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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

Newark, AR
Increase in plant cell size when nuclei take on water
Do plant cells increase in size when vacuoles or nuclei take on water?
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Searcy, AR
Bluebonnet trip planning from Searcy AR
We are planning a Spring Bluebonnet trip to east, central and south Texas. Is there an average timetable for Blubonnet blooming in the areas of San Antonio, Hill Country, Austin and east, and Northea...
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Melbourne, AR
Bee-pasture recommendations for AR
Hello, I live in Melbourne, Ar, up in the NE corner of the state. I keep bees and would like to put in a couple acres of something for them. I'm leaning towards Viper's Bugloss. Do you know where I ...
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Heber Springs, AR
Tree roots vs. leach field in Heber Springs AR
We need shade in front of our west facing house; however, our septic system and leach field are there also. What kind of fast growing trees can we plant that won't ruin our septic system?
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Birdeye, AR
Cold stratification of Rudbeckcia maxima from Birdeye AR
How long do I cold stratify Rudbeckia maxima seeds that I wild harvested? Can I put them in the freezer instead of fridge? Do I need to make sure they are completely dry before cold strat?
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Thayer, MO
Perennials non-toxic to horses in Thayer MO
I live in South Central Missouri. I am looking for a plant/shrub to plant in pots (our soil is clay and very rocky)to landscape the front of our barn. This plant can't be harmful to horses and must b...
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Paragould, AR
Tree roots in sewer from Paragould AR
I have beautiful pecan trees, an apple in the back yard, a pine on the west side of the house and pecan trees in the front yard. Two trees are interrupting my sewer systems (at least one in the back y...
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Vilonia, AR
Illegal to pick roadside wildflowers from Vilonia AR
Is it illegal to pick roadside wildflowers in Arkansas?
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Conway, AR
Hardiness of Acerola bush for Conway AR
How far north can you grow an Acerola bush? I live in Conway, AR, which is north of Little Rock.We used to be Zone 7, but now we are on the edge of Zone 8, I believe.
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Conway, AR
Plant identification
Please help identify a flower I saw growing in the woods in central Arkansas last week.It had a light yellow flower growing out of a very flat basal rosette made up of grey-green spade-shaped leaves. ...
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Conway, AR
Are American Hazelnuts Self-Fertile?
I planted an American Hazelnut a couple of years ago that I ordered from a catalog. Is this plant self-fertile or do I need to plant another one? I have seen conflicting information on this subject.
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Conway, AR
Alternatives to Lily of the Valley in Arkansas
I saw the question from the person who was looking for a native equivalent to Lily of the Valley and immediately thought of Solomon's Seal, which has similar bells on a stalk and grows in similar loc...
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Clarkridge, AR
Will corn fall victim to allelopathy from hackberry in Clarkridge AR
Will my corn be inhibited by a nearby hackberry and if so would it help to cut it down? I understand that sometimes the soil is full of the chemicals the tree produces.
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Sherwood, AR
Identification of a plant that looks like a watermelon.
A wild plant came up in my bed that looked like a watermelon plant. It had small yellow blooms and then marble balls formed with prickly thorns. The balls were in clusters. What kind of plant is i...
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Solgohachia, AR
Raised beds over lateral lines in Solgohachia AR
I would like to build raised flower beds over my lateral lines. They would be planted with strawberries and perennials. Will this cause any problems with the absorption into the ground or not lettin...
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N LITTLE ROCK, AR
Identification of cattail look-alike, except red
I would like help identify the wildflowers growing beside the highways in my area so I can plant some at my house. We live in Sherwood Arkansas which is just north of Little Rock.The Highway where ...
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Yellville, AR
Non-poisonous, fragrant flowering plant and vine for Arkansas
I would like to find a non poisonous flowering plant that smells good, that has small to moderate plant growth, that will do well in sandy soil area, shade to full sun either way. Also would like to f...
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Little Rock, AR
Problems for non-native St. Augustine grass from Little Rock AR
We sodded St. Augustine grass four weeks ago. For the first three weeks we had no rain and temperatures over 100 degrees. We have watered 20 minutes twice a day since installation. There are brown pat...
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Little Rock, AR
Native subarctic plants
I'm doing a project on subarctic things and I have to have subarctic plants in it. I need to know a few and about them. Can you help?
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Little Rock, AR
Native plants and sources for Little Rock, Ark.
I live in Little Rock, Arkansas. What Type of native plants will grow here? Do you know a on-line store I can purchase them?
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Little Rock, AR
Need care instructions for Cardiosperma halicacabum in Little Rock, AR>
I'd like to find out how to cultivate & care for a balloon vine/heart seed vine/love in a puff vine which I found growing wild in my yard (in Little Rock, Arkansas). There seems to be very little in...
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