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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!

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Questions From Near You

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...
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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)....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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Highland, MD
Deer resistant, shade tolerant trees for part shade in Highland MD
Deer resistant privacy trees for partial shady area in Highland, MD.
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Gaithersburg, MD
Looking for a source for Atlantic pigeonwings (Clitoria mariana)
I hope you can help me a little. I'm trying to find a way to get Clitoria mariana (Atlantic pigeonwings) in my garden, but can't find a seed source anywhere. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks...
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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...
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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 ...
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North Potomac, MD
Deer resistant plants for MD
My home backs to the Muddy Branch Creek parkland,which is suffering greatly from a large deer population. Many of the plants that existed in the woods when we purchased our home (1986), such as mayap...
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Chevy Chase, MD
Groundcover for Maryland to replace English ivy
What is a suitable ground cover native replacement for english ivy? Native to Maryland.
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Chevy Chase, MD
New house plant in pot in Chevy Chase MD
Is it possible for one house plant to eventually die in the pot while a completely different plant grows in its place? The new plant looks similar to the potted plant next to it but it is not quite t...
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Chevy Chase, MD
Native grasses for Boy Scout project in the Georgetown-Washington DC area
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I am in the process of preparing an extensive native grass planting at Thompson's Boat House in Georgetown, Washington DC for a Boy Scouts of America Eagle Project. It is m...
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Chevy Chase, MD
Native magnolias in MD
We live in Chevy Chase MD. Three tulip magnolias planted three years ago as part of a hedge died during the blizzard conditions we experienced the winter following their planting. This year as well w...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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