Native Plants
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Smarty Plants Question Topics
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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| topic | question | |
| Locating non-native Bradford pear tree in Austin June 07, 2008 Where can I find a Bradford pear tree in Austin, TX? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native banana trees June 06, 2008 I recently planted two types of Banana trees, a Darjeeling and a Giant Nepal. I know that both are hardy to my zone 7 but that the Nepal needed heavy mulching. My first question is how long will it ta... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native weeping willow losing leaves June 03, 2008 We have a willow tree (weeping), which sprung up naturally about 12 years ago. It has done very well until this summer. After its bloom in late March, it is losing its leaves again..turning yellow and... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning non-native Japanese maple June 03, 2008 Can you tell me how to properly prune a Japanese maple? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Advice about lavender (Lavandula sp.) June 03, 2008 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with non-native Cleyera and Red-tip photinia June 01, 2008 I planted a row of Cleyera in a bed that receives sunlight for about 3 hours during the middle of the day. My problem is that a number of the plants are dying. It begins with the leaves on one small... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native Filaree seeds for science classroom May 30, 2008 Can I purchase Filaree seeds for my science classroom? If so, where? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Will a Norfolk pine survive winter in Houston May 29, 2008 If I transplant a Norfolk pine in the summer, or when is the best time, will it survive the winter growing in Houston Tx? Can you give me some suggestions for fast growing vines facing the front of my... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Transplant shock of non-native Bougainvillea May 22, 2008 Well I bought two Bougainvilleas, the first one I transplanted is doing great, the second one not so good when I was taking it out of the original pot the root ball stayed in the pot but the plant wit... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Citrus trees for Austin May 21, 2008 I am looking for citrus that grows in the Austin,Tx area. Could you offer any suggestions please? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Deterioration of non-native weeping willows in Alabama May 19, 2008 I have a small lake behind my house. 8 years ago we planted two nice weeping willow trees, one on each corner of our yard down toward the lake. One started looking bad last year and we cut all the de... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplant shock for non-native Plumbago auriculata May 19, 2008 I planted some full plumbago plants that were in containers, in a partially shaded area, they had beautiful flowers when I purchased them, but have since lost them all and the plant is looking very wi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care of lemon cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) May 17, 2008 How do I grow the lemon cypress in zone 7? I bought one today at Home Depot in Granbury,TX. It had no information. Should I put it in the shade or sun? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Leaf-cutter ants on non-native crape myrtle May 08, 2008 We have a problem with cutter ants. I lose my entire Crepe Myrtle tree every year. All of the pest control personnel I ask do not have a solution. Can you please suggest something to eradicate thes... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Natural fibers for lashing bamboo in weaving May 07, 2008 I live in Austin and am looking for plants I can use for weaving fibers, e.g. lashing bamboo for a small project. What plants and parts do you recommend? What resources do you recommend for informatio... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Information about ice plant (Carpobrotus edulis) May 06, 2008 I recently planted some Carpobrotus edulis, Ice plant, and wanted to know if I can mulch or put stones around the entire garden and plants. They are a ground cover plant. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Brown, dry leaves on weeping willow tree May 01, 2008 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 ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Information on non-native Erythrinia crista-galli April 30, 2008 I am trying to find out some more information on a plant called firemen caps.. How to grow and sun or shade or both.. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Information about Maui Red Starflower April 29, 2008 I can't find any information on MAUI RED STARFLOWER. I found some in Houston Texas & the card says sun, blooms spring to frost, showy bloom, good in clusters. MY QUESTION was to find out if it is a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Do Salvia coccinea and Salvia occidentalis occur in Hawaii April 27, 2008 Aloha, Would you please happen to know if the salvia occidentalis and the salvia coccinea are growing in a wild state in Hawaii, the quantity (small or large areas? What are the weather conditions ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native plants for southwest exposure in Tulsa OK April 24, 2008 I want to plant something in a bed on the South side of my house with some Western exposure. The space is in a bed that would share space with a Red Tip Photinia (next to the house)& liriope( on the ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with azaleas April 22, 2008 Last summer I planted 10 evergreen Azaleas "Hino Crimson" I sprinkled a little rhody fertilizer in their holes before planting and gave them plenty of water all summer. They are all doing fine excep... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-blooming toad lily in Kentucky April 20, 2008 I have had a toad lily for three years and it has never bloomed. What do I need to do? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Tentative identification of non-native Senecio rowleyanus April 19, 2008 I am trying to track down a plant that I used to have but do not know what it is called. It grew in long strings of "pea like" balls. When planted in a hanging pot, the stringy "pea" like vines ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Possibility of using weeping love grass on property in Keller, Texas April 19, 2008 What do you know about "Weeping Love Grass"? We have heard that it does not require watering (once the roots are established, fertilizing, nor frequent mowing. So we decided to plant it on our 2-a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trailing perennial plants for High Wycombe, England April 19, 2008 Hello Mr Smarty Plants, I would like to know what trailing plants are also perennial, preferably flowering ones but that also look pretty when not in flower? My kitchen looks out onto a five foot h... