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.
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.

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Friday - May 29, 2009
From: Stony Brook, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Vines
Title: Identification of vine in Stony Brook NY
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Identify- vine type, Thorny stem, medium size leaves, color medium green with a jagged-reddish edge, leaf shape oblong, small white flowers. Growing in a patch of English green ivy. Looks invasive. Spreading quickly. Can you identify?ANSWER:
We are going to have you go to our Native Plant Database, do the Combination Search, selecting New York and "vine" under Habit. When you click on the Submit Combination Search box, you will get a list of 60 possibilities. Each plant will have a link to a webpage about that individual plant, with photos if we have them. There are thumbnail photos on the list page to give you a clue which to look at. If it is not there, and especially if you consider it invasive, it could very well be a non-native invasive. Of course, if it is growing in English ivy, that is another non-native invasive, so if you pulled the whole lot out, you wouldn't hurt our feelings. If you still can't identify it, go to our Mr. Smarty Plants Plant Identification page, and follow the instructions to send us photos and we will try to figure out what it is.More Vines Questions
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Will wisteria grow in LaQuinta CA?
June 13, 2010 - I have moved to the desert, near Palm Springs, CA from Omaha NE where I was an avid gardener. I would like to know if wisteria will grow in this environment, with temps up to 120 several weeks each su...
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Care of Passiflora incarnata or Passiflora coccinea
July 04, 2007 - Hi- I have two passionflowers, one red, one purple. I live in upstate NY. They grow very well up onto trellises, however, they have stopped producing flowers. Both are planted in pots (fairly large)...
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Vines to Cover Brush Pile in Maryland
April 29, 2013 - We have a large brush pile on our property that we'd intended to burn, but it is big enough now that it would require the help of the fire department! I'm thinking I'd like to cover it with native ...
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Allergic reaction from vine in St. George Island, FL
July 24, 2010 - In the panhandle of Florida, we have a vine that looks like a blackberry vine. Seems to be poisonous. It has thorns that are dark purple and leaves a blistery, itchy rash. The leaves are green and ruf...
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