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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Thursday - June 25, 2009
From: Simi Valley, CA
Region: California
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Non-native carrotwood tree in Simi Valley CA
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
We have a beautiful 40+ foot carrotwood tree that has been covered with small nut-like pods growing in bunches. They are a mess. Is there a spray that controls/eliminates this problem?ANSWER:
You don't need a spray, you need a hatchet. Quick, quick, get that tree out of your landscape and your life. Those nut-like pods are seeds, incredibly messy, as you already know, and they are being eaten by birds, who then sow them wherever, they will lie on the ground and kill your grass, and the tree itself is an invasive weed. At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, we are devoted to promoting plants native not only to North America but to the area in which they are being grown. This plant is the poster child for invasive non-natives. It originated in Australia, Indonesia and New Guinea. We suggest that while you wait for the bulldozer to arrive, you read the following articles about places, including California, where it is already a menace.
Plant Conservation Allliance Alien Plant Working Group Least Wanted Cupaniopsis anacardioides
Texas Invasives cupaniopsis anacardioides
Los Angeles Times Tree of the Week: Carrotwood Tree
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Plants not native to North America in Hawaii
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June 21, 2012 - Have you a leaflet on growing caladiums in the Austin area?
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Native alternatives for non-native, invasive bamboo in New York
March 26, 2006 - I hope you can help me. This is not about wildflowers. I'm interested in planting bamboo as a screen (25'+). I know all the pros/cons and would need to have a nursery to put in barrier. I need some...
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A non-native Japanese Maple for Branchburg NJ
May 12, 2010 - I am landscaping around my house and am looking for a tree that wont eventually grow too large. I thought maybe a bloodgood Japanese maple. Any suggestions would help
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