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
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
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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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?...
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Carson, CA
Comparative speeds of flowering from seeds or bulbs
Does a seed flower grow faster than a bulb flower?
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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.
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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...
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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?
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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?
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Palos Verdes, CA
Flowering tree with non-invasive roots from Palos Verde CA
Want a flowering tree with noninvasive roots for Palos Verdes, CA.
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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Huntington Beach, CA
Loss of bloom on Fremontodendron californicum in California
The flowers on my Flannel Bush all died at once I have noticed a sappy substance at the base of the trunk. There are still some flowers on bush but most are dead. It has been blooming since Feb. Is ...
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