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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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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.

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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!

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Monday - April 20, 2015

From: Sunbury, NC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Groundcovers, Herbs/Forbs, Shrubs, Vines, Wildflowers
Title: Evergreen groundcovers for NE NC
Answered by: Anne Van Nest

QUESTION:

Can you please provide a list of evergreen native groundcovers for Northeastern NC?

ANSWER:

Let’s start first by looking at a list of native plants for North Carolina that are evergreens. Take a look at the Native Plant Database on the www.wildflower.org website and put in the following search criteria: State = NC, habit = herb (herbaceous), duration = perennial, leaf retention = evergreen, height = 0-1 feet.  Then select the height and light exposure that you have. This will generate a list of herbaceous plants to begin narrowing down. These plants are those that grow in North Carolina. The Native Plant Database can’t fine tune the search to NE NC. Follow this search by changing the height to include 1-3 feet if you want taller plants.  Also look at evergreen shrubs and vines as possible groundcovers too. Some of the native evergreen plants for NC are illustrated below. Follow the links to the plant pages for more information.

Also the NC Native Plant Society have a list of groundcovers on their website.

 

 

From the Image Gallery


Coral honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens

Carolina jessamine
Gelsemium sempervirens

Swamp jessamine
Gelsemium rankinii

Crossvine
Bignonia capreolata

Little brown jug
Hexastylis arifolia

Partridgeberry
Mitchella repens

Trailing arbutus
Epigaea repens

Eastern teaberry
Gaultheria procumbens

Canby's mountain-lover
Paxistima canbyi

Woman's tobacco
Antennaria plantaginifolia

Wild blue phlox
Phlox divaricata

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