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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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 - September 17, 2008
From: Panama City, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Green fruit dropping from non-native navel orange tree
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Hi, I have a seedless navel orange tree that is dropping the green fruit as of late and when I find the oranges laying there they have a large split in them that exposes the fruit. I don't think the oranges on the tree have any splits but they are falling of the tree pretty every day. Is this normal or does the tree have some disease?ANSWER:
Due to the large volume of questions Mr. Smarty Plants has been receiving, we are asking that questions be confined to plants native to North America, which is the focus of the work done by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.The orange tree is a native of Southeast Asia, and has been extensively hybridized, far out of the range of our expertise. You might check this previous answer for some possible sources of information. Also, we suggest contacting your University of Florida Extension Office for Bay County.More Non-Natives Questions
When and how to prune lavender (Lavandula sp.)
March 20, 2009 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants
I have a Goodwin Creek Lavender plant that I planted last year. It did very well but my question is about pruining.
It seems that there is some growth coming up now that it...
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Smarty Plants on women trying to conceive
July 10, 2005 - RE: Eucalyptus.
Is this bad for women trying to conceive? The smell is very powerful.
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Mid-summer watering needs of non-native dwarf Meyer Lemon tree in Austin
March 20, 2011 - I live in Central Texas outside Austin city limits. I've recently purchased a dwarf Meyer lemon tree and planted it in a large pot. It's doing very well. I will be out-of-state from July through ...
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Problems with non-native petunias from Hodgeville, KY
May 12, 2013 - Planting petunias again in a house border bed.. It has been a tradition for 30+ years to plant the small upright petunias in this particular bed. It started as a Mothers Day gift to my Grandmother, ...
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Care for non-native ice plant in Virginia
October 12, 2008 - Regarding the ice plant in Virginia - do you cut it back or just trim or just leave it alone before winter?
view the full question and answer
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