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.
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Monday - January 24, 2011
From: Fair Oaks Ranch, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Pruning of non-native abelias in Fair Oaks Ranch, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I have some old established Abelias that are leggy at the bottom. Can I cut them back, and if so, how far and best time to do so?ANSWER:
There are a number of species of the genus Abelia but none are native to North America, mostly originating in Japan and China and now are considered "cultivated only," or not growing in their present form natively anywhere. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is dedicated to the growth, protection and propagation of plants native to North America, and to the area in which the plants are being grown. Abelias are a member of the Caprifoliaceae, or honeysuckle family, of which some are native to North America, but not the Abelia. We did find this article from eHow on How to Prune Abelias that should give you some help.
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October 28, 2011 - We have two Arizona Ashes in our yard that probably have maybe a decade left in them. We want to get a couple new trees started, so they will be well established once the Ashes are near their end. In ...
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Could lilacs grow in Georgia?
April 27, 2010 - Hi Mr Smarty Pants,
First off, I want to commend you on your promotion of native plants. I am passionately anti-invasive plants (in fact, it was the subject of my master's thesis). That being said...
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