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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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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Friday - March 26, 2004
From: Washington, DC
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Invasive Plants
Title: Smarty Plants on Invasive Plants
Answered by: Jil M. Swearingen, National Park Service
QUESTION:
How bad are invasive species?ANSWER:
Invasive species impact native plants, animals, and natural ecosystems by, reducing biodiversity, altering hydrologic conditions & soil characteristics, interfering with natural succession, competing for pollinators, displacing rare plant species, serving as reservoirs of plant pathogens, replacing complex communities with single species monocultures, & diluting the genetic composition of native species through hybridization. Browse the links of our Plant Conservation & Landscape Restoration programs on-line to discover more of what you can do to nurture native plant species in your eco-region.More Invasive Plants Questions
Introduced invasive Melia azedarach along Shoal Creek in Austin
April 17, 2007 - Along the Shoal Creek Trail in Austin are many flowering trees with sparse clusters of small pink/purple, star-shaped flowers with a dark red center stalk, blooming now in April. They have a fragrance...
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Shade tolerant plants for privacy from Larchmont NY
April 19, 2014 - Love your site! We have a 4'x4'x50' stone wall, full sun, with a planting bed 30"H by 24"D. We're looking for privacy, so a hedge with pruning is needed. We have looked at Ilex Crenata (8'),...
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Reference for native critical populations from York, PA
May 25, 2010 - I have recently read a naysayer of native gardening. He states that native garden plants usually do not have the critical population size to be self-perpetuating. He says that one could better help t...
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Oxalis crassipes identification
July 23, 2007 - I'm trying to identify a plant that has appeared in several containers on my balcony. The largest plant is about a foot tall, with triangular leaves, small white flowers with yellow centers, and has...
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Elimination of nutgrass from native flower bed
October 14, 2007 - Nutgrass!*#!* My new bed in NE Austin wraps around a hot sunny SW street corner. Grass wouldn't grow there [I wouldn't water it.] I removed the turf [mostly stickers] to a depth of about 4", carefu...
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