Native Plants
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Smarty Plants Question Topics
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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| Flowering plants for shade in Ohio June 15, 2008 I am trying to find flowering plants I can grow in my perennial shade garden. So far I am having a difficult time except for hostas, nettle and myrtle. I need help to get my miniature lilac to blo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Large shrub for screen in shade June 11, 2008 I am trying to find some large shrubs that will thrive in shade in the north Texas climate. This area will receive very little light during the day but need to grow quite large to hide a fence and cr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native understory plants for shade under live oaks June 09, 2008 I have large live oak trees in my front yard. I would like to start North Central Texas native landscaping under them, where no grass will grow. Do you know of some plants that would do well in ful... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native ground covers for shade in East Texas June 06, 2008 I live in Mount Pleasant, Texas which is in northeast Texas. I would like a list of ground covers that would do well in our area. The place I want to put it gets a lot of shade. The ground is clay. Th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Screening bush for shady area June 05, 2008 I need some kind of bush that will act as an air conditioning blind. So far the deer have eaten or destroyed everything planted in the very shady mulch bed. What do you recommend? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Different shades of green in Taxodium distichum (bald cypress) June 05, 2008 I have two bald cypress trees 50 feet apart, but there was very different soil in the two holes. One was a clayey soil and the other was much more the Austin limestone soil. The trees are about 2 ye... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| 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. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Tree and vine for shade and privacy June 03, 2008 We recently added a deck in our backyard which faces west, we live in Circle C (southwest Austin). The afternoon sun is intense so we're looking to plant something along our fence line to provide sh... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native plants for dry shade in Virginia May 23, 2008 I live in Reston, Virginia and have dry shade. What are the best plants to use for my garden. Xeriscaping and native plants are important considerations. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Evergreen groundcover under pine tree in NY May 23, 2008 Hello! I live in upstate NY. I'm trying to find an evergreen ground cover to plant under a pine tree. I believe it's a white spruce (but I'm not postive). I've read conflicting information reg... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Shade ground cover in San Antonio May 18, 2008 I would like to find plants, spreading ground or flowers, to go under my red tips. These plants would be in a lot shade and not a great deal of water. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Groundcover to help ease erosion in shade May 17, 2008 My house is situated on an embankment near a creek. We are looking for ground cover plants that can help ease the erosion of the embankment without being invasive for the existing trees. They must be... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native grasses to accompany buffalograss in shade May 01, 2008 What grass goes with buffalo for shade/partial shade? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native shade plants for sandy soil in New York April 30, 2008 I have a small patch (about 10 feet x 6 feet) of shady ground next to my house. The soil is very sandy. I really would like some perennial color - or at this point, anything actually - that will grow... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plants to disguise plastic rainbarrels in dry shade April 29, 2008 What plants would you recommend to disguise blue plastic rainbarrels in dry shade? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native moss to fill in between flagstones April 21, 2008 I live in Houston and have a long, narrow flagstone path that runs along the east side of the house. I am looking for a native moss that can fill in between the flagstones and will tolerate morning su... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Perennial phlox for partial shade April 16, 2008 I am planting a butterfly garden in a plot that gets sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon. I read that phlox does well in partial-shade areas, and was wondering which native, perennial phlox ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Correct cultural conditions for liatris April 15, 2008 I recently bought some gayfeather (liatris pycnostachya) and planted in my yard in a nice full sun spot. Gets sun for roughly 10 hours a day. However, it's also the single driest spot in my yard (jus... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native plants for partial shade in Pennsylvania April 04, 2008 Much of my growing area in Northern exposure, shade-partial shade once trees get leaves. I'm looking for native plants to use for screens and for ground-covers, grasses and edible plants. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Sedges or grasses for sun/shade in Georgetown, TX March 24, 2008 I have an area that is part shaded (under oak trees) and part in the sun. I would like cedar sedge in the shaded areas (some is already growing there)but I can not find where to buy it. Do you know w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pros and cons of Hydrocotyl bonariensis as lawn replacement March 22, 2008 Want to convert lawn TO dollar weed! My Garland TX yard has become so shady over the years that I have a hard time with grass. A few years ago I noticed dollar weed in the grass which seemed to cre... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Groundcover for shade in San Antonio March 21, 2008 I have a large red oak tree in the front yard. It is keeping any sun except filtered underneath. Faces n/w and in san antonio. I need a ground cover that is drought tolerant and likes the shade and h... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Native grasses for dry shade in North Central Texas March 09, 2008 I live in North Central Texas and have an area that is 80% shade and a dry soil condition. What native grasses would be suitable for this location? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Selection of shade tree and distance from house February 19, 2008 I live in California in zone 8b. I have seen the lists of trees for my area. I am still not clear on what tree to select. I would like to plant a nice tall shady tree very close to my house, but I wan... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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