Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members 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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Smarty Plants Question Topics
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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| Flowering groundcover for Indiana May 25, 2009 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. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ground cover for slippery slope May 20, 2009 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I am looking for a ground cover for a slippery slope. Do you have any suggestions? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Groundcover for steep slope under large oak in East Texas May 17, 2009 I live in Longview and have a slope on the west side of my house that is eroding. There is a large 18-20 y-o oak tree that shades half the slope. The slope itself is too steep to safely/easily mow. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Groundcover for under oak in Plano, Texas May 15, 2009 I live in Plano Texas USA. I have a huge live oak tree in my front yard and a large Cape Myrtle as well under these trees no grass will grow so we have dirt or mud when it rains. Fact is the front y... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Groundcover for steep hill in Georgia May 04, 2009 We have a large steep hill with only clay and rocks on it in the North Georgia Mountain area. What is a good Native ground covering to put on this for erosion? Something that grows fast preferably. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Groundcover or grass for Panama City, Florida April 19, 2009 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants I live in Panama City Florida and am having great difficulty growing a lawn. I would prefer no lawn as grass, it seems a pointless use of resources but my husband requires gr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native plants for groundcover under Magnolia in Austin April 09, 2009 What plants native to the Austin, Tx area will do well underneath a large magnolia tree (instead of the English ivy that is there)? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Low maintenance ground cover for pool area in Corona CA March 28, 2009 Hi, I have this slope in my backyard that goes up to the neighbors yard. I'm looking for a low maintenance ground cover type plant that will stop erosion and won't cause a mess for my pool which is... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ground cover for Massachusetts March 21, 2009 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, We are trying to kill poison ivy in shaded areas bordering our driveway and want to plant something quickly to replace it. There are many tall trees in this area, mainly pi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Drought tolerant ground cover for Winter Park, FL March 09, 2009 I'm looking to replace my lawn with a drought tolerant ground cover. I do not have a watering system. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Groundcover for Poconos in Pennsylvania March 09, 2009 Hi Mr. Smarty Plants, I am having a problem growing grass. I live in the Pocono mtns of Pa. my soil is not typical for this area. I have very sandy soil, probably poor quality. grass will not grow. I... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native ground cover for Houston March 02, 2009 I'm interested in finding native ground cover, either perennials or grasses, that would help control erosion on a steep slope along Soldiers Creek. Currently there is Jasmine, ivy, prairie spiderwort... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ground cover for wildlife in Virginia March 01, 2009 Looking for a good ground cover to replace what we've got growing in front of our condo in Northern Virginia. Something to provide cover for the birds and their fledgelings in the spring and summer, ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Virginia wild strawberry plants for New Hampshire or Massachusetts February 25, 2009 Where can I find Virginia wild strawberry plants or seeds for my garden and will they grow up north in New Hampshire or Massachusetts? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native grasses for groundcover in Bossier, LA February 18, 2009 What kind of ground cover can I plant on a slope that gets full sun? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Groundcover beneath a maple January 24, 2009 I am looking for something to spread out in the shade of a maple tree. I have tried lily of the valley, ferns, pachysandra, ivy, hosta, euonymus.. nothing spreads out. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ground cover for North Central Texas January 24, 2009 I live in north central Texas. My backyard has very fine, powdery sand soil. The previous owners of the property let the grass die out and now every time it gets windy, the sand gets into our patio an... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ground cover for damp areas January 11, 2009 I am looking for a cover ground plants that tolerate damp areas. Any suggestions? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Locating free tumbled glass for mulch in Austin October 31, 2008 Do you know where tumbled glass can be obtained for free in Austin? You've used it as a mulch at the Center. Someone in one of my Native U classes mentioned that it can be gotten free somewhere in ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Groundcover for drainage ditch in Bastrop October 02, 2008 A friend in Bastrop has a drainage ditch in front where she'd like to use a groundcover. Normally it's very dry, but when it rains, can have 1-2" of water. Gets mostly sun. I was wondering about ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How to combat weeds growing in mulch September 12, 2008 Trying to decide on either ground cover plants, or some type of gravel. We have a new house where the builder has planted small shrubs in the full sun flower bed next to house. The bed has mulch at th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Groundcovers to replace meadow grasses September 08, 2008 Are there any groundcovers that are tolerant to local conditions between Bastrop and Elgin and hardy enough to takeover meadow grasses? I have a couple of acres that was a meadow before I moved here e... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Santa Fe orchard groundcovers September 05, 2008 Howdy We were wondering what kind of ground cover you would suggest to use in a sunny area that has a few new apple trees [7' high]. The area is about 80' x 100 '. The soil is clay & was used to ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Low ground cover for steep bank in Ohio September 02, 2008 We have a 3/4 acre pond that has several places along the bank too steep to mow. We would like to plant some type of ground cover in those areas that would keep the weeds out. The planting would need ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ground covering around cypresses in pool area July 25, 2008 We have multiple cypress trees planted along our pool area..they shed way too much..but I'm looking for something to put under and around them over the dirt..do you suggest wood chips or a ground cov... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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