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Organic means for ridding garden of stinging ants April 18, 2008 Dear Mr. Smarty Pants, I have a butterfly garden that is filled with native plants the butterflies LOVE! However I have a colony of red ants that have moved in. I need to trim some of the more inva... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Disease on non-native French hollyhocks April 16, 2008 I live in Georgetown, Texas. I have some French hollyhocks that have some kind of disease on the leaves - I would like to know what to spray them with to get rid of it. It looks like brown blemishes... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Evergreen grasslike plants for Austin TX April 15, 2008 Hi, I'm in Austin, TX and looking for some evergreen grass-looking plants. Would you explain the similarities/differences between Butterfly Iris and Lily Grass in this regard? Thank you View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native fruit trees for eastern North Carolina April 03, 2008 Are there any good fruit trees to grow in eastern North Carolina? For example peaches, apples, plums? What are your recommendations? Thank you! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native, invasive Rapistrum rugosum April 02, 2008 What is the name of the alien, spindly, yellow mustard that we see blooming around Austin now ? Is it Hedge Mustard (Sisymbrium officinale) ? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removing a hackberry stump from a non-native fig tree April 02, 2008 I have a fig tree that is at least 50 years old. A hackberry tree is growing up through the fig. I have cut it back several times (it is probably 3 inches in diameter at ground level), but have been... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native, invasive King Ranch bluestem and Coastal bermuda for horses April 02, 2008 Is blue stem grass mixed with coastal good for horses? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Foliage of non-native Japanese maple tree April 01, 2008 My Japanese maple tree (1 year old) is bright red in early spring. Then it turns green. Is there a way to keep this tree red? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Possibility of invasiveness of blackberry bush March 27, 2008 I bought a blackberry bush from Home Depot last year. My sister said if I planted it in the ground it would take over my lawn. So I put it in a big planter up against my fence, but I'd like to put it... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Propagation of non-native tulips in pots March 25, 2008 We have received a large quantity of eco-cups, some are for our pilot project, First Bloom. But we so many, we wanted to include the entire Club, Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, Germantown Unit,... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Response to previous answer on non-native cacti March 15, 2008 Hi Mr. SmartyPlants, Santa Barbara here, again. Thanks for all your effort, especially as it falls outside of the Center's general expertise. That Cacti.com is amazing and I found the answer in the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Infestation of flies around euonymus in summer March 02, 2008 I have 3 shrubs planted in my backyard. I think they are a type of euonymus (but I'm not sure). My question is why do they attract huge nasty flies. The first year we had them they didn't. But the l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care for a non-native Syringa vulgaris (lilac) February 19, 2008 I inherited a lilac bush when I bought my house. It grows in a bed right in front of the house but grows away from the house, not in a straight up and down manner. This winter we had a 12" snow fall ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Looking for yellow bottlebrush (Callistemon sp.) and native substitutes February 14, 2008 I have been looking for years for a yellow bottle bush. It is identical to the red but is yellow. there are several varieties, but the one i want is just like the red one in appearance. I live in Flor... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Seeds for invasive, non-native Erodium cicutarium February 05, 2008 I rec'd the following e-mail from a friend in he Chicago area. I looked for about an hour and couldn't find a place to get weed seeds. She thinks we are in the desert here and apparently are so rura... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care of non-native dracaena potted plant February 04, 2008 Last summer I was given a corn plant that stands about 6ft tall. About 2 weeks ago it began to flower. Over time I've had maybe 3 or 4 of these plants and never had any of them bloomed. Is this no... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Possible invasiveness of non-native Eragrostis curvula February 04, 2008 I have just moved to Keller, TX and am trying to establish a xeriscape plan for our property. I chose to plant weeping love grass as I learned it was a native plant and did not require fertilizing, a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care of non-native Navel Orange tree January 27, 2008 What kind of care does a Navel Orange tree need? Mine looks really bad this year, not much fruit and small fruit. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning of crepe myrtles January 27, 2008 I have three crepe myrtle trees in my yard. When do I trim back the branches? What if I waited too long to trim them back? Can I still do it? How far do I trim them back? Thank you. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native Centaurium spicatum, family gentianceae January 21, 2008 I need to know every single detail about centaurium spicatum family gentianceae. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Promoting bloom in Chocolate Summer Mimosa January 11, 2008 Please help! I purchased a Chocolate Summer Mimosa from one of our local nurseries. It was a brand new plant to them and they don't really know much about them. I planted it just 3 years ago as an... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native purple lantana January 05, 2008 I have found some purple trailing lantana on our land. (This land has never been inhabited, as far as I know of.) This is not one of the yellow/pink or yellow/red native varieties. Is this indeed a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care of the non-native Aralias (Genus Polyscias) January 04, 2008 Today I purchased a POLYSCIAS common name "Aralia" I was told that can be happy inside, little light. Please could you inform me how to take care: feeding, fertilizing, watering needs? Does it bl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care of Ecuadorian penco century plant December 17, 2007 I was recently given a Penco, Century plant from Ecuador. It doesn't seem to be doing well. Two of the leaves have turned dark, then yellow, and died completely. Five remain, one seems to be dying as... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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