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Questions From Near You

Van Alstyne, TX
Advice about lavender (Lavandula sp.)
I recently visited a Lavender Farm just outside Gainseville Texas. I was hooked. However, when I started reading about growing Lavender I found that you should have well drained alkaline soil. Since...
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Van Alstyne, TX
Low Water Use Plants for a Pond Island
We have a medium sized pond/tank with a small island covered in black willows. The pond loses a lot of water and we were told it was partially due to the willows. We want to remove them and replace ...
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Van Alstyne, TX
Avoiding planting Indian Paintbrush in Hawaii because of invasiveness
My daughter is living in Hilo, Hawaii. For her birthday, her boyfriend ordered her some Indian Paintbrush seeds. Trying to be sure she grows them correctly in a pot, she found instructions that say ...
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Van Alstyne, TX
Drought-tolerant plants for landscaping
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Our HOA is wanting to change the landscaping to Drought-tolerant plants and flowers. The area is Grayson County, south of Sherman Texas. What plants and flowers would you su...
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Van Alstyne, TX
Wildflower meadow for birds
I put in a wildflower feed plot for the song birds 3 years ago. We prepared the bed by first using Round Up to kill all the grass then lightly tilled to scratch the surface and planted the wildflower ...
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Sherman, TX
New agave plants, offshoots of parent plant, transplanting
I have different varieties of Agaves that are sending off new plants from the mother. Some have 1-2 and some have 6-7 plants. Is there a proper method for removing (cutting them a certain way) for t...
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Sherman, TX
Native landscaping plants for Sherman, Texas
We are starting from scratch on landscaping our new yard. We live in Sherman, TX and I would like to use plants and flowers that are native to Texas and have a good chance of surviving. What are you...
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Sherman, TX
Does Chilopsis linearis, var.Bubba produce seed pods? No.
We have a really beautiful 2-year old Bubba, Desert Willow. It is already about 12 feet tall. I really have two questions. One does the Bubba form the seed pods like the other types of Desert Willows?...
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McKinney, TX
Native plants for poorly drained clay soil
I am trying to establish a native plant garden in my back yard, I have two places where water stands for a few hours after a heavy rain, and the soil is black clay. Can you recommend any perennials 3...
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McKinney, TX
Identification of small tree in McKinney TX with puffy red/pink bloom
Looking for info on McKinney area sm/med size tree found at water's edge that has a puffy rd pink bloom. Thanks.
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McKinney, TX
Plant identification
Virginia Creeper or something else? I live in McKinney, Tx, and have a limestone escarpment in back that leads down to a "white rock " creek. A wrought iron fence separates the yard area from the ri...
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McKinney, TX
Smarty Plants on Bluebells
Do you have Bluebells growing at the Wildflower center and if so how much longer will they be blooming ?
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McKinney, TX
Suppliers for Lantana urticoides
I would like to plant yellow Lantana in my beds because of the hot drought conditions we have in north central Texas. Where can I find this to plant now?
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McKinney, TX
Non-fruiting squash
With all this rain in Dallas why would our Zuchinni and Yellow squash be beautiful and green but not produce any squash?
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McKinney, TX
Care for cultivar of native Bignonia capreolata
I planted Dragon Lady Cross Vines at the end of the fall last year. When would be the best time to trim them. I live in the Dallas area. They look kind of beat up right now and I thought if I trimmed...
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McKinney, TX
Problems with fruit of Mexican Plum from McKinney TX
MY Mexican plum tree (about 5 years old) has small fruit on it. Some of them are severely deformed, and look rotten almost. They are bumpy and ragged looking. Or they are pasty white,rotten and dried ...
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McKinney, TX
No, you are not crazy.
Has the family classification for Coral Yucca changed recently? I was going through some old notes and expanding them for a class I need to teach for some homeschoolers, and it appears that Coral Yuc...
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McKinney, TX
Will several Penstemon species hybridize?
I have Penstemon cobaea, Penstemon triflorus, Penstemon cardinalis, and Penstemon murrayanus in my landscape. Will they hybridize with each other?
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McKinney, TX
Evergreen pet-safe shrubs for house and screening in McKinney TX
Looking for shrub, preferably evergreen, to plant near the house that can handle wet ground and is pet (dog, cat, horse) safe. The area became boggy after we had an underground water leak that is now ...
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McKinney, TX
Grasses for shade in McKinney TX
Dear Sir, We have lived in the same house for 25 years and when we originally moved in we had St. Augustine sod installed and for several years it did very well until my trees started getting bigge...
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McKinney, TX
Trouble with live oak in McKinney, TX
We moved into a suburban home with a live oak tree with a trunk diameter of about 50". I noticed recently how yellow the leaves look compared to the other live oak in the yard. There is not a pattern...
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