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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

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.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

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!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

1 rating

Monday - November 26, 2012

From: Hillsboro, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources, Groundcovers, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Source for Dichondra from Hillsboro TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Where can I get dichondra and info about it?

ANSWER:

There are 4 species of the genus Dichondra native to North America; in addition, all 4 are native to Texas: Dichondra argentea (Silver ponyfoot), Dichondra brachypoda (New mexico ponysfoot), Dichondra carolinensis (Carolina ponysfoot) and Dichondra recurvata (Oakwoods ponysfoot). Of these, silver ponyfoot is our personal favorite, and it is sold at the semi-annual Plant Sales at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Follow this plant link Dichondra argentea (Silver ponyfoot) to get more information from our webpage on the plant. At the bottom of that page is a link to Google on the plant where you can find still more information. It is a low-growing, silver-tinted, evergreen plant that does best in sun (6 hours or more of sunlight a day) or part shade (2 to 6 hours a day). The leaves really are a silvery green ("argentea") and extremely attractive.

You will probably not find these plants for sale in large nurseries and home improvement garden departments, so you need to locate a source (if you cannot wait until April for the next Plant Sale). Go to our National Suppliers Directory, put your town and state or just your zip code in the "Enter Search Location" box, and you will get a list of native plant nurseries, seed suppliers and consultants in your general area. Each has contact information so you can call or e-mail and get directions to their locations and find out if they have the plant you want in stock, or will.

From the Image Gallery

Silver ponysfoot
Dichondra argentea

Carolina ponyfoot
Dichondra carolinensis

Oakwoods ponysfoot
Dichondra recurvata