Native Plants
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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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
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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Sunday - October 12, 2008
From: Spotsylvania, VA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Care for non-native ice plant in Virginia
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Regarding the ice plant in Virginia - do you cut it back or just trim or just leave it alone before winter?ANSWER:
We found this very confusing-there seem to be several different botanical names for these plants, all of which are referred to as "ice plant." The one characteristic they seem to share is that they are all non-native to North America, apparently originating in South Africa.
Due to the large volume of questions Mr. Smarty Plants has been receiving, we are asking that questions be confined to plants native to North America, which is the focus of the work done by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. You might want to read this Dave's Garden Forum on Delosperma cooperi, one of the botanical names for ice plant, and perhaps follow that to other sites in Google for information.
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