Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members 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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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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| Source for Texas Olive Tree from Tucson AZ August 10, 2013 Can one start a Texas Olive Tree from the olives it produces? How can you start one. I am having difficulty finding a nursery, but do see the trees around. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| What clips green twigs from cedar elms? August 09, 2013 Many small cuttings (3-5 inches long) are dropping from large cedar elm. To my eye the ends look like breaks (not chiseled), but I can't imagine what would cause so many breaks, and so think somethin... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Dry browning leaves on Monterrey Oak from San Antonio August 08, 2013 I have a Monterey Oak that was planted four years ago and was doing great until the last two weeks. It has turned brown and the ends of the branches are very dry and brittle. The root flare was cov... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Privacy screen for Sedona AZ August 02, 2013 I live In Sedona Az. A builder just built a house next to my house and the new house is ugly to look at. What plant or tree would grow fast and reach 18 foot in height fast. It can be about 5 to 6 foo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Should a tree near a water well be transplanted? July 31, 2013 I have a water well and have about a 6 yr live oak planted in close proximity to it( about 10 feet). Would it be wise enough to transplant the tree while its this young or leave it alone. Also I need ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Tree for fast shade in Huckabay, TX July 31, 2013 What tree should I plant for fast shade? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with red oak from Austin July 31, 2013 I planted 3 Texas Red Oaks several years ago. The trees are in a tight cluster just a few feet apart. At the end of last summer, one of them began to develop brown spots and yellowed leaves. This summ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Fast-growing tree for privacy in Berkeley, CA July 30, 2013 Help. I need fast growing tree for backyard privacy. Where in Berkeley is there a tree nursery to Buy Pittosporum trees? Thank you. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Native Desert Willow and bunchgrass for Lubbock TX July 29, 2013 We live in Lubbock and have decided to try to make our front yard as native as possible. It has been a very difficult process finding native species locally (even the local Aggie nursery sells a lot ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Native turf and trees for Odessa TX July 29, 2013 What native turf and trees can I grow in my Odessa, Tx back yard? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Shrub to scrren house from dust from gravel road July 28, 2013 HI: We live in the foothills of Dobbins, California (2 hours North of Sacramento, Ca). I live on a gravel dirt road with traffic that goes about 45 miles an hour. When they drive by our house it lo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Leaves turning yellow on Banana Shrub in Eutaw. AL July 28, 2013 We have a very large (about 12' tall), very old (probably planted in the early 1900s) Banana Shrub in our front yard. It was very healthy until last year when its leaves began turning yellow and fal... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Growing Chilopsis in Florida July 25, 2013 I live in St. Johns County, FL between Jacksonville and St Augustine. I live inland, not near the beach. I bought a small desert willow plant in Victoria, TX and brought it back to FL to grow. I plan ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Will Cercis (Redbud) grow in Oregon? July 25, 2013 We live in Grants Pass, Oregon could Cercis grow here? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Caterpillars on Mountain Laurel from Austin July 25, 2013 My 1-yr old mountain laurel has been decimated by small yellow and black catepillars. It recovered a bit and pushed out some fresh new growth, and more came and decimated that too. Are these caterpi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Season to plant Pacific Wax Myrtle from Fallbrook CA July 25, 2013 Would like to know which season would be the best to plant Pacific Wax Myrtle in Fallbrook, CA area? I presently have invading bamboo, which I want to get rid of. Thank you! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yellowing leaves on Mexican Plum in Salado, TX. July 24, 2013 I do live in Cental Texas (Salado) and I have the same problem with my Mexican Plum as the lady in Bellaire, TX. Mine was planted in June in a raised bed and receives sun all day long. Within the la... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| An evergreen, deer-resistant shrub for Memphis July 24, 2013 I need an evergreen, deep to partial shade, deer resistant shrub or tree. Does such a plant exist? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Suggestions for street trees for Texarkana TX July 23, 2013 Texarkana, TX, is going to replace a few and add some new street trees downtown. The engineers specified crape myrtle. When I asked if they would consider native trees instead, I was told they thought... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problem with unknown tree in Austin, Texas July 23, 2013 Have recently moved to Austin, Texas and have a tree in my backyard that has been dropping leaves and one major branch appears to be dead. That branch has hard rust colored sap circles (about penny si... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant ID from The Woodlands TX July 22, 2013 Your plant database does not distinguish 2 native tree species. Common names for these 2 trees: American hophornbeam and ironwood or musclewood. These common names are used for both trees - even m... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Sudden death of one side of Mountain Laurel from Canyon Lake TX July 22, 2013 Hello! We live in Canyon Lake TX and have a Mountain Laurel that is in distress. It is planted in an irrigated flower bed and has been happily growing for 5 years. It is about 5' tall and has sever... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Will catalpa roots damage a nearby swimming pool? July 13, 2013 Will a catalpa tree cause problems to my swimming pool? It is 8 feet away and I cut all the branches off every fall. It then grows back to about 6 feet in diameter an makes a great garden feature but ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with red oak trees in North Central Texas July 13, 2013 What is the disease effecting Red Oak trees in North Central Texas; causing them to lose leafs in Spring/Summer and turning the remaining leaves light yellow/lime green in color. Thank you. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native Royal Empress tree with only green leaves from Chambersburg PA July 12, 2013 I have 3 Royal Empress trees in my yard that are between 2-4 yrs old and have never been any color other then big Green leaves. Do you know when they will turn Purple? