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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

Thorndale, TX
Identification of thorny shrub with blue berries
Thorny shrub with blue berries. In our acid sandy loam we have many thorn bushes. This one has small leaves like a wild pomegranate, long thorns. berries of the size and color of blueberries and is ...
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Thorndale, TX
Locating yellow crossvine
I am attempting to find a yellow crossvine. I am not having much luck. I thought I saw some growing in the Taylor area, but I cannot locate it now. In my memory, the flowers had brown dots on them.
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Thorndale, TX
Identification of two Solanum species in Thorndale, Texas
Hi. NE of Austin in the Taylor/Rockdale area with sandy loam I have two kinds of nightshade. One has the deep rhizomes and stickers and is relatively small and weedy. The other, very similar in app...
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Taylor, TX
Thornless honeylocust trees for Taylor TX
I live in Taylor, Williamson County, in central Texas and I am interested in selecting trees for my backyard. I can't really explain (it may be my Midwestern roots), but I would like to plant three t...
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Taylor, TX
Mystic Spires salvia in transplant shock
Hello. I live in Taylor, Tx. Just outside Austin, Texas. I recently planted mystic spires. One gallons and will receive the hot afternoon sun. All the research says they can tolerate this location. Th...
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Taylor, TX
Problems with winecups in Taylor, TX
I live in Taylor in Williamson County, Tx,. I have wine cups growing. They are lush and blooming, but I am now noticing what looks like spores forming under the leaves and the plants seem to be suffer...
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Taylor, TX
Picture of fungus on winecups in Taylor TX
My error! I rated your answer to my question as 3 stars. I did not know how the rating worked and I accidentally chose 3. Your response was great. I would like to send you a picture of the spores/f...
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Taylor, TX
Replacing lawn in Taylor, Texas
I live in Taylor, Texas, just northeast of Austin, in the Blackland Prairie region. However, I do not live on a farm, but in town on a city lot of 1/3 acre. My soil is clayey, and currently I have a L...
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Taylor, TX
Coloration problems with non-native nandinas and queens wreath in Taylor, TX
This year my nandinas are extremely red and my queen's wreath blossoms deepened in color before the first freeze browned them out. What would cause this? Thank you.
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Taylor, TX
Growing non-native Cabernet Sauvignon vines in Central Texas
Hi. I recently moved into a remodeled home in Taylor, TX, and have experimented with Cabernet Savignon vines before. I have a 1/2 acre and a chain-link fence I want to put vines on. (I have a book o...
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Taylor, TX
Would there be wild buffalo grass (Bouteloua dactyloides) growing in Williamson County?
Greetings, I have done a "test planting" of buffalo grass in my yard. There are now some blooms (?) on the grass and I have noticed similar blooms on grass in two different places in the area (Tay...
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Taylor, TX
Live oak trees buzzing in Taylor TX
Is it possible for live oak trees to make a buzzing sound? We have heard this sound under our live oak and were worried it was bees but we don't seem to see any. I also heard the buzzing under my mot...
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Taylor, TX
Care of Styphnolobium affine, Eves necklace
I have an 18 yr old Eve's Necklace tree that is dying from the "bottom up". It has only a few leaves at the very top of the tree. I have, connected to the gutter, a rain barrel from which the exc...
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Taylor, TX
Karoo rose
Where would the Adenium obesum/desert rose/Karoo rose pictured in the Austin American-Statesman's Gardening section on 06/09/07 be available for purchase in or near the Taylor, Texas (76574) area?
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Taylor, TX
Disease-resistant squash varieties for Central Texas
Can you give me names of some disease-resistant summer squash varieties available in Central Texas?
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Granger, TX
Correct size for Wright penstemon from Granger TX
The Wright penstemon pictured as your main plant, looks nothing like the other pictures below it. I realize, they can be pink or red. But the LARGE speciman out in your gardens is nowhere near the 1...
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Lexington, TX
Soils for Central Texas wildflowers
Our family is moving to 40 acres near Lexington, TX with deep soil. Briefly talking to personnel at the Wildflower Center during Goblins in the Garden, I found that not all flowers in the Central Texa...
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Lexington, TX
Pests on Fan Tex Ash
We planted a Fan Tex Ash last year on our property. It's doing very well, but there are a lot of large stink bugs, yellow jackets and red wasps on it daily. We cannot seem to find any information on ...
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Lexington, TX
Cotton root rot in Purple Sage, Leucophyllus frutescens
We had three Purple Sage shrubs in our front yard. They did very well for about three years and then this past year they just died. From what I have read they are pretty hardy so we are really stum...
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Lexington, TX
Scrub oaks dropping limbs in Lexington TX
We live in the country between Elgin and Lexington. One of our "scrub" oaks is dropping large limbs. On examination, the limbs have green leaves and they do not appear to be rotted. Do you think ...
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Bartlett, TX
Expanded Shale Availability in Austin Area
Where can you find expanded shale in bulk or bag in the Austin area?
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