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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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.
rate this answer
Tuesday - September 30, 2008
From: Seven Valleys, PA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Shrubs
Title: Toxic trees and shrubs in Pennsylvania
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I have a long property edge that I have been gradually transforming from a former cattle pasture into a hedgerow of native trees and shrubs. Cattle still graze on the other side. Are there any toxic central PA native shrubs/trees I should be avoiding?ANSWER:
If you do a COMBINATION SEARCH in our Native Plant Database, you can find a list of the native trees and/or shrubs of Pennsylvania by selecting Pennsylvania from the "Select State or Province" option and then choosing 'Tree' or 'Shrub' from the "Habit (general appearance)" option. You can then search for the plant's botanical (Latin) name in the University of Pennsylvania's Poisonous Plants database. For instance, the leaves of Acer rubrum (red maple) are toxic to horses and the sprouts, leaves and seed of Aesculus spp. [Aesculus flava (yellow buckeye) and Aesculus glabra (Ohio buckeye)] are poisonous to livestock. As well as the University of Pennsylvania's Poisonous Plants database, there are also the Cornell University Plants Poisonous to Livestock, the Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System, the Poisonous Plants of North Carolina and the Texas Toxic Plants databases that you can check your plants against.
More Shrubs Questions
Need recommendations for privacy screen in Richmond, VA
February 27, 2013 - Hello, I read through the previous posts on privacy screen plantings in the Mid Atlantic region. There was a lot of great information, but I has a specific question that was not answered. I would li...
view the full question and answer
Reason for die-back of native Mahonia repens
April 01, 2008 - I have several mahonia repens plants planted on my property. This is the third spring for them and I have noticed that they look like they might be dying out. The leaves have turned brown and are cu...
view the full question and answer
Plant similar to forsythia for Kansas City KS
April 11, 2012 - I want to plant a plant very similar to Forsythia.
I want it to be tall 4-5 ft tall.
Need something that leaf changing, something besides burning bush.Former area rose beds 4 x 4 (two areas) Right ...
view the full question and answer
Replacing shrubs with perennials in NY
June 29, 2011 - We removed a lot of shrubs from our back yard that had been there for many years. We now want to plant perennials but there seems to be a lot of very deep roots in the soil. The roots look dead but I...
view the full question and answer
Living fence of native plants for Ojai, CA
September 20, 2008 - I would like to build a "green fence" about 10-15 feet tall. I live in Ojai, CA where we have VERY hot summers and it goes below freezing every winter. The soil does not seem to drain well..it is e...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |