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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.

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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

Runaway Bay, TX
Ground cover for a sunny hillside in TX
For many years I have had two beds of English Ivy under medium size pine trees. Home is on a hillside, moderately rocky. Last Spring my yardman persuaded me to severely trim lower limbs of the pines t...
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Bridgeport, TX
Vine to cover fence line in Bridgeport, Texas
We are looking for a year round vine that will cover our fence line. Flowering and non-flowering.
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PARADISE, TX
Encouraging native grasses to flourish
We have been trying to restore the yard around the house with native grasses and forbs for the last two years. The soil is clay and nothing seems to grow. We have distributed 5 truck loads of mulch, p...
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Paradise, TX
Grafting Pecan Trees
I have planted two pecan nuts and now they are about 4 feet tall trees, they have not been grafted but can I graft one of the trees to the other and vice versa and expect pecans from then, they are he...
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Poolville, TX
New gardener on lawn for Poolville TX
I have never had the opportunity to have a nice yard until recently when I got married. My husband loves a nice yard and we have worked very hard and put in hours of work. We are learning by trial a...
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Decatur, TX
Planting time, either by acorn or container grown tree, of Shumard red oak
Hello, I have a question on when is the best time to plant shumard red oak. I live in Zone 7. thank you
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Decatur, TX
Smarty Plants on wildflower meadow gardening
My local elementary school in Decatur, Texas (north central) has an open field of wonderful wildflowers in front of it. This year, they were mowed before the flowers went to seed. What is a good rul...
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Decatur, TX
Native vine for shade on west side in Texas
I have just put in a trellis to cover the west side of my house for shade. What would be the best native vine to put their for quick growth. I plan on putting a rose (Fortunia) but can't do that till...
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Springtown, TX
Propagating magnolias from Springtown TX
I am trying to find out how to plant Magnolia tree seeds and what has to be done with them prior to planting, if anything and what type of soil to use.
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Springtown, TX
Identity of a plant that may be a horse apple (Maclura) in Springtown, TX.
I have a tree that I think is a crab apple, however, I can't find it in any collection on internet. The fruit looks like light green colored apples, however, they are very hard and very course textu...
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Selma, TX
Texas fan ash draining sap in Selma TX
I have a 3-year-old Texas Fan Ash tree that has recently begun to drain sap. Should I be concerned? If yes, what can I do to save the tree? Thank You!!
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Rhome, TX
Plant identification
I am trying to identify a wild flowering plant. It grows in pastures near Rhome Texas. How can I email a digital photo to you to look at it??
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Azle, TX
Grasses for shady area with sandy soil
We have very sandy soil, is there any type of grass that will grow well. Also, very shady.
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Graford, TX
Low groundcover for Possum Kingdom
I am seeking a very low ground cover (advised so snakes and rats won't take cover), that is drought resistant and grows on a rocky steep incline to the lake in full afternoon/evening sun at Possum ...
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Graford, TX
Identification of low growing plants with flowers that resemble a bunch of grapes in Graford, TX
I am in northwest TX and I would like to know the name of the early blooming, very low growing plant that has a single bloom on a bare stem--it is dark crimson and the blooms looks like a bunch of gra...
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Azle , TX
Finding a manzanita species suitable for Fort Worth, TX
Which manzanita shrub would thrive best in the Fort Worth, Tx. area? I was thinking of planting it in a large pot. Thank You!
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Bowie, TX
Information on green roof demonstration site at Wildflower Center
I visited your green roof demonstration site and am interested in putting a green roof on a structure. There seemed to be at least two layers of growing medium in the planters; one layer looked like r...
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Bowie, TX
Plants to stop erosion on sandy slope in north central Texas
We have severe erosion problems that lead to a deep ravine. There are deer in the area and the soil is sandy on a slope. What would be the best long term solution to stop or control this erosion. Th...
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Mineral wells, TX
Variety of native tall plants for a screen in shady area near Ft. Worth
Hello, we live west of Ft Worth. We are looking for tall plants to form a visual screen along a chain link fence we share with a neighbor. We have post oaks there and it is very shady and the ground ...
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Azle, TX
Age at which native agarita produces berries
At what age does agarita produce berries? Is this plant self pollinating?
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Weatherford, TX
Need information about grasses for cattle grazing in Weatherford, TX.
Need info on what I can plant for cattle to graze thru winter. grasshoppers and drought have decimated our coastal hay for past 2 yrs.Is there anything we can treat all the weeds with besides chemic...
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