Native Plants
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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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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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Saturday - July 27, 2013
From: Seattle, WA
Region: Northwest
Topic: Groundcovers, Shade Tolerant
Title: Growing non-vascular moss as a lawn from Seattle WA
Answered by:
QUESTION:
I have lots of moss in my back yard. How can I encourage it to grow over the whole yard?ANSWER:
The thing is, Mr. Smarty Plants limits himself to answering questions on vascular plants native to North America. We have so many questions on native vascular plants, we would never even come close to keeping up if we also answered questions on non-vascular plants like mosses or non-native plants such as Banksia grossa (native to Australia).
From wacona.com, this article Plant Groups explains the differences between vascular plants (our specialty) and non-vascular plants (mosses, algae). From Moss Acres, here is information on Growing Moss. From what we can see, to grow moss as a lawn, you need damp conditions and a whole lot of shade.
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Container plants for shade in Austin
March 15, 2011 - I reside in 78739. Just moving here from So Cal (where all plants are perennials), I'm looking to create a good "Shade loving" Container for near my front door. I'm looking at 'Summer Wave' Wi...
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Native plants for north facing shaded bed in Austin
April 02, 2007 - I have a northfacing house in central Austin. I dug a large bed along the front that gets almost full shade. What native plants will thrive in that space?
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Replacement for shade grass in El Paso TX
April 05, 2013 - We currently have a Honey Mesquite tree with thinning bermuda grass underneath in our front yard. I suspect that the filtered shade is killing the bermuda. I was thinking of planting Buffalo Grass, or...
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Groundcover for rock garden under large oak
October 02, 2012 - I am planning a small rock garden under a large oak tree. I would like a spreading evergreen ground cover that will grow in the shade. Drought-tolerant would be preferred as I live in the high plains...
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