Native Plants
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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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Friday - February 25, 2005
From: London, Other
Region: Select Region
Topic: Cacti and Succulents
Title: How do cacti stay in ground
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
How do cacti stay in ground? I know that flowers stay in the ground by their roots but what about cacti?ANSWER:
Cactus have roots, too. Some have shallow spreading root systems and some have large tap roots or a cluster of tubers. An old night-blooming cereus (Peniocereus greggii) can have a very large tap root weighing as much as 100 pounds. to read more about cactus, you can visit the Cactus Museum web page. The cacti use their shallow roots to absorb water when it rains, but many of these roots may die when it becomes dry. Read about How Cactus Survive in the Desert.More Cacti and Succulents Questions
Yucca Blossoming in Minneapolis MN
July 07, 2015 - 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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Native plants of Taos and Los Alamos NM from Houston
April 07, 2012 - Hi, Mr. Smarty Plants, can you recommend a guidebook for the native plants of the Taos/Los Alamos region? (I'm most interested in forbs.) I'll be headed there in May--is there anything I should es...
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Getting rid of Adams needle (Yucca filamentosa)
June 24, 2009 - My friend is changing her flower beds around and is wanting to eliminate an Adam's needle that has been there for several years. She has already dug it up and now is trying to get rid of all the new...
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Plants that are deer resistant for high desert climate in Utah
January 23, 2008 - We are building in a high desert climate in Dammeron Valley, Utah. We want plants that are both deer resistant and require little watering. Can you advise which plants (shrubs, flowers, cacti) that ...
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Fertilization of recently-transplanted yucca
January 26, 2009 - I planted a soft tip yucca a week ago, the spineless type. I was doing a landscaping job, it was dug up, left for a week without any dirt around the roots, and when the customer did not want it, I pl...
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