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 is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

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Friday - April 03, 2009

From: san diego, CA
Region: California
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: What will grow under a California Pepper tree?
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

What will grow under a California Pepper tree with a shady area oak tree nearby in a coastal community?

ANSWER:

Mr. Smarty Plants is not sure of what kinds of plants you have in mind, but he will tell you how you can determine the answer to your question.

Go to our Recommended Species page, click Southern California on the map, and you will obtain a list of 208 commercially available native plant species suitable for planned landscapes in Southern California. To trim this list down, chose the NARROW YOUR SEACH option, and make the following choices; chose Califronia under State, All Habits under Habit, Perennial under duration, and Shade under light requirement. Click the Narrow Your Search button, and your list now has 14 plants. Clicking on each plant's name will bring up the NPIN page for that plant which has information about growth characteristics as well as images of the plant. You can alter the list by choosing different parameters under the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option.

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Friday - April 03, 2009

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