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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

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.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

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.

rate this answer

Not Yet Rated

Monday - March 24, 2008

From: Georgetown, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Sedges or grasses for sun/shade in Georgetown, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I have an area that is part shaded (under oak trees) and part in the sun. I would like cedar sedge in the shaded areas (some is already growing there)but I can not find where to buy it. Do you know where I can buy the plant or seeds? Also, what type of native, low growing/low maintenance grass do you recommend for the sun areas? We would like the area to be natural. We live west of Georgetown....thanks.

ANSWER:

Because we are often asked similar questions, we like to refer sometimes to previous answers on related subjects, instead of re-inventing the wheel. This previous question, on native grasses for sun and shade, has several excellent suggestions. The writer of that question also mentions several species of Carex that should work in your area. And we want to reinforce the suggestion in the previous question that you go to the Native American Seed website; they have an excellent online shopping service and do mail order, also.