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 is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Tuesday - July 14, 2009
From: Minneapolis, MN
Region: Midwest
Topic: Shrubs
Title: Want to identify a shrub with golden to orangish berries in Minneapolis MN.
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
Tall shrub or maybe tree with small berries golden to orangish color. The berries are not in large clumps but more twos and threes. Leaves are opposite each other, smooth edges and sort of elliptical. Is it native? Is this invasive?ANSWER:
Well the first thing we need to know is the name of the plant, and Mr. Smarty Plants has learned over the years that is very difficult, virtually impossibble even, to identify a plant from a written description such as this. My suggestion is to go to Plant Identification on the "Ask Mr. Smarty Plants" page and follow the directions for taking and sending us a photo of your plant. Once we have a name, we can determine if it is a native plant and if it is invasive.More Shrubs Questions
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April 19, 2014 - Love your site! We have a 4'x4'x50' stone wall, full sun, with a planting bed 30"H by 24"D. We're looking for privacy, so a hedge with pruning is needed. We have looked at Ilex Crenata (8'),...
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Leaves turning yellow on Banana Shrub in Eutaw. AL
July 28, 2013 - We have a very large (about 12' tall), very old (probably planted in the early 1900s) Banana Shrub in our front yard. It was very healthy until last year when its leaves began turning yellow and fal...
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April 07, 2012 - Hello, We have a steep 15-20 foot high bank behind our house here in southern Ohio. Probably 50 ft.long. What could we plant for beauty and erosion control. It is nasty clay soil with lots of shale an...
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Fast-growing drought-resistant hedge for California
September 03, 2013 - We're looking for a fast growing, drought resistant shrub that will grow in clay soil and can be used for a hedge around our property.
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