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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

Chapel Hill, NC
Most numerous trees in the Piedmont NC from Chapel Hill NC
What's a list of the most populous trees in piedmont North Carolina?
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Chapel Hill, NC
Native wildflower habitat for North Carolina
I am from North Carolina and have been gradually establishing a wildflower spring garden. I now have a beautiful display of bluets and cornflowers that grace my front yard in the spring. Most of this...
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Chapel Hill, NC
Life with Voles
Voles! We live next to a park and wildlife area: voles constantly invade our garden. We've tried, and cannot eliminate them: rather, hope to plant native forbs and shrubs they (might) avoid. Our site...
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Carrboro, NC
Plant ID from North Carolina
Hi Mr. Smartyplants, I know that you can identify blue cohash in a neat way: 3 stems which easy branch to 3 more stems which each branch into 3 more and then 3 leaves attached to each. Well, do you...
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Carrboro, NC
Propagation of non-native vitex
I am interested in propagating a beautiful big vitex tree. Can I do it from seeds or what is the best way? Thanks!
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Durham, NC
Plant identification
No pictures only memory. It looks like a dried flower and grows with other wildflowers along roadside. It is mostly purple or blue purple and sometimes called statis. Stems favor dandelions, only t...
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Durham, NC
Identity of purple flower with flowers similar to witch hazel
Found along woods roads. Purple flower about 1 - 2 ft. in height. Central stem rises from a ground level leaf whorl of five leaves from 4 to 7 inches long and 2 to 3 inches at their widest point. C...
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Durham, NC
Plant identification
In spot in the garden where tomatoes grew last this year, previous to planting what looks to me like a shamrock plant came up until it bloomed. Now it looks like some of the fuschia plants only the le...
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Durham, NC
Plants that will grow in clay in North Carolina
I have a small fenced back yard, predominately hard red clay, that is a major focal point. I am designing my own garden/yard area (to cut cost) and have a list of plants that will grow in this soil w...
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Durham, NC
Plants for North Myrtle Beach SC
What plants will do well at North Myrtle Beach, SC that will take full sun with dry soil?
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Durham, NC
Wildflower seed sources for Collinsia verna.
Hello, I am looking for seeds of Collinsia verna to plant in my woodland wildflower garden. I live in NC, a bit out of the native range, so don't have immediate access to native seeds. Do you kno...
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Durham, NC
Foundation garden in shade in Durham, NC
I'm trying to replant a 3'x8' garden near the foundation of our house in Durham, NC. This part of the yard gets little, if any, sun and is mostly clay. I've tried adding compost and soil conditi...
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Durham, NC
Smarty Plants on milkweed
I am looking for a photo of the local milkweed in the state of North Carolina. The name would be a help also. I am raising butterflies and I am in dire need of plants.
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Durham, NC
Smarty Plants wildflower gardens
I want to plant a wildflower garden but I live in NC And I want My garden to be in bloom all year what types of wildflowers will stay in bloom all year and do I have to import them?
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Durham, NC
Grass lawn from Durham NC
Durham, NC. Want to plant a small front grass lawn, full sun, dry. Willing to mow. Not good about watering. Advice?
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Durham, NC
Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale) for Southern California
Are there any fragrant varieties of azalea that will grow in Southern California? There are some wonderful native azaleas I found in North Carolina, such as the r. alabamense and r. atlanticum. I h...
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Durham, NC
Number of wild flowers in Durham NC compared to all of North Carolina
How many wild flowers have been identified in the North Carolina Area compared to just in Durham. I would like to photograph them all and want to know how close I can get to capturing photos of all th...
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Durham, NC
How to tell the girls from the boys in wax myrtles (Morella cerifera)
How would I be able to identify whether my wax myrtles are male or female plants? I was given two plants last fall (that came from a family members back yard) and the person who gave them to me didn'...
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Durham, NC
Plants purchased at Duke Gardens From Durham NC
I went to the plant sale at a local garden this week and bought some very small plants. I am happy to wait for plants to grow but wondered if I need to do anything special. I live in Durham NC and...
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Hillsborough, NC
Worms in non-native snake plant from Hillsborough NC
I purchased a snake plant this summer for my screened in porch. I did not repot it and left it in the plastic pot in came it. I was about to repot the plant to bring it in and noticed there are worm...
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Hillsborough, NC
Will Calycanthus floridus (Eastern sweetshrub) grow near black walnut trees?
Will Calycanthus floridus survive if planted near Black Walnut trees? If not, can you recommend a similar bush that will?
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