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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Monday - June 10, 2013
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Poisonous Plants, Vines
Title: Non-floweriing vines not poisonous to dogs from Pittsburgh PA
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Are there any vines or crawlers (nothing that flowers) that are non poisonous to dogs? Everything I am finding is poisonous, I want to plant some vines up a chain link fence around a swimming pool.ANSWER:
We had the same question yesterday from Madison WI. Please read it for information on poisonous plants. We will look at a similar list for Allegheny Co., PA, but we have to tell you there are no non-blooming vines. All vascular plants propagate themselves by first blooming and then producing seeds. It is necessary for the plant's survival. You can follow each plant link on our list to find out when they bloom, with size and color, and some may have more inconspicuous blooms than others, but they will all bloom. You can snip off blossoms and then you will have no seeds but they will spread by underground roots.
Vines for Pennsylvania:
Campsis radicans (Trumpet creeper)
Clematis virginiana (Devil's darning needles)
Ipomoea pes-caprae (Railroad vine)
Lonicera sempervirens (Coral honeysuckle)
You will also need to follow the links to each webpage to learn what their growing conditions are, particularly their sunlight requirements, as you did not mention that in your question,
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