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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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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!

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Questions From Near You

Carrollton, TX
Moving plants from Texas to Florida
Hi, I found your answer for the person traveling from Florida to Texas, I am going the opposite way. Do I need to have my house and yard plants certified by Texas Dept of Agriculutre? If so how do I ...
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Carrollton, TX
More on oak problems in Carrollton TX
Thank you for answering me, I will contact a specialist to see if we can determine the cause. but since writing you we have pulled down a small twig to see the leaf more closely, it is more of a reddi...
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Carrollton, TX
Propagation of endangered plant Texas trailing phlox from Carrollton TX
1. How many seeds does the Texas trailing phlox produce per season? 2. Can the seeds be taken from a living plant without hurting it? Thank You!
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Carrollton, TX
Care for indoor ivy from Carollton TX
I have an indoor ivy that is on a pole. The pole is breaking, and I need to separate the ivy from the pole with the least amount of trauma to the plant. How should I do this? Thanks!
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carrollton, TX
Identificaation of different cultivars ofPrunus caroliniana
How can you tell if you have a Carolina Cherry laurel or Carolina cherry laurel "compacta," or a Cherry Laurel-English? I have a line of four cherry laurels and one in the middle recently died an...
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Carrollton, TX
Identification of plant, possibly giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida)
I am trying to identify a weed that was prevalant where I grew up in North Central Texas. It grows in low spots and along creeks. It has woody stalks with short spines, grows 3'- 6' tall, the leaves...
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Carrollton, TX
Problems with live oak in Carrollton TX
This past winter was very hard on all the trees in our area in Texas, but added to our stress was the loss of three large Bradford pears just prior to the winter (23yrs old and over 50ft spans of limb...
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Carrollton, TX
Privacy plantings in Texas
Our home currently has a 4' chain fence. We are a family of 7 with younger aged children and are looking for more privacy. In lieu of a replacement fence, what would you recommend planting to provi...
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Carrollton, TX
Is the Texas buckeye as poisonous as the Ohio buckeye from Carrollton TX
Is the Texas buckeye as poisonous as Ohio Buckeye?
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Coppell, TX
Small Tree for Texas Garden
I would like to plant a small tree just 3-4 feet from my house, but I don't want to damage the foundation. Is there a small fruit or nut tree I could plant that would fit the bill? Failing that, is t...
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Coppell, TX
Identification of a cucumber-like vine with fruit
We found tiny, grape-size white melon-like fruit on a vine, with tomato-like/cucumber-like seeds. The leaves on the vine were similar to grape or cucumber leaves, but not spiny. They were behind our...
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Coppell, TX
Tree with tap root for small area near Dallas
Mr. Smarty Plants, I live in Coppell, TX (a suburb of Dallas) & am looking for a tree to plant near our pool to provide some shade. The current tree (a silver leaf maple) is dying. My husband thi...
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Coppell, TX
Native shrub for hedge in Dallas County, Texas
Looking for something to plant as hedge around yard for privacy. Prefer not to have to trim and like natural look, not over 8-9 ft. in full sun. Year round privacy for pool needed.
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Coppell, TX
Diagnosis of problems with Texas ash
Our 15 year old Texas ash has less leaf production this year. It also has a small amount of algae on the trunk, and some of the branches have small white spots on it. Also, a few of the branches close...
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Coppell, TX
Evergreen tree for screen behind a waterfall
I want to plant 3 evergreen trees as a screen behind a waterfall and along a fence by my pool. We took down a wax myrtle due to winter/ice damage and the mess in the pool. I want male yaupon hollies...
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Coppell, TX
Identification of tall dry, stalk plant in Central Texas
I'm trying to identify a plant from my childhood in Central Texas, as I'd like to evaluate its potential as a biofuel crop. It is a stalk-plant, growing quite tall, 7-8' on average, with knobbed...
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coppell, TX
Will Hyacinth Beans and Cardinal vine (non-natives) grow in Texas?
I live in Coppell, TX, and a neighbor gave me some Hyacinith Beans and Cardinal Vine seeds to plant. She described these as doing well in her local garden, but I cannot find a photo or picture of them...
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Coppell, TX
Sun and shade landscaping in Coppell TX
My two-story home in Coppell Texas faces north. The houses are ten feet apart. The sun leaves the front yard late-0ctober/early-November. It is March 24 and the beds are still in house shade. In s...
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Lewisville, TX
Problems with Blackfoot Daisy from Lewisville, TX
I planted a row of Melampodium leucanthum (Blackfoot Daisy) last spring at the front of the front yard, next to the sidewalk. It's full sun, east facing, unamended black clay gumbo soil. I put mulc...
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Lewisville, TX
Century Plant woes
My century plant was fine two weeks ago. Tonight I seen this. Not sure what is happening. It 9 years old. IMG_4716.JPG
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Lewisville, TX
Distance for Escarpment oak to house from Lewisville TX
I am planting an Escarpment Live Oak about 15' from my house. Thats as far away as I can plant it. Will this be a safe distance? How large will it be in 20 years?
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