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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 - September 07, 2009

From: Orlando, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Fertilizer burns on non-native St. Augustine grass
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

We put summer guard fertilizer on our lush St. Augustine grass and it didn't get watered in after application. As a result we have burned the yard badly in patches. What can we do to correct problem? We have had plenty of rain since application. Not showing much of a recovery. Thank you

ANSWER:

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is committed to the care, propagation and protection of plants native not only to North America but to the area in which they are being grown. Stenotaphrum secundatum (St. Augustine grass) is native to the Caribbean and Western Africa and therefore is out of our range of expertise. You probably don't need us to tell you to always follow the instructions on any product used in the garden, and we can't tell you if the grass will recover.
 

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