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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.

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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!

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

Questions From Near You

Corsicana, TX
Orange patches circling cedar branches
We have dry rusty orange patches that circle several of our Cedar branches. There are a few orange blobs on different limbs, but they do not look like the pictures of Cedar Rust (no horns). The foli...
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Corsicana, TX
Native grasses for dry shade in North Central Texas
I live in North Central Texas and have an area that is 80% shade and a dry soil condition. What native grasses would be suitable for this location?
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Eureka, TX
Leaves falling off live oak tree in Eureka TX
I have the same question; it is in Navarro County in August. The leaves are falling off my live oak tree, they are brownish yellow, but it is not oak wilt. What might it be? This year I put mulch arou...
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Kerens, TX
Desert willows not doing well in Navarro County, TX
Planted 3 new desert willows , 3-4 ft.in February. Live in East Navarro County and soil is clay with slight slope to Richland Chambers lake area. Had a wet spring. These plantings appear not doing we...
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Ennis, TX
Good website for identifying wildflowers
What is a good website to identify wildflowers? I have done Google searches and none of the websites seem to help. Where should I go?
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Ennis, TX
Native plants for shade in Ennis TX
My house faces south. The southwest side of the front yard has a Pride of Houston, Japanese Barberry, 2 crape myrtles and some dwarf yaupon hollies. The other section, divided by a stairway to the p...
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Ennis, TX
Can bluebonnets be made into jelly from Ennis TX
Are Texas bluebonnet flowers okay for human consumption? I have seen recipes for wild violet jelly,so was wondering about making bluebonnet jelly from the bluebonnet blossoms if they are not poisonous...
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Ennis, TX
Plant identification
This plant will grow 12-15 feet or more in height in the rural areas of Ellis County south of Dallas. In a fractal manner, stems grow out of the stalk and then from the stems. The leaves are green, th...
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Avalon , TX
Landscaping in Avalon TX
I just bought my first and last home in Avalon Texas. I am looking forward to starting my garden. I am interested in all year around flowers. however I am in the country, when it rains, my yard becom...
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Tehuacana, TX
Alpacas poisoned in pasture in Texas
Two of my alpacas were poisoned by something growing in two of my pastures. One of the suspects is cussus trifoliata, aka, cow itch vine, sorrelvine. I have searched diligently and can find no refere...
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Italy, TX
Non-blooming crape myrtle in Italy, TX
It's Italy, TX, again! Thanks for the advice and links, and I'll study those..but here's where I'm stumped on crape myrtle. I have two (almost) trees because they've been planted over 15 years ...
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Italy, TX
Propagation bluebells by gathering seed
Following up your suggestion on propagating Bluebells by seed..Is it possible that I can gather seed from the bluebells in my pasture? How does that work? Would I have to wait until the wildflowers a...
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Italy, TX
Care of non-native Oleander
I want my oleanders to bloom but they keep getting attacked by tiny orange aphids that clump up on the newest growth. I read that oleanders only bloom on old growth but those orange mites/aphids are ...
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Italy, TX
Transplanting a Texas redbud sapling
I've just discovered a Texas red bud sapling (baby tree)that decided to grow next to our fire pit. Although there's no reason for us to sit around the campfire in 100 degree weather, I would like to...
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Italy, TX
Italy in Texas
Just want to clear up that I'm not in Italy, VERMONT. I'm in Italy, TEXAS. I don't know how the state slot changed from TX to Vermont, but please, I'm like you, lets just stick to TEXAS !
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Italy, TX
Promote blooms on non-native plants
I am trying to promote blooms on my several types of flowering scrubs and ornamentals, but not having much luck. I have used Miracid SuperBloom occasionally but not sure I am using enough, yet I may ...
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Malakoff, TX
Will Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis) grow in northeast Texas?
Will Texas madrones grow by Cedar Creek Lake and if so, do you know where I could purchase them "sort of" locally?
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Kemp, TX
Plant identification
Please identify this tree: has leaves like a catalpa, blue/lavender flowers on a long flower spike at the end of the limb, green fruit/seed about the size of a pecan it is fuzzy like a peach with a h...
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Mabank, TX
Winter hardy fern for northeast Texas
I am looking for a winter hardy fern to grown around my deck. The area would get some morning sun but afternoon shade. What do you suggest?
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Mabank, TX
Mountain Laurel growing in East Texas
I found a plant that looks like a Texas Mountain Laurel growing wild on a fenceline in east texas, near Canton. It is a small shrub/tree and has flowers like wisteria. It has "hairy" stems, they ar...
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Scurry, TX
Smarty Plants on Hesperaloe parviflora
I see these bright pink orange flowers on tall bracts everyday on the way to work. I have been searching for the name so I can buy one. I found a picture on your site at (http://www.wildflower.org/?...
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