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.

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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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Sunday - May 22, 2011

From: Richmond, VA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Non-Natives, Diseases and Disorders
Title: Long-legged bugs eating roses in Richmond VA
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

There are bugs eating my roses. What can I do? They look like long bugs with a lot of legs.

ANSWER:

Most members of the rosa genus are native to China, and therefore fall out of our realm of expertise in plants native not only to North America but to the areas in which those plants grow natively. We will try to direct you to some websites that can help you more than we could:

Rose Garden Guru Rose Problems and Prevention

Roses-Rose Problems

University of Minnesota Extension Insect Pests of Roses