Native Plants
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
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Questions From Near You
Waverly, GA
May I send a blueberry picture for ID?
May I send a digital photo of plant for confirmation that it is a wild blueberry?
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Kingsland, GA
Plant identification
Purchased foliage plant - no one knows its name.
Leaves (stems) are bright green and 10" tall.
Has "babies" like a spider plant but leaves (stems) are wider and thicker. Has a "rib" to them in...
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Fernandina Beach, FL
Dwarf Form of Japanese Blueberry?
Is there a dwarf variety of Japanese blueberry that will grow in my area? Or is it so non-native that it's not in your category?
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Fernandina Beach, FL
Vine like blackberry with 3 leaves & thorns in Florida
What vine looks like a blackberry vine but has three leaves and thorns?
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jesup, GA
Fast-growing native trees that are safe for horses
What trees can I plant that are fast growing for shade and, most importantly, safe for horses?
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Jesup, GA
Caterpillars devouring Blue Wild Indigo in Jesup GA
I have a false blue indigo growing in my garden. Every spring it gets defoliated by Genista moth caterpillars. It usually doesn't put out new growth until the next spring. This summer, it has put ...
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Jesup, GA
Non-native eleagnus from Jesup GA
An elderly farmer has told me about a plant called Alley Agnes, but I can't find any plant by this name anywhere. He doesn't know another name for it, says it's what everyone has always called it i...
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Bryceville, FL
Information about Lady Lupine (Lupinus villosus)
Dear Mr.Smarty Plants,
Lady Lupine grows in our yard in northeast Florida, and I would like to learn more about it, especially the stages it goes through, like now the purple petals themselves are c...
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Jacksonville, FL, FL
Plants in wheelbarrow dying in Jacksonville, FL
I planted a wheelbarrow with daisies, petunias and black and blue salvia. the salvia is thriving, but the others died. Is the salvia toxic to them?
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Jacksonville, FL
Difference in native and non-native cherry laurel
I have a backyard volunteer that I have identified as a cherry laurel, but how do I tell the Carolina from the non-native? This is still young (2 years or so), and not flowering, at least not now.
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Jacksonville, FL
Thorny vine growing through hedge
In my hedge, a vine grows that has a bulbous root. It has large thorns up and down the vine. The leaves are shiny and grow all along the vine that is exposed to the sun. the vine grows up thru hedg...
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Jacksonville, FL
What would replace non-native orange tree leaves in butterfly hatchery?
I have a very small orange tree that currently has dozens of caterpillars on it that look like bird droppings. I think I have narrowed them down to a swallowtail butterfly. I would love to let them ma...
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Jacksonville, FL
Problem with non-native gerbera daisies
My gerber daiseys leaf but they don't want to bloom. They come back. What am I doing wrong?
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Jacksonville, FL
Identification of plant with bell-shaped flowers
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants,
I am in need of a plant name to purchase. It is absolutely beautiful. The plant has light green leaves, the flowers that bloom look like bells (of course they hang upside down...
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Jacksonville, FL
Century Plant
I have a century plant that has just begun to bloom. I have a transplanted a few pups, successfully. I am wondering how I am to go about removing the mother plant once it blooms and dies. I'm reading...
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Jacksonville, FL
Hedge shrub for shade in Jacksonville FL
Looking for shrub or hedge ( no Azaleas please )to line front of house that is full time shade in Jacksonville Florida ( something different, on the lines of tropical if possible).
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Jacksonville, FL
Identification of tree with strawberry-like fruit in North Carolina
While visiting Boone, North Carolina we walked the Greenway in town. There were a few trees with a round red fruit similar to a strawberry. They were about the size of a penny and a dull red color dot...
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Jacksonville, FL
Native Groundcover Suggestions for Under Florida Oak Trees
I am looking for native plants that will do well under several oak trees in Northeast Florida. My yard doesn't get much sun and I'm told I have acidic soil. Are the any plants that would do well wit...
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Jacksonville, FL
Trying to find a plant called sheepshire
Hey there Mr. Smarty Plants, just one question. As a child in east Tennessee, we picked plants called sheepshire that looked like small clover leafs and had small yellow blooms.
One could chew these...
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Jacksonville, FL
Drought-tolerant plants for deep shade in Florida
I am looking for indigenous, drought tolerant, leafy dense plants (kind of hosta like) that will grow in deep shade (under a tree that gets little sun) in Jacksonville, Florida.
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Jacksonville, FL
Stopping erosion on bank of a Florida retention pond
I live on a retention pond, which has had all vegetation killed by the lake doctor. As a result the bank has eroded so there is a drop off directly to the water rather than a sloping bank. What plan...
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