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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!

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topicquestion
Native Texas Trees from Seed for Fence Line
July 07, 2016
My parents have an unirrigated fence line on their property that they want to grow evergreen screening plants along. Given the difficulty of establishing nursery grown plants in such an unirrigated a...
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Plants Needed for a Shaded, Rocky Slope in Alabama
July 06, 2016
I live in Alabama where the soil is clay and rocky. I've tried planting on a rocky slope I have but, it's also shaded. Not even Juniper will survive on this slope. I've spent thousands of dollars tryi...
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White and Violet Flower in Missouri
March 17, 2016
When I was small I came into contact with a plant that gave me cold sweats, chills and hallucinations. All I remember was it bore a single flower with a little white and a lot of violet. It had a dark...
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Identification of vining plant with red berries in California
January 28, 2016
We found a vining plant next to and growing in our stream with gorgeous purple leaves in the fall after frost and a few sporadic clusters of smooth small red berries with little thorns on the vine. We...
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Shrub Recommendation for Chain Link Fence in DE
January 26, 2016
What shrub would you recommend for covering a chain link fence and providing a screen between mine & my neighbors yard? They have kids, so it would have to be non-toxic. I'd like flowers/berries for ...
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Climbing Roses for the Pacific Northwest
January 23, 2016
I'm trying to find out which types of climbing roses may exist in the Pacific Northwest. I live in western Washington, and I have a small yard with several large hedges bordering it. I'm growing hai...
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Thorn bushes for a fence in Puerto Rico
November 17, 2015
I'm looking for thorn bushes that grow in Puerto Rico. Want to use as fence to keep wild life in. Thanks, at least 5 ft tall so dogs can't get out.
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Tree with light-colored bark, thorns and long white clumps of flowers
August 18, 2015
I bought a tree at the LBJWC plant sale a couple years ago but lost the name of the tree. I'm finally ready to plant it in the ground and would like to learn more about what its needs are. Can you ...
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Fast Growing Shrub for Oceanside New York Site
April 17, 2015
Can you recommend a tall, fast-growing shrub for a sandy location (near an ocean beach in New York) in full sun? I’m looking for a privacy shield.
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Identification of thorny bush
February 26, 2015
We found a small thorny like bush in our hay field near the fence line yesterday. It has thorns and each thorn has new nodes along the thorn. it is a frosted like white at this time. It is early febru...
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