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?
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Thursday - April 03, 2008
From: Morehead City, NC
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Non-native fruit trees for eastern North Carolina
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Are there any good fruit trees to grow in eastern North Carolina? For example peaches, apples, plums? What are your recommendations? Thank you!ANSWER:
Unfortunately for native plant aficionados, which we are at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, most food crops are either non-native in origin or have been so hybridized that they are no long considered native. Apples originated in Asia, so even the legendary Johnny Appleseed must have had seeds brought from Europe. Prunus persica is a species of Prunus native to China that bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach. There are several species of Prunus native to North America that produce edible plums, but only two of them are distributed naturally in North Carolina: Prunus americana (American plum) and Prunus mexicana (Mexican plum). Even these native plums are difficult to find in cultivation, and are often used as rootstock for hybridizing. We found this website on Carteret County Tree Facts; page down to "Information Sources" and find an e-mail address for North Carolina Cooperative Extension where you can ask for the list of native and highly adapted trees, shrubs and perennials that grow in Carteret County. The same website does go on to list the trees.
More Non-Natives Questions
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I use a commercially prepared, fortified, chopped forage based on a mix of orchard and Timothy grasses. The bags are shipped in from out of State. However, I have been finding short s...
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Texas native plants in an indoor space in Dallas
July 31, 2009 - Is there a native Texas plant that would be suited for an indoor application, such as large planters in a lobby space?
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Does non-native mimosa tree have a tap root from Lubbock TX?
July 05, 2010 - Does a mimosa tree have a tap root? I would like to plant one next to a concrete driveway to help shade the garage and do not want to cause damage to the driveway in the future. Thank you in advance...
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January 26, 2011 - Looking for a coconut in its complete husk ?
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Camellia seeds
September 21, 2008 - Hi Mr. Smarty Plants;
I have a Camellia plant that has bulbs that look like they could be fruit. And when this bulb opened, four or five little nuts came out. Are they fruit or nuts and can they be e...
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