Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Questions From Near You

Highland, MD
Deer resistant, shade tolerant trees for part shade in Highland MD
Deer resistant privacy trees for partial shady area in Highland, MD.
view the full question and answer

Columbia, MD
Ground cover for shady area in Maryland
What ground cover grows well on a shady slope with close to surface tree roots?
view the full question and answer

Olney, MD
Endangered plants of Maryland
My high school would like to plant endangered plant species of Maryland in our wetlands, but we do not know where we can acquire these plants. Do you know of a place where we could buy endangered plan...
view the full question and answer

laurel, MD
Plants/grasses for a bioswale in Maryland
Mr. Smarty Plants, I'm looking for a good seed mixture, wetland plant/grass mix, to use in Bio-Swales in central Maryland. Can you help me?
view the full question and answer

Laytonsville, MD
Plants to filter dust from a road in MD
I live in MD next to a dirt/gravel access road. I would like to plant something along my property line to block the clouds of dust we regularly get from cars and dirt bikes. Is there something fast ...
view the full question and answer

Ellicott City, MD
Shade Tree for Baltimore Patio
I am looking for a deep-rooted shade tree (or a tall shrub) for near my patio in Baltimore, Md. I desire shade in summer, but with minimum impact to the patio. The tree would be about 20 feet from the...
view the full question and answer

Kensington, MD
Buffalograss from Kensington MD
Hi, I'm going to follow-up on the buffalograss question from Charlottesville, since it wasn't answered fully. I'm wondering the same thing: can buffallograss survive the wet conditions of the more ...
view the full question and answer

Kensington, MD
Clearing up the nativity of so-called Baltimore sedge (Carex senta)
Dear Smarty Pants: Hi, did you ever get more clarity on the Carex senta issue (baltimore sedge)? Whether or not it was a wetland grass? I too am in Maryland and was thinking of planting it for a law...
view the full question and answer

Rockville, MD
Eliminating black locust volunteers in Rockville MD
I am a landscape designer whose client has a very large, mature black locust in her front yard. Not surprisingly, she also has multitudes of black locust volunteers popping up all over her yard. The...
view the full question and answer

Rockville, MD
Cutting Back Perennials in the Fall?
We have large beds of flowering native perennials that we planted around our house as part of a landscape conservation plan (various Joe-Pyes, goldenrods, turtlehead, blazing star, brown-eyed Susans)....
view the full question and answer

Rockville, MD
Listing of plants matched to specific pollinators
Could you refer me to a listing of plants matched to specific pollinators? I have completed the conversion of a local nature center garden to a pollinator garden with all natives. We hope to place ed...
view the full question and answer

Rockville, MD
Maryland native plant source
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Great answer to the man from Severen, MD with list of Maryland natives. Did you know that some of these natives are propogated from seed collected in the wild by Chesapeake Nat...
view the full question and answer

Granite, MD
Getting rid of invasive, non-native Ailanthus altissimma, Tree of Heaven
We live in Granite, MD and are trying to get rid of an invasive "tree of heaven". Based on a recommendation from a website dedicated to eradicating invasive plants,my husband cut down the tree which...
view the full question and answer

Silver Spring, MD
The origin of Juncus effusus var. Big Twister
Juncus effusus, var. 'Big Twister' We're trying to figure out the nativity of this thing, and whether it is safe to plant in our very wet rain garden. Thank you for any assistance...
view the full question and answer

Silver Spring, MD
Positioning a bald cypress among cattails in Silver Spring MD
We have a rain garden, half of which is fairly overrun with broad- and narrow-leaf cattails. We've learned to be aggressive in thinning these out 2 to 3 times during the growing season. We also have ...
view the full question and answer

Silver Spring, MD
Native, non-invasive plant seeds for each region in U.S.
I need to identify a wildflower from each region that we can package in custom packaging to use as giveaways at our member zoos and aquariums. Our project this year is called Conservation Made Simple...
view the full question and answer

Silver Spring, MD
Southern Magnolia Damaged by Deer
I have a young Southern Magnolia (about 6 feet tall) that was damaged by deer on the main trunk. The bottom 2 feet looks okay, but where they damaged it and tore branches off, and above that, the leav...
view the full question and answer

Silver Spring, MD
Deer-resistant plants for Maryland
Hello- I have a acre that is mostly full-sun (and no shade on the house) and part shade (edge of the yard) and not much in between. It is also overrun with hungry deer! I am having a hard time finding...
view the full question and answer

Silver Spring, MD
Source for Carex senta plugs in Maryland
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have discovered that Carex senta would be a great plant to replace grass that is just not working. There are numerous articles supporting this, as well as my local coun...
view the full question and answer

Silver Spring, MD
Failure of Viburnum dentatum to produce berries in Maryland
I planted several Viburnum dentatum shrubs in a hedgerow for my yard. Although I have some other viburnums in the yard, this shrub blooms profusely but does not ever produce berries. What can I do t...
view the full question and answer

Silver Spring, MD
Follow-up on Viburnum dentatum question
This is a follow up to an earlier question, posted Sept 20, about Viburnum dentatum shrubs. I'm not sure I understand your answer. If the person having trouble getting berries went out and bought a...
view the full question and answer