Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers Nan Hampton, Jimmy Mills and Barbara Medford to be the culpable and capable parties. Yet, others think staff members Damon Waitt, Joe Marcus and Philip Hawkins might play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Support NPINHelp grow the Native Plant Information Network by giving to the Plant Database Fund or subcribing to Wildflower magazine.

Subscribe online now
Mr. Smarty Plants would give Wildflower magazine two thumbs up...if he had two thumbs.
Share

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.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

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!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

Questions From Near You

Gallatin, TX
Grass for family cemetery in Gallatin TX
Recently, we made a family cemetery, and are now trying to find a type of grass that will make a healthy lawn for it. What would be an appropriate species to plant here?
view the full question and answer

Rusk, TX
Yellowing branches on non-native sago palms after freeze in Rusk TX
My Sago Palms experienced a good freeze. Now they have a multitude of yellowing branches, in fact most of the plant is yellow. Please advise what to do to save my plants. They are about nine years ...
view the full question and answer

Rusk, TX
Propagation of Prunus Mexicana in Rusk TX
How do you scarify seeds from the Prunus Mexicana? Can the branches be made to grow roots?
view the full question and answer

Rusk, TX
Affect of poisonous plant roots in soils for vegetables from Rusk TX
I have a huge old flowerbed in front of my house that I want to plant veggies in, but I'm afraid to. It has a catalpa tree there, which I sell the worms from, but the entire tree (bark, leaves, flowe...
view the full question and answer

Jacksonville, TX
Plants for difficult site in Jacksonville, TX
East Texas (Cherokee County) red clay hillside, hard-packed, difficult to get to, 40' of it slopes 4' down in about 6'! Another 30' of it is flat. Between the hillside and the flat clay area is a...
view the full question and answer

Whitehouse, TX
Poolside tree for Whitehouse TX
What would you recommend for native shade tree or flowering tree on the north side of a swimming pool in East Texas/Smith County? Trying to avoid too much dropping of flowers, nuts, etc. Looking to ...
view the full question and answer

Whitehouse, TX
Source for blue phlox in Whitehouse TX
Where can I purchase blue phlox ground cover? I live ten minutes from Tyler,Tx
view the full question and answer

Whitehouse, TX
Milkweed with the biggest pods in Smith County, TX?
I live in East Texas and I would like to know which of the milkweed plants bears the largest seed pod. I would also like to know the best time to locate the pods in and around the Smith County area.
view the full question and answer

Henderson, TX
Protecting storm-damaged pecan and black walnut trees in TX
Several trees on our property in northeast Texas were uprooted by a tornado. A pecan tree with a circumference greater than 93 inches was carried to the ground. Although it is completely horizontal,...
view the full question and answer

Henderson, TX
Return to original color of non-native crape myrtles in Henderson, TX
Mr. Smarty Plants, I bought 3 Dynamite Crape Myrtles that were about 3 -4 feet tall (at Lowe's). In the late Spring, I planted 2 of them about 100 feet apart, in full sun, and left the other one in...
view the full question and answer

palestine, TX
Wildflower seeds planted in May for summer in Fairfield, TX
Are there any wildflower seeds which can be planted in May for the summer? I have planted a wildgrass seed mixture I purchased from Turner Seed Company and planted it today (5-2-05). It was supposed...
view the full question and answer

Tyler, TX
Worms in wild plums
Wild Plums... They are just starting to get ripe here in East Texas. Picked a few today and they all had dark spots on them. When I cut them open there were tiny worms inside. Does this mean they a...
view the full question and answer

Tyler, TX
Flower friends for roses in Tyler Texas
I have planted some double red Knockout roses and am looking for plants to go with them to add blue, white, pink and yellow hues. I am interested in planting something that will act as a ground cover ...
view the full question and answer

Tyler, TX
Poolside plants for East Texas
What are the best plants, shrubs, ornamental trees, etc. for poolside planting in East Texas?
view the full question and answer

Tyler, TX
Plant identification
There is a wildflower growing in my pasture. It is low growing, triangle leaves, flowers are blue, five petals with what looks like a white flower in the middle. Gods blessings to all there.
view the full question and answer

tyler, TX
Cause of chlorosis on dogwood
Help!! I have been gone for three days, when I came home and looked out my back door I discovered that one of my huge dogwoods was turning yellow. We have had more than our share of rain this year and...
view the full question and answer

Tyler, TX
Plant identification
There's a wildflower growing on my patio its leaves look like the leaves of a lute leaf sage, it has a flower stalk with yellow flowers. The stalk is about a one foot high. What is the name of it?
view the full question and answer

Tyler, TX
Which Aristolochia species are toxic to pipevine swallowtail larvae
In a May 30, 2008 question regarding the toxicity of certain Aristolochia species to pipevine swallowtail larvae, I had heard the same from at a talk from the curator of the Cockrell Butterfly Center ...
view the full question and answer

Tyler, TX
Tree for area around patio in East Texas
What is the best type of tree to plant around my patio which faces the southeast
view the full question and answer

Tyler, TX
Identification of a wild vine in East Texas
Trying to identify a wild vine that grow 15-20 feet up our trees. The leaves are dark, glossy green about 2-3" long. The edges are smooth and elongated. Each leaf is placed to the right and then the ...
view the full question and answer

Tyler, TX
Ground cover for shady site in Tyler TX
I live in Tyler Texas and have a lot of shade and sandy soil. No grass will grow and I was wondering if I should look at ground cover instead? If so, what grows in shade and sand? I have tried sever...
view the full question and answer