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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 - May 07, 2012

From: Gatesville, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Looking for Irises for Coryell County, TX.
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

I'm looking for a hearty plant for Coryell County, TX. My mother always referred to these plants as "flags." I assume it is a type of iris. I'm looking for the one that will survive in the Central Texas summer.

ANSWER:

The iris family (family Iridaceae) consists of herbs growing from rhizomes, bulbs, or corms, with narrow basal leaves and showy flower clusters at the tips of long stalks. There are 25 species of Iris in our NPIN Database with Iris fulva (Copper iris) and Iris hexagona (Dixie iris) occurring in Texas. Mr. Smarty Plants is going to refer you to four organizations that can probably furnish an answer to your inquiry.

Coryell County office of Texas AgriLife Extension 

 The Tonkawa Chapter of the Native Plant Socioety of Texas (NPSOT)

The Fort Worth Iris Society

Argyle Acres Iris Gardens
 

From the Image Gallery


Copper iris
Iris fulva

Dixie iris
Iris hexagona

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