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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Wednesday - December 31, 2008
From: Seagrove, NC
Region: Southeast
Topic: User Comments
Title: Correction to question involving acid vs. alkaline soil
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
In a question about blueberries you said most blueberry web sites are in states with deciduous trees including pines. Not sure about your part of the world but here in NC the pine trees keep the needles all year..Pines are coniferous trees. Just thought I'd help you clear that up.ANSWER:
You are precisely right, thank you for calling it to our attention. Actually, we knew that pines are evergreen, it was just bad wording. We have now put in the words "....deciduous trees and evergreen pines" to make it a little more clear. This was a previous question from someone in an area with alkaline soil, and we were just trying to explain why their blueberries weren't going to prosper in that alkaline soil without some major soil amendments.More User Comments Questions
Wrong photo in Native Plant Database
August 18, 2008 - The picture to the left of the information for Rudbeckia laciniata L. shows a plant with a dark center. This is not the Cutleaf Conflower with which I am familiar. What is it?
Thank you.
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True date for Earth Day
March 09, 2006 - My grandson asked me to verify the correct date for Earth Day 2006.
Sites on the internet say
(a) Earth Day USA is April 22, 2006.
(b) International Earth Day is M...
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Pot on a pillar in a pond in Pflugerville
April 26, 2010 - No question: Just a thanks to Barbara. You can't imagine how hard I laughed when I read the interpretation that I was going to plant Maximilians in a pot on a pedestal in the middle of a pond!!! S...
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Kudos for Barbara Medford's answer
November 05, 2014 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants (say, should it not be Ms!),
No question, just a correction. Please correct my rating from 3 to 5 stars for Barbara Medford's response regarding impatiens, dated Dec. 8, 2007...
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Maintenance policy for Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
February 04, 2008 - Greetings,
I am a volunteer at the University of Washington’s Elisabeth C. Miller Horticultural library. I am currently developing a maintenance policy for our database of gardening questions and ...
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