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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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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

Hodges, SC
Can beautyberries be used to make jelly from Hodges SC
Since the beautyberry bush berries were used for tea to help with colic, can the berries be used for making jelly?
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Belton, SC
Care for non-native Kalanchoe from Belton SC
The leaves on a Kalanchoe that we bought from Logee's has leaves starting to curl. It has been this way since I bought it. It is in a south window, it's cold out so I put the plant inside. Besides c...
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Chappells, SC
White sticky stuff on muscadine grape vines from Chappells SC
Muscadine vine has white sticky substance on leaves and vines, what is it?
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Williamston, SC
Planning a park along a railroad track in Williamston, SC
We have a railroad track in Williamston, and we are cleaning up the park. Removing trees, planting flowers,shrubs. The track is on high ground and the Fire Dept. has burnt off the weeds. What kind of...
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Williamston, SC
Identification of a white beebalm
I have a photo of what looks like Bee Balm but it is white in color. What is the name of this wildflower?
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Anderson, SC
Deer-resistant plants for Anderson SC
I usually plant pansies in the fall & impatiens in the spring under a large oak tree which gets afternoon sun. My impatiens were beautiful early on, but then were annihilated by something. I think i...
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Anderson, SC
Is Lycopodium digitatum native to South Carolina?
Is Lycopodium digitatum native to SC; do you know if it's available in SC nurseries?
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Simpsonville, SC
Grasses for a wildflower meadow in Greenville, SC
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have been establishing a wildflower meadow in Greenville, SC. Our current wildflowers are: Purple Coneflower Perennial Black-eyed Susans Cardinal Flower Butte...
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Simpsonville, SC
Privacy screen from Simpsonville SC
My neighbor cut down his part of our shared woods so now we see his whole "outside patio area". What kinds of fast growing shade loving trees and shrubs can we plant on our property line that will c...
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Simpsonville, SC
Shade and Rain Garden in South Carolina
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have two seperate but important questions for your mastery of native plant knowledge. First, I live in a thick, 112 ft. tall white oak forest. Therefore, there is lot...
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Simpsonville, SC
Grass for dense shade in Simpsonville SC
We live in Simpsonville, SC. Our back yard leads back into very dense woods. It is extremely shady, virtually no direct sun for any length of time. We have a hard time growing grass here. What type of...
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Piedmont, SC
Winter plants for windowbox in Piedmont SC
What kind of outdoor window box spruss can grow in upstate South Carolina in the winter months?
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Saluda, SC
Source for dotted blue-eyed grass from Saluda SC
I lived in Texas for several years and now live on acreage in South Carolina. I have heard that bluebonnets don't grow well in South Carolina. However, there is a place by the road near our house t...
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Newberry, SC
More on bluebonnets
We live on a farm and have recently had a cow that was deathly sick, then finally got better. We also had a couple of calving problems with the cows. I was reading about how toxic tailcup lupine is to...
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edgefield, SC
Fast growing, possibly invasive trees for South Carolina
What fast growing trees would you suggest for South Carolina? We are heavy clay and the pecan trees we planted don't see to be too happy here. We are looking at the yellow poplar and the empress tre...
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Hartwell, GA
Identity of plant that resembles rosemary in Georgia
Hi, I am an herbalist, but have been unable to identify this plant and it's driving me nuts since I cannot find any information on it. I live in NE Ga and have a plant that grows here that looks li...
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Pendleton, SC
Landscaping with water garden from Pendleton SC
Searching for native plants in SC. Your results miss some plants listed on your site. I noticed this reading the Mr. Smarty Plants response to "Edible Plants for North GA" We aren't far apart. ...
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GREENVILLE, SC
Plant identfication
While visiting a lake near Dallas, Texas this past summer, I found a flower floating in the lake. It was small, only about an inch or so across, had three petals, was a deep magenta shade, and had th...
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Greenville, SC
Problems with Eastern hemlock in Greenville SC
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have a beautiful, young, 5 and a half foot tall Eastern Hemlock. I purchased and planted it two years ago in the fall. It has been doing very well all this spring. And ne...
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Greenville, SC
Indiangrass by seed or plugs in Greenville SC
Mr Smarty Plants, is it better to establish Indiangrass by plugs or seed? Seems you would get much quicker coverage by seed, tending to choke out "strangers". I'm establishing a small native mea...
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Greenville, SC
Native plants for a garden in Greenville SC
Beebalm, Threadleaf Coreopsis, a Yaupon Holly, a Southern Magnolia, and a Highbush Blueberry. And as a ground cover in some areas, we have Cinquefoil (which helped me choke out Indian strawberry!) But...
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