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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!

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

Questions From Near You

Kempner, TX
Fruit trees for Kempner, Texas
I just moved to Kempner , TX and would like to plant a couple of fruit trees in my 1 1/4 ac yard. I would like to plant a species that will do well and produce edible fruit. Any assistance will be app...
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Kempner, TX
Shade trees not toxic to dogs in Kempner TX
Dear Mr Smarty Plants, we are looking for shade trees to plant around our home in Kempner, Tx. I saw another family that asked a similar question but we have dogs and holly or oak trees are toxic (my...
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Kempner, TX
Is horseherb (Calyptocarpus vialis) edible?
Hello, I find horse-herb everywhere. Is it edible, too? Thanks!
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Kempner, TX
Plants for wildlife and trees for shade.
We live in Kempner Texas, our land has mostly cedar trees. We would like to make a wildlife habitat on the back side of our property. Can you recommend plants that will grow in shade to partial sun,...
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Kempner, TX
Dying branches on Texas Mountain Laurel from Kempner TX
The branches on my Texas Mountain Laurel are very dry and brittle. The leaves are also starting to die. The tree has been in my yard for six years and prior to that it sat wrapped in burlap for ov...
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Copperas Cove, TX
Problems with gnats in dirt
I have problems with gnats in my dirt. It's something I can't get control of. What can I do?
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Lampasas, TX
Treating scarred Gum Bumelia from Lampasas TX
We have a very old Gum Bumelia with a scarred open tree trunk. In the past concrete was used to fill the scarred trunk. What is the acceptable method of helping the tree. More concrete or using blac...
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Lampasas, TX
Native plants for butterflies and birds in a park in Lampasas, Texas
There is an area along a creek in Lampasas, Texas that I want to establish as a butterfly and bird park. There are various native plants there now, but I want to add plants that are hosts for butterf...
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Lampasas, TX
Toxicity of seeds of Texas Mountain Laurel for dog
I have a Tx Mountain Laurel that is in 1 end of a dog pen. I just heard the seeds are poisonous. Is this true & should we pull the seeds off so the dog can't reach them to eat? Thanks for your assist...
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Killeen, TX
Brown, dry leaves on weeping willow tree
We live in central TX and have just planted a weeping willow tree. Our back yard has a retention pond and ravine that parallels our property and we were told that the weeping willow will do perfectly ...
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Killeen, TX
Fruit trees non-toxic to dogs that will grow in Killeen TX
I live in Central Texas and I'd like to know if there is any fruit tree that is non toxic to dogs that will grow well in my area. My dog eats everything in sight. Thanks!
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Killeen, TX
Problems with Mexican Monterrey Oak in Killeen, TX
I planted a Mexican/Monterrey White Oak in September of 2008. It was about 10 ft tall and about 1 1/4 inches in diameter at the bottom. I kept it watered over the winter and spring and of course, ve...
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Killeen, TX
Container plants for pool area in Killeen TX
We live in Central Texas (Killeen). We want to put some container plants around our pool. (backyard with pool is all cement). We want some larger stuff, like maybe bamboo, elephant ears, etc. What pla...
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Killeen, TX
Native plants for containers
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have found the website very helpful, but have a few questions of my own. I recently purchased the winecup plant, phlox and cedar sage perennials. I have planted them in ...
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Killeen, TX
Plants dying in circular garden in Killeen, TX.
I have a large circular garden in my backyard out in the country in Killeen Texas. Last year two elms died. This year the Rose of Sharon has been dying one by one. One bush will completely die off bef...
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Killeen, TX
What causes peach fruit to ooze sap?
I have a peach tree at our new house. The peaches are small and yellow but appeared healthy. Now it looks like they are oozing or weeping sap out of several places on each one. I dont know if its a di...
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Adamsville, TX
Plant identification
I found a large shrub/tree behind an old building on my place. It has small smooth oval leaves 3/4-1 inch; x 1/2 inch, small somewhat clusters of a blue fruit 1/4-1/2 inch diam with one seed in it. Ca...
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Harker Heights (Bell County), TX
Need plants to cover a fence and retaining wall combination
Recently we replaced our fence and I need help with plants to mask an 18 foot section of fence/retaining wall. The fence guy set the fence back about 10 inches from the top of the retaining wall which...
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Florence, TX
Drought tolerant grass with little need for mowing for Hill Country of Texas
What grass would you recommend for the hill country of Texas that is drought tolerant and does not need frequent mowing?
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Florence, TX
Mystery cactus in Williamson County, Texas
We have a cactus plant on our place that I have not seen anywhere else in central Texas. The flowers are bright yellow with wine-red centers, but very sparse--only one flower blooms at a time. The p...
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Florence, TX
Looking for Texas endangered trees to plant
I have 2 acres of good soil that does not have any trees. I would love to give life to native Texas endangered trees but I can not purchase them anywhere. Do you have any suggestions?
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