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 - October 08, 2009
From: Aspers, PA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Need a recommendation for a fast growing shade tree near Gettysburg PA
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
I am looking to plant a fast growing shade tree with non-invasive roots. I live in south central Pennsylvania just north of Gettysburg PA.ANSWER:
Since we know nothing about the specific site where you wish to plant your new tree, it is difficult to make a recommendation of a particular tree. However, there is a feature of our web site that will allow you to select your new shade tree: the Recommended Species Page.
Clicking on your state will produce a list of 135 commercially available plants that are suitable for planned landscapes in Pennsylvvania. Go to the Narrow Your Search column on the right side of the page and make these selections; choose PA for the state, tree for General Appearance, perennial for Lifespan, check Sun for Light Requirement, and dry for Soil Moisture (you can change this as appropriate). Click the Narrow Your Search button and your list is reduced to 23 trees. Clicking on the name of each plant will bring up its NPIN page that has a description of the plant, informaton about its growth characteristics and requirements, along with images. Your task is to find a tree whose growth reqirements match the conditions on your site.
Here are four trees from the list that have medium to rapid growth rate, and show native distribution in Adams County.
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tuliptree)
Quercus coccinea (scarlet oak)
I'm also including two web sites that can answer your questions regarding invasive roots:
Fairfax County Virginia and Colorado State University Extension
Once you have made a selection visit our Suppliers Directory to locate businesses that sell native plants or seeds or provide professional landscape or consulting services in Pennsylvania.
Another source of help closer to home is the Penn State Cooperative Extension Office in Adams County.
More Shade Tolerant Questions
Ground cover for shade that is drought tolerant
August 02, 2010 - Can you suggest a ground cover or plant that loves shade and is drought tolerant in the Austin Region? If the two do not coexist can you suggest a ground cover for shade.
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Turks cap not blooming in Austin
June 03, 2008 - Why is my Turks Cap not blooming? It gets about an hour of sun in the morning, then shade for the rest of the day.
It gets watered with the sprinkler system that waters our lawn.
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Flowers under pine trees from Elkhart Indiana
May 02, 2013 - I have a number of pine trees at the back of my lot and would like to plant flowers under the tree. What can I plant?
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Groundcover for sun/part shade in Austin
May 07, 2008 - I live in Southwest Austin and I have a small backyard that has part sun/part shade. I have no grass in the backyard and my soil is not the healthiest, so I would like to plant some groundcover versus...
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Erosion control on partially shaded slope
November 27, 2010 - Mr. Smarty Plants,
I live in Atlanta, GA. My house is on a hill, and I am beginning to have erosion at my backyard porch (concrete slab, on the corners especially). The soil is mainly red clay, a...
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