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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Friday - May 29, 2009

From: Cleburne, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Information about unknown house plant in Cleburne, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Please,I have a green houseplant w/5-6 inch wide heartshaped leaves that grows small,green fingerling pods. Very long,zig-zaggy stems on this plant. No florist/gardener here can identify.Pretty and getting larger in south sunny window,but pods never do anything.Would they "flower" somewhere else or even outside in summer.

ANSWER:

Without knowing what your plant is, it would be impossible for us to recommend growing instructions for it. We are guessing that it is probably non-native to North America, as are many house plants. They tend to be tropicals that can endure the extremes of living indoors. At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, our expertise is all about the care, use and protection of plants native not only to North America but to the area in which the plant is being grown. Let us help you learn how to search the Internet for pictures and information that will get you on the right track. Start with this Texas A&M site, Interiorscape Plants Pictures Pages. By following instructions for identifying plants on that site, you can at least get an idea of what kind of house plant you have. Next, look at the gflora.com website The Encyclopedia of House Plants, again following instructions for further searches. Finally, as you develop clues from the descriptions and pictures on the first two sites, you can go to PlantCare.com Plant Care for Indoor House Plants and get your more specific questions answered. As a very last resort, you can send us a picture, and we will try to identify it for you, but, as we said, we are only good at native plants and your house plants probably are not native, so you'll have better luck searching on your own. Go to our Plant Identification page for instructions on sending pictures.

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Friday - May 29, 2009

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