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Member of Taxus genus native to southern Illinois from Granite City IL July 12, 2013 Is there a native Southern Illinois similar to Taxus baccata? I live in Granite City IL and am looking for a native plant/scrub that stays green year round about 2-3 feet tall to it helps insulate the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Watering a Montezuma Cypress in Spring Branch, TX July 11, 2013 Live near San Antonio, and have a Montesuma Cypress, 15 ft tall. Great soil. Planted in April, should I keep it moist??? The foliage is getting brown. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Texas persimmon with scorched leaves from Austin July 11, 2013 I planted a Texas Persimmon seedling (five gallon) in my yard in early April. It is in a sunny, well-drained spot, and I have watered it regularly since planting. All was fine until the last weekend i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for heavy clay in Sonoma County, California July 10, 2013 Hi, I live in Northern California, Sonoma County, and would like to transition my front garden into mostly native plants. Trouble is, my soil is clay, yicky, heavy clay, and some of the natives I've ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Spots on persimmon tree leaves from Dripping Springs TX July 10, 2013 We are in rural Hays County Texas off Hamilton Pool Rd Texas. Large persimmon trees are turning yellow, blackish spots on underside of leaves. What do we do? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | | |
| Leaf drop from live oaks in mid-summer July 08, 2013 We have a live oak that is starting to drop a considerable amount of leaves here in early July in Cypress Texas. Its a mature tree with a base diameter of 12-14" and 25-30' tall. We live in a subd... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Old oak tree dropping leaves in Hazlet Township NJ July 08, 2013 I am 84 yrs old and have a 50 year old pin? oak. No more acorns, but the leaves are falling in clumps and are still alive. Every day I fill a huge garden bag with them. I live on a fixed income and... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Fast-growing medium-sized tree for New Jersey July 06, 2013 I'm looking for trees to put on a slight slope that will do well in rocky clay soil. I 'm in N.J. zone 6. The spot is full sun and would like a fast grower 50 ft high maximum. I'm replacing white p... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Tree with taproot for Jodhpur India July 05, 2013 I am a resident of India. I need information of a tree with tap roots to grow in my backyard. We have moderate to hot climate here. It needs to be as small as possible due to lack of space. It'd be g... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Grafting Pecan Trees July 05, 2013 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Chlorotic disease in scrub oak from Katy TX July 04, 2013 Please tell me how to treat my scrub oak as it has chlorotic disease. Parts of the tree are fine and others have yellow leaves. It has not been injured in any way. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Privacy hedge for Palm Springs CA July 04, 2013 Dear Mr. Smarty Pants I have a 6 foot block wall, and my house is elevated, and I need a privacy hedge or tree (even flowering) to create more privacy. I do not want to use Ficus as I hear they can d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with non-native weeping willow from Hazlet NJ July 03, 2013 Leaves turning yellow on weeping willow planted in May. What causes this and how can I fix it? Mother's Day gift after SANDY uprooted huge tree. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native Sago palm roots damaging house foundation from Keystone Heights FL July 03, 2013 Will sago palms roots hurt a house's foundation if too close? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Oak roots damaged by ax from Austin July 03, 2013 Hello. I am attempting to create my own tiny copy of the Wildflower Center within my yard. I'm using all native, drought tolerant plants. My front yard is full of live oaks. I used a sod cutter la... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| User comments on soils from Austin July 02, 2013 You had a question this month about chlorosis in a Mexican plum in Bellaire. You correctly, in my opinion, answered that the problem was most likely overwatering. However, I just wanted to point out a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What grows in Tampa FL July 01, 2013 Please let me know what grows in the backyard in Tampa, FL to provide screening and privacy? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Killing regrowing shoots of a downed hackberry tree June 28, 2013 Hackberry plants won't die. You and others have suggested to cut the suckers or saplings to get rid of them. Over the years I have continued to cut the same saplings and the only thing I have now ar... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plants for area around salt water pool June 27, 2013 What are some plants that will grow around my salt water pool where there is some salt water runoff occasionally. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Privacy Screening of House Next Door in NC June 26, 2013 Hello, I live in the house my parents bought in 1971 in Winston-Salem, NC. The house beside me is an eyesore and for sale at a very low price. I am afraid the condition of the house and yard next door... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Flowering tree with non-invasive roots from Palos Verde CA June 24, 2013 Want a flowering tree with noninvasive roots for Palos Verdes, CA. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Changing colors on Mexican Plum trees from Bellaire TX June 20, 2013 The leaves on my Mexican Plum tree have recently started turning yellow/brown and the veins in leaves are red. Is this a watering issue or disease issue? Mites are on the leaves. This has been a ra... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Can poisonous seed of wild plum be safely removed after steaming from Seymour IA June 20, 2013 I read on a related questions that you said the pit/seeds of all wild plums are poisonous. My question is this, can I juice the entire fruit for making jelly without removing the pit first? I have a s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Can Monterrey Oak be topped into a bush from Austin TX June 16, 2013 I received a suggestion to use Monterey oak as privacy hedge by topping the small tree and letting it bush. I can't find any pictures or info on this being done though. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Trouble with live oak in McKinney, TX June 13, 2013 We moved into a suburban home with a live oak tree with a trunk diameter of about 50". I noticed recently how yellow the leaves look compared to the other live oak in the yard. There is not a pattern... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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