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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Saturday - March 28, 2015
From: Huntingtown, MD
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Best of Smarty, Non-Natives
Title: Advantages of using native plants
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Hello. My question is not about a specific plant but a more general question about natives. I am writing a research paper and am interested in finding seminal research that explains why we should use natives. Can you make any suggestions?ANSWER:
If I interpret your request correctly, you are looking for peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals that support the use of native plants rather articles that list the advantages of using native plants. There are many of the latter and all one needs to do to find them is the enter a Google search of "research supporting advantages of native plants" or something close to that. Doing a Google search as described above I did find these articles of interest:
- Summary of Functional Benefits of Native Plants in Designed and Natural Landscapes by Brendan Dougherty and Dan Shaw, from the Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources that does give a list of publications related to the advantages of native over non-native plants and landscaping.
- Landscaping with Native Plants: Quantification of the Benefits of Native Landscaping Current Knowledge from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
There are other articles you can find using this search method, too, but you could also go to a local library (university libraries are the best source) to use scientific databases (such as AGRICOLA, the database of the US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library).
More Non-Natives Questions
Non-native, care for Jade plant.
June 22, 2009 - I've had a jade plant for 5 years and it has done well, even though it was in a plastic pot with regular soil. I need to repot it and it was recommended I use a clay pot and a soil made for succulen...
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Planting a non-native Solandra nitida in Cape Town, South Africa
August 26, 2009 - How long does it take a Cup of Gold (Solandra Nitida) to flower when planted from a cutting. The site is against a North facing wall. It gets afternoon sun. Plant looks healthy and is approximately ...
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Pollination of non-native cucumber plants in Austin
July 15, 2010 - I have 3 cucumber plants that are in planter boxes hanging from my wrought iron fence and they use it as a trellis.
All 3 plants are producing only female flowers. No male. None of them have produc...
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Will Bermuda grass survive a drought-induced dormancy?
August 12, 2015 - If I stop watering a Bermuda grass lawn and let it go dormant, will it green up again when it rains again?
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Browning leaves on non-native Burford holly
August 22, 2008 - I have several dwarf Burford hollies whose leaves are browning. The individual leaves have colors of green, dark brown to light brown extending from the stem. Any ideas?
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