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Questions From Near You

chehalis, WA
Identity of a plant with opposite leaves in Washington
My friend just bought a house and in the front yard are some bushes. I don't have a picture, but they are only 1-2 feet tall now. They have these unusual stems, throughout the entire bush. They are v...
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Centralia, WA
Plant identification of purple flower in Washington state
I need help. I am a 10 year old girl who just happens to have a brother. He has a deep purple flower with small, oval shaped petals. We would like to know what it is. We planted it in a garden thing a...
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Toutle , WA
Can you identify a funny looking bulb that I bought at the grocery store? Probably not..
I looked through your data base and did not find what I was looking for. I bought this funny looking bulb at a grocery store. It looked like a giant shriveled spider when i bought them. Due to lack of...
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Olympia, WA
What are those bushes with purple flowers around the Wildflower Center?
Hello! We were just at the Wildflower Center earlier this week (March 1 or so, 2009), and there were several large bushes with purple flowers on them. The very helpful docent told me what they wer...
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Olympia, WA
Failure to thrive of Actaea simplex in Washington State
I have a Actaea simplex 'Hillside Black Beauty' that I planted in mid August 2007 in a partial, almost full shade spot. This year it came back , but the foliage is brown with dark and light green a...
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Castle Rock, WA
Plants for pavilion over fountain in Washington State
I have a tall fountain in a 7 foot square which is surrounded by pavers. Inside the 7' square there is about a 2' mulched soil bed around the center fountain and an iron type pavilion that goes up h...
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Lacey, WA
Acidity of soil for blueberry plants
We have 8 blueberry plants and we have just taken out several Juniper shrubs. How will this effect the acidity of the soil for the blueberries? Do we need to add more acidity? We heard that the junipe...
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Eatonville, WA
How fast do trees grow?
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants I would like to know how to tell how much a tree will grow if the average of the trees are growing at the rate of approximately 3 to 3.5% annually. And how do they come up wi...
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Kelso, WA
How to get rid of devils club (Oplopanax horridus)
please tell me how to get rid of devils club!!!
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Shelton, WA
Windbreak [Dustbreak] for Shelton, WA
I live on a well traveled, dusty, gravel road in the Pacific North West and would like to plant a barrier to help control the dust.
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Spanaway, WA
Plant identification
I have a tree growing in my backyard that has started to produce bean shaped blue berries the interior of the berry is red and the leaf shape is long and triangle and the stems the berries grow on are...
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Kalama , WA
Comment on poisonous sweet pea plant from Kalama WA
No question, comment only. I am aware of the story of Christopher McCandless (Call of the Wild)and the belief that he was poisoned by ingesting part of the sweet pea plant; however I am curious what ...
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Puyallup, WA
Yellowing leaves on non-native Betula pendula
I live in Puyallup, Washington. I purchased and planted a weeping birch on June 21, 2008. For the first few days all seemed well and the tree seemed to be settling in to its new home. Less than e...
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Tacoma, WA
Black leaves and dying kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
My kinnikinnick has developed dark leaf spots and, in some cases the entire leaf has turned black or entire plants have turned black and died off. I'm worried about leaf spot, root rot and leaf gall...
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Tacoma, WA
Practicality of growing bluebonnets in Germany
I am originally from Texas, but I am living in Washington and moving to Germany for the military. I desperately miss bluebonnets and my husband picked up a big bag for me as a present and have no ide...
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Tacoma, WA
Yellowing leaves in non-native Arbutus unedo in Washington
I live in the Pacific Northwest and have planted 2 dwarf strawberry trees. I have been giving them lots of water. Their leaves are turning yellow. Am I watering them too much? Not enough?
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Tacoma, WA
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
Foxglove (digitalis purpurea) is not a native U.S. plant. It was introduced to the U.S. from Europe and is now considered invasive in many parts of the western U.S. It invades our forested wild land...
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Tacoma, WA
Agave in a vase of water in Tacoma WA
I have a agave plant that is in a vase of water only. It was given to me about 3 years ago, still growing but rotting inside of the water. Is it suppose to be in dirt? How to I transfer into a pot ...
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Astoria, OR
Buffaloberry from Grandma
I have a "BUFFALO BERRY" that my Grandma brought back from South Dakota.It is approx.8yrs.old.All was well until this spring.It was budding out when we had a very hard freeze and got 3" of snow.Now...
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Federal Way, WA
Companion plants for Douglas fir in Federal Way, WA
What are good companion plants for large Douglas Fir trees? we have 5 large trees in our cul-de-sac "island" and would like to plant something colorful around the trees. It's very dry, shady, and c...
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Federal Way, WA
Problems with non-native Star jasmine
My Jasmine leaves are turning red. I think it's a Star Jasmine as it get those pretty little white fragrant flowers that look like a star. What is causing this and is it something I should be conce...
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