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
olney, IL
Discouraging Poison Ivy
Is there a fern that discourages poison ivy from growing?
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St. Francisville, IL
Plant identification
My parents have a plant growing that we can not identify. Fast growing to 6 ft in 6 weeks. theleaves look like a fern with little sweet pea looking yellow blooms. The plants leaves fold up at dusk tig...
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Mason City, IL
Overwintering Texas bluebonnets
I planted Texas Bluebonnet and I want to know how to save them through the winter months. I think they are so beautiful. Can I cover them with something?
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Owensville, IN
Why is non-native peach tree not going dormant in Owensville IN
I have a peach tree I grew from a peach pit. It is about 2 years old. I planted the tree in my yard this summer. It is now about 3' tall. My problem is it is not going dormant. We have had several fr...
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Fort Branch, IN
Flowering and evergreen shrubs for landscape in Indiana
I live in Southern Indiana and we are getting ready to redesign our front landscape. Currently, we have some yews and other shrubs that are unruly and require a lot of pruning and care. My husband hat...
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Ashmore, IL
Which plants are resistant to dog urine in Ashmore, IL??
Which native plants are resistant to dogs urinating on them?
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Evansville, IN
Problems with October Glory maple tree in Evansville IN
We have a 15 yr. old October Glory maple tree.
2 years ago we had a bad ice storm and this tree was covered with 1/2 to 3/4 " of ice. The tree resembled a chicken wishbone with its limbs touching ...
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Evansville, IN
Rhododendrons Hydrangeas in Indiana
I live in very southern Indiana. Our home faces west and at the front of our home I have planted three rhododendrons. The furthest south is growing well the two to the north not so well. All three h...
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Evansville, IN
Large ash tree with round white spot on bark
I have a large ash tree that seems to be fairly healthy. However, it has a large round white spot (about 18" diameter) on the bark, about 3' up from the base. Within the solid white circle the bark ...
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Holland, IN
Flowering groundcover for Indiana
I live in southern Indiana and am looking for a nice flowering groundcover that will overcome the grass. It is on a hill that is very hard to mow.
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Benton, IL
Looking for shrubs to plant in Southern Illinois.
Hi. I am in Southern Illinois. I'm needing small shrubs for a south facing area. It's a 14ft. long by 2ft. wide area. Although it's facing south, it's not real sunny. A huge tree and swing is...
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Pana, IL
Plants for area with occasional standing water in Illinois
..similar to the question posed by the Aurora, Illinois bioswale on 11/30/2009 - I am an architect who designed the reconstruction of a historic structure in Pana, Illinois and have an area that is ap...
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Richland, IN
Underdeveloped pecan kernels with brown spots
our pecan tree was loaded this year. it is a soft shell . some of the pecan meats are not fully developed and have small dark spots on them. could this be a blyte of somekind and if so what can we ...
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Poland, IN
Plants for a septic system in Poland IN
Hi, we have a septic system under a large front yard at a newly acquired lake cottage in southern Indiana. The yard is completely unlandscaped. I'm trying to find if there are are any safe trees I ...
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Montezuma, IN
How do you determine male persimmon seedlings from the females?
I have got new persimmon seedlings about 3 inches tall this spring, and am wondering if there is any way to tell male from female at this young stage? I just don't want to plant 20 or 40 seedlings an...
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Montezuma, IN
Locating a Western Soapberry Tree for Montezuma IN
Hello, I hope you can help. We homeschool in Indiana (Dad is a native Texan, transplanted). We are looking for someone with a healthy, mature & fruiting Western Soapberry Tree..sapindus drumondii.
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Owensboro, KY
Identification of small plant with lavendar flower
I have something growing in my yard and pasture that for some odd reason is growing all over the place. I never noticed it being this abundant before. I'm not sure if it's listed as a wild flower or...
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Owensboro, KY
Bluebonnet peak for 2010
What does 2010 look for bluebonnets in Texas. When will they peak?
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Raymond, IL
Death of mature tulip tree in Raymond IL
We have a mature tulip tree that leafed out and looked very healthy then all of the leaves turned brown and fell off. I think the tree is now dead. We live in the country and have a corn field behind ...
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Litchfield, IL
Plants to prevent erosion in IL
We just got done building a house and have leveled all of the dirt piles. We do have a row of straw bales to help prevent the dirt from washing onto the neighbors property. It is the wrong time of ye...
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Decatur, IL
Installation of a bioswale in Decatur IL
I want to install a bioswale in a 15' wide, 50' long ditch on a relatively steep hill. The ditch already has rip rap in it. Do I need to remove all the rip rap before starting construction, or can...
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