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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

North St Paul, MN
Will my Lisianthus survive the winter in Minnesota for another growing season?
Do you know if Lisianthus plants planted one year, will come back the next year? We bought 6 gorgeous healthy plants last summer from a MN grower. We enjoyed them all last Summer and are wondering if ...
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St Paul, MN
Native evergreen vine for St. Paul MN
I am looking for a native vine that will stay green, or at least keep its leaves, throughout the winter. The vine will be grown on a trellis between our house and our neighbor's, and we want to keep...
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St Paul, MN
Plants for eroding hillside around garage in St. Paul MN
We live in St Paul, Minnesota. Our garage was built into a shaded hole close to the bottom of a small hill. We need to find plants that can retain soil around the garage but will not have root syste...
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Saint Paul, MN
Host plants for Painted Lady Butterflies (Vanessa cardui)
I am looking for host plants for the Painted Lady Butterfly that I can plant in my school's (I am a teacher) native plant/butterfly garden. As part of the curriculum, each Fall our 2nd graders study ...
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Saint Paul, MN
Tree for St Paul MN
Need deciduous faster growing shade tree, more taproot style (few/no surface bulging roots--had to cut down large silver maple), few/no fatal pests, tolerant of cold (MN), preferably able to take vari...
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St. Paul, MN
Bee-attracting vine for shade from St. Paul MN
I need a vine for shade that attracts bees. I am in Minnesota, zone 4a. Thanks
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St. Paul, MN
Riverbank Plants for Minnesota
I would like to stablize a steep riverbank slope along the Upper Mississippi in St. Cloud MN. The slopes are almost 1:1. We are using an open cell concrete matt in which we are going to plant native...
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St. Paul, MN
Information on wildflower programs in cities and states
I am moving to a new town in a few weeks and am interested in starting a program to beautify the community using wildflowers. I've been interested in this for quite some time, but the opportunity ha...
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St. Paul , MN
Possibility of growing plants in St. Peter Sandstone
Can you grow plants or native plants in St. Peter Sandstone or amend it?
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St. Paul, MN
Edible Plant Resources for Minnesota
Can you suggest some references or resources that could tell me what native species would do well in a Twin Cities region edible forest? Pretty much all deciduous with buckthorn in the understory tha...
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North Oaks, MN
Native plants both deer resistant and good for erosion from North Oaks MN
We have several partially sunny areas on hills that are prone to both deer and erosion. Our goal is to reduce runoff in an effort to preserve the watershed that provides tap water to many citizens of ...
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Woodbury, MN
Mystery tree with yellow fruit in MN
There is a tree at my workplace, about 8' tall, with small, pea-sized yellow berries right now (Oct. 2012). The berries are attractive to Cedar Waxwings, and the tree has small leaves that are simple...
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Woodbury, MN
Plants for erosion control on steep bank in Minnesota
I live in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. I have a steep slope in back yard which gets considerable rain runoff from the homes above me. What plants/shrubs/trees could I plant on the slope to stop the...
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Woodbury, MN
Submitting photos to assist with an ID
How do I submit images to assist with an ID?
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Hugo , MN
Care for large trumpet vine in Hugo MN
I was recently given a large Trumpet vine that has been growing in the same place for the last 25 years.I have replanted it and given it a large trellis to grow on.I live in central Minnesota. My ques...
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Minneapolis, MN
Want to identify a shrub with golden to orangish berries in Minneapolis MN.
Tall shrub or maybe tree with small berries golden to orangish color. The berries are not in large clumps but more twos and threes. Leaves are opposite each other, smooth edges and sort of elliptica...
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Minneapolis, MN
Yucca Blossoming in Minneapolis MN
I have 4 yr old yucca that sent out a five foot spike with flowers! I live in Minneapolis; is this unusual ?
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Minneapolis, MN
What is wrong with cultivars of native plants?
What is wrong with cultivars of native plants? My state native plant society won't allow cultivars at their annual sale, and the native plant nursery from which I order only offers the species. But a...
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Minneapolis, MN
Bee-friendly bush with small yellow flowers in Minnesota
I was up north in Minnesota and saw a bee friendly bush with small yellow flowers clustered so they looked like small (4"-6") flocked Christmas trees. Any ideas? Thanks!
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Minneapolis, MN
Plants adding calcium to soil
Hi, I am looking for a resource to help determine the functions of native plants. For instance, nitrogen fixing can be found in Indigo, Lead plant, lupines. Are there other plants that add back cal...
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minneapolis, MN
Weeds from neighbor's yard are a problem.
Our neighbor has let his front yard go wild. Many of these native wild plants are very invasive. How can I stop their spreading into our yard? There are too many to try & keep up with pulling them as ...
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