 foot block...
view the full question and answer

Redondo Beach, CA
Ground cover for heavily traveled walkway from Redondo Beach CA
I am looking for a drought resistant ground cover that you can walk on. I live on a south facing, sunny corner lot, 2 blocks from the beach where people park and need to cross over to get to the sidew...
view the full question and answer

Redondo Beach, CA
Native trees for small backyard in California
I have a small backyard and very close to my neighbor. I want to plant trees that grow 15/20 high that can work as a screen although I have to be very careful with invasive roots. Also I have two sma...
view the full question and answer

Buena Park, CA
Pepper plants growing in California
Hello, I have several hot pepper plants growing in my yard. I would like to know what the pepper is called. I dry them out and grind them up to a powder and use it in many dishes. I have asked my l...
view the full question and answer

Downey, CA
Non-native hybrid willows dropping leaves in Downey CA
I have 1 year old Hybrid Willows that are strong and 12 feet tall, with many branches. All of a sudden they are dropping their leaves in July. I got them for fast growing shade, now the branches are ...
view the full question and answer

Huntington Beach, CA
Small tree for Huntingdon Beach, CA
I have the exact same question as a previous tree question from Huntington Beach California. When I click on the answer it brings up another question. I would like to know the answer given for the 10 ...
view the full question and answer