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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

Tylertown, MS
Fertilizing oaks to produce acorns
Will fertilizing oak trees help with acorn production?
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Columbia, MS
Groundcover for under live oak in Mississippi
I need a non-invasive ground cover to plant under my live oak.
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Columbia, MS
Controlling sedge in vegetable garden in Mississippi
I have a veg. garden surrounded by Purple Sedge. The nut grass has been contained/eliminated by replacing all dirt 1' down. Now the surrounding sedge is beginning to creep inward infesting the gard...
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Tickfaw, LA
Identification of a tree at David Crockett Cabin Museum in Tennessee
I was in Lawrenceburg TN and stopped by the David Crockett Cabin Museum. There was a tree and it dropped lemon sized balls on the ground. What kind of tree is it?
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Covington, LA
Possibility of saving hurricane-damaged Umbrella Magnolia
Our beautiful umbrella magnolia Magnoliaceae Magnolia tripetala was toppled during Hurricane Katrina. We have lifted it back in place, however it looks very distressed. I have the following questions:...
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Covington, LA
Native grasses for wildlife in Katrina recovery area of Louisiana
I live in La in an area decimated by Katrina and want to establish 11 acres of wildlife friendly native short grasses. It is partly designated wetlands because it floods, but also has long periods wi...
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Covington, LA
Barrier Shrubs for North Carolina
Need a spiny barrier shrub that will grow in North Carolina shady rain forest (4,000 feet elevation) to deter trespassers wading down a creek from climbing on a private nature path that we constructed...
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Picayune, MS
Identification of plant with light orange fruit
Trying to identify a small, light orange, oval shaped fruit,light yellow/beige inside, many seeds, vine w/briars, behind an outbuilding in McNeill, MS. tks
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Hattiesburg, MS
Need landscape suggestions for area exposed after last flood on Black Creek in Forrest County. MS
We live on the Black Creek in Mississippi. After the last flood, we now have a steep sandy slope which is unmowable, and incredibly weedy. We want to remove the unsightly weeds- kill if necessary, and...
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Hattiesburg, MS
Fuzzy Citrus Fruit on Satsuma and Lemon Trees
A man asked you about fuzzy little small fruit-like balls that looked like tiny lemons. I have huge numbers of these on both my mature Satsuma and lemon tree this year. I get 100's of really great f...
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Hattiesburg, MS
Pruning Citrus Suckers
Mr. Smarty Plants, you are the only person that has "not" insisted that the little balls on Satsuma and lemon trees were clumps of bugs. They are surely what you described in the answer to my previo...
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Hattiesburg, MS
Source of Dalea greggii seeds
I want to purchase Gregg Dalea seeds. Where can I order them?
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Hattiesburg, MS
Plants for red clay in Hattiesburg, MS
Looking for plants and flowers to plant in red clay?
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Mandeville, LA
Black Walnut tree in LA
I was just given a black walnut tree and am trying to determine where to place it. I’ve read on your site that “Certain plants will not grow under Black Walnut trees because of the juglones that the ...
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Brooklyn, MS
Restoring a slope in the Mississippi sandhill region
We are building on 5 acres (leaving 60% as is, natural). Only building a small (900-1200 sq ft house) & clearing 1 acre of the valley for a pond. There is a steep slope (where we had to put field dra...
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Walker, LA
Timing for transplanting a yaupon in Louisiana
I found a female yaupon growing wild at the back of my property and would like to move it to the front. When should I do this?
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Greenwell Springs, LA
Thorns on non-native orange trees in Greenwell Springs, LA
Navel orange tree has thorns, why is this?
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Ethel , LA
Waxy deposits on Magnolia fuscata from Ethel LA
I have a 4yr old Magnolia Fascata (aka banana shrub)- I noticed that it has small oval shaped yellow waxy deposits on the branches.. I have also noticed small black ants on the branches. The unknown d...
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Denham Springs, LA
Identification of vine in Louisiana
I have two vines in my backyard. I've looked at pictures of each and they both keep coming up "virginia creeper." However, both are different. Neither causes an allergic reaction. One has leaflets ...
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Denham Springs, LA
Does the tip of the agave contain poison from Denham Spring LA
I bent over to pick something up and got stabbed in the head with the point of a agave plant. It is about 15 years old and I measured the point-it is right at an inch long. My head did bleed and it bu...
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Denham Springs, LA
Trees failing to prosper from Denham Spring LA
I live in Louisiana. Out of all of the native trees that we grow, there are two in particular that always struggle no matter what the conditions are in which they grow. The first one, sassafras, is ...
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