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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.

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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!

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

Questions From Near You

Sedro Woolley, WA
Controlling slugs in a Pacific Northwest strawberry patch
Would love to plant various varieties of strawberries on a bank for erosion control and ground cover. How can we keep the slugs at bay? We are in the the Pacific Northwest
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Burlington, WA
Plant identification
I have this shrub looking type plant with leaves that smell like lemons. The plant has a very small white flower on it. This shrub shows up in my yard every year in the summer. We are curious as to we...
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Mount Vernon, WA
Problems with azaleas
Last summer I planted 10 evergreen Azaleas "Hino Crimson" I sprinkled a little rhody fertilizer in their holes before planting and gave them plenty of water all summer. They are all doing fine excep...
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Anacortes, WA
Wildflower seed planting time in Northwest US
What is the best time to plant wildflower seeds in the northwest United States?
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Bellingham , WA
Fruiting times of native trees and shrubs in the Pacific Norhwest
I am looking for information on fruiting/seeds/nuts times of native trees and shrubs in the Pacific Northwest. Obviously they fruit after they bloom but all I can find is very general information such...
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Bellingham, WA
Plants for a mixed hedgerow for privacy and for the birds
What are the best native plants for a mixed hedgerow in a small backyard? I want privacy (heights 5'-10') and bird friendly. Thank you for your information.
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Camano Island, WA
Treatment of leaf curl on non-native peach in Camano Island, WA
How to treat peach leaf curl?
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Camano Island, WA
Books and other resources to identify plants in Washington state
We live just north of Seattle, WA on Camano Island and want to do a plant survey of our two acres. Any suggestions of books or other resources, particularly for the grasses and low growing plants? A...
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Olga, WA
Wildflower field for sewage leach field from Olga Washington
I am interested in planting a large native wildflower field at a resort in the San Juan Islands in Washington State. It would be over a sewage leach field for many cabins and bathrooms. Are there any ...
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Glacier, WA
Plant identification
We are trying to identify a plant that looks a lot like elephant ear, but has round leaves not heart shaped. It is growing in a wet area that gets good morning sun. It is not a native. It returns e...
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Marysville, WA
Clover in grass in Marysville WA
I noticed clover growing in my grass and know that this is a sign of poor nitrogen in my soil. I would like to know of some native plants / shrubs that I could put near my house in Washington that ...
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Eastsound, WA
Plants for slope on Orcas Island, WA
Hi! What a great site! Okay, I have a home on Orcas Island, WA. We live here from about June through September, but only visit once a month or so the other times of the year. We are looking for somet...
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friday harbor, WA
Thank you Mr. Smarty Plants
Hi, this is a note of thanks, powerful thanks, for your answer to my question about carolina laurel. Our disappointment was more than made up for by your recommendation to check out OSU's wonderful ...
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Friday Harbor, WA
Is Carolina laurel (Prunus caroliniana) a good choice for San Juan Islands, Washington?
What are the prospects for Carolina laurel here on San Juan Island, mixed in with thin stand of douglas fir, about 50 feet from shore, eastern exposure? Water is available but little sun because of l...
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Port Townsend, WA
Freeze damage to salvias in Port Townsend WA
Mr. Smarty Plants, We live in western Washington and had a multi-day hard freeze in December. Now, in mid-January, our salvia hot lips has no live leaves on it. The leaves that remain are green and...
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Everett, WA
Why are the leaves on my Laurel hedge turning brown in Everett, WA?
Our laurel hedge seems to have brown leaves on the top of the bush. We haven't had a freezing winter so we are trying to figure out why some of the leaves are brown.
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Abbotsford, BC
Controlling pumpkin vine in British Columbia
I have never grown pumpkins before but decided to try one plant this year. It seems to be taking over my small garden space. Can I prune it back? I only want one or two pumpkins for my grandchildre...
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98250, WA
Propagation on bamboo in Washington State
I have been trying for some time to grow bamboo in my garden. They rooted very well in the house but as soon as I put them in a large planter under the fir trees they turned yellow.They have a large h...
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Blaine, WA
Evergreen hedge for constant rain
We live in Washington State up north by Canadian border. We need a hedge that will survive the constant rain. We have tried cedar. They seem to turn brown and die,one at a time so we keep replacing th...
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Langley, BC
Plant Identification
Hi there. I have a plant in my garden I'm trying to identify. It started out looking like a cabbage but now is huge, It has a large stalk going up the middle with purple bell looking flowers coming...
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Monroe, WA
Saving seeds of western red cedar from Monroe WA
I would like to know how to save and store seeds of western redcedar if not planning on planting them their current year.
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