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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers Nan Hampton, Jimmy Mills and Barbara Medford to be the culpable and capable parties. Yet, others think staff members Damon Waitt, Joe Marcus and Philip Hawkins might 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 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!

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

Questions From Near You

LaRue, TX
Ground cover for a sunny location
Looking for Native ground cover for sunny slope in LaRue TX… I would like something that will cover year-round and flower in Spring/Summer/Fall. If it has a berry in the fall for birds and attracts bu...
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LaRue, TX
Groundcover and Butterfly attractants for LaRue Texas
LaRue, TX - Would like a native low growing plant as a groundcover. I would like it for six+ hours of sun, drought tolerant, and ones that butterflies might enjoy, while deer won't. Some winter int...
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LaRue, TX
Why is Hamelia patens, a species listed as invasive, in the Wildflower Center database?
Hamelia patens (Firebush) is listed as an invasive plant at Invasive.Org, the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, which partners with the US Forest Service, Univ of GA and others. LBJ ...
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LaRue, TX
Ground cover for East Texas
Thank you for your response to (Hamelia), it was very helpful. I recently moved to East Texas and I live in a rural area at altitude 754ft with a sloping landscape with good drainage. My property is...
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New York, TX
Ground cover for East Texas
I live in the country of east Texas and wish to grow native ground covers around my house and property. I have no way to control this growth, as I have no fences or borders. I have sandy soil and th...
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Athens, TX
Have deer eaten the flowers of my Esperanza?
My wife and I planted an Esperanza plant and it seemed to be doing well. It had numerous blossoms and we were excited at the prospect of having a beautiful plant that was alledgedly a "deer proof" ...
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Athens, TX
What plants grow well in Athens, TX?
Athens, Texas, we have very sandy soil mixed with clay, what plants grow well here?
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Athens, TX
Grasses for Van Zandt County, Texas
We have approx'ly 200 acres in Van Zandt County, Texas between Edom & Ben Wheeler of which approx'ly half is pasture land and has been used for hay for the past several years. We would have convert...
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Murchison, TX
Plant identification
I have found what resembles a gooseberry growing from what appears to be a grapevine trellising on a fence beside a lake in East Texas. The stems are smooth and slender, nad as I stated before vine up...
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Chandler, TX
Injury while pulling weeds in Chandler TX
I stabbed my self this last weekend when pulling roots from a bed so i'm not sure what it was. At the time it was a sharp pain so I pulled off my glove to look at it,barely scratched the skin so on I...
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Edom, TX
Erosion under a Live Oak in Edom TX
We have a large Live Oak tree in the front yard that I wouldn't part with for the world. The soil is almost solid sand underneath the tree, and in deep shade. It is on a slight slope and eroding wi...
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Malakoff, TX
Will Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis) grow in northeast Texas?
Will Texas madrones grow by Cedar Creek Lake and if so, do you know where I could purchase them "sort of" locally?
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palestine, TX
Wildflower seeds planted in May for summer in Fairfield, TX
Are there any wildflower seeds which can be planted in May for the summer? I have planted a wildgrass seed mixture I purchased from Turner Seed Company and planted it today (5-2-05). It was supposed...
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Jacksonville, TX
Plants for difficult site in Jacksonville, TX
East Texas (Cherokee County) red clay hillside, hard-packed, difficult to get to, 40' of it slopes 4' down in about 6'! Another 30' of it is flat. Between the hillside and the flat clay area is a...
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Tyler, TX
Which Aristolochia species are toxic to pipevine swallowtail larvae
In a May 30, 2008 question regarding the toxicity of certain Aristolochia species to pipevine swallowtail larvae, I had heard the same from at a talk from the curator of the Cockrell Butterfly Center ...
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tyler, TX
Cause of chlorosis on dogwood
Help!! I have been gone for three days, when I came home and looked out my back door I discovered that one of my huge dogwoods was turning yellow. We have had more than our share of rain this year and...
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Tyler, TX
Bluebonnets in East Texas
I would love to introduce Bluebonnets onto a piece of property in East Texas. We have very sandy soil. Which species should I plant, the Lupinus Texensis or the Lupinus Subcarnosus?
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Tyler, TX
Flower friends for roses in Tyler Texas
I have planted some double red Knockout roses and am looking for plants to go with them to add blue, white, pink and yellow hues. I am interested in planting something that will act as a ground cover ...
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Tyler, TX
Plant identification
There is a wildflower growing in my pasture. It is low growing, triangle leaves, flowers are blue, five petals with what looks like a white flower in the middle. Gods blessings to all there.
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Tyler, TX
Native plants that will grow under alleopathic black walnut
I have a large, beautiful black walnut tree in my yard and have trouble growing the annuals, begonia, impatients, etc., that I have always grown. They don't do well in the ground and I have resorted...
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Tyler, TX
Plant identification
There's a wildflower growing on my patio its leaves look like the leaves of a lute leaf sage, it has a flower stalk with yellow flowers. The stalk is about a one foot high. What is the name of it?
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