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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Tuesday - August 04, 2009
From: Anniston, AL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Spacing of non-native crapemyrtle in Anniston AL
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
We bought some Dazzle dwarf crepe myrtle bushes. We need to know how far apart to plant them. ThanksANSWER:
Lagerstroemia indica (crapemyrtle) is native to Asia and therefore out of our range of expertise. At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center we are committed to the care and propagation of plants native not only to North America but to the area in which they are being grown. The non-native crapemyrtle has been so extensively hybridized to get different heights, colors and bloom times that there is no telling what feature in your plant's ancestry influences its expected size.
This website from Evergreen Nursery gives you the expected height and spread of this plant, or you could return to the nursery from which you purchased it and ask them.
More Non-Natives Questions
Response to previous answer on non-native cacti
March 15, 2008 - Hi Mr. SmartyPlants,
Santa Barbara here, again. Thanks for all your effort, especially as it falls outside of the Center's general expertise. That Cacti.com is amazing and I found the answer in the...
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ID for Caribbean mystery plants.
January 13, 2016 - I AM TRYING TO FIND THE COMMON NAME FOR TWO FLOWERS I TOOK PICTURES OF ON A CARIBBEAN CRUISE. I TOOK ONE IN HONDURAS AND ONE IN GRAND CAYMAN. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE I CAN GO TO TO GET HELP IN ID...
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Non-native Japanese maple for East Northport NY
August 20, 2013 - I live in NY and I am looking to plant a Japanese maple in front of my house. It would be in front of a window so I'm thinking should I get a dwarf? Or a semi dwarf? I know I want a red color but un...
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Clearing out non-native Himalayan blackberry
January 25, 2009 - Can you recommend a way to clear an area of Himalayan blackberry? We have cut the canes back but wish to eliminate them completely so that we can replant that area with native plants attractive to wil...
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Why aren't the Caesalpinia species in the Native Plant Database
June 07, 2013 - Why doesn't the Wildflower Center list Caesalpinia in its plant database? I grow 3 species in my garden with no coddling: C. mexicana, C. gilliesii, and C. pulcherrima. I underst...
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