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 | |
| Possible transplant shock in Red Oak in Albany, TX October 20, 2015 We planted a new tree last spring which we were told was a Texas Red Oak. The soil where it was planted is hard clay. We have had a watering bag on it and have watered an average of 2x per week throug... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need help with Wheeler's Dwarf Pittosporum September 02, 2015 We have about five Dwarf Wheeler Pittosporum plants. All of them are mature and were doing well. I was on vacation for a week or so and when I came back I saw of each of them is plant 90% dead. The d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Opuntia drooping in Austin, TX September 02, 2015 I planted an optunia spp. in March. It has nearly tripled in size. This week, I noticed the entire plant has started to droop. Temperatures have been very high with no rain for weeks. The cactus is... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Will Bermuda grass survive a drought-induced dormancy? August 12, 2015 If I stop watering a Bermuda grass lawn and let it go dormant, will it green up again when it rains again? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Watering newly-planted Afghan Pines May 11, 2015 I just planted some Afghan pines in Amarillo, tx (avg. rainfall about 2O in. Per year) What would be the appropriate amount of water and how often would I need to water during this time. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Calcium from Eggshells for Ferns? December 15, 2014 I was reading recently about beneficial additions to the soil/plant. The first was about soaking used egg shells overnight and then pouring the water onto ferns. They said that the calcium in eggshell... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Leaves dropping from a potted Mesquite August 11, 2014 I have a Prosopis pubescens (Screwbean Mesquite) that I purchased at a nursery in Alpine, TX just a few miles away from me. It was a in nursery style black plastic container. The mesquite is perhaps a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Recovery of water-stressed Agarita August 11, 2014 Hello! I planted a small agarita at the end of May and then left town for six weeks. During that time it was supposed to receive weekly deep irrigations to help it establish, but it seems that som... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problem with American Beautyberry in Houston. July 02, 2014 My American Beautyberry is dying one branch at a time. The entire plant looks great, now flowering and starting to put out berries. Then one or two branches will completely die. Trim those off, wi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Watering a Chinquapin Oak in Austin, TX June 22, 2014 I have a question about watering. I planted a Chinquapin Oak about 7 months ago and it's about 8 feet tall and doing well. I water it weekly on a slow drip for about an hour. I expect that my job is ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| List of plants that tolerate May 11, 2014 Could I get a list of "grey water" tolerant shrubs/evergreens/etc? *Full sun View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with Habiturf in Austin May 10, 2014 I have been trying to establish a Habiturf lawn in my back yard. It is approximately a 1,000 square foot area and this last seeding was the third over about one and a half years. I just recently over ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Protection for plants against a Spring freeze from Easley SC April 15, 2014 Is there anything we can do to protect our beautiful spring gardens from the freeze tonight? (April 15, 2014) View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mulching tree root in San Angelo, TX April 02, 2014 San Angelo, Texas is in a drought stage. Will it help our trees to mulch the base of them? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plants for science fair project using greywater November 17, 2013 What kind of plants should we use for our science fair project.We are doing our project on how greywater affects plant growth. We saw your answer on how it affects it but we don't know what type of ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with Mexican Olive tree from Edinburg TX October 06, 2013 My Mexican olive (anacahuita) shows no obvious signs of pest or disease, but over the last years has more and more dead limbs and smaller and smaller leaves. It's in a yard with a sprinkler system t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with water oaks from Laurel MS October 05, 2013 The leaves on my mature water oak trees have been falling since the leaves matured. My area has had an abundance of rain this year, 11 inches above normal. All the trees in my area are doing the same.... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yucca rostrata needs some help in Austin, TX. September 16, 2013 We planted an expensive 5-6 foot Yucca rostrata last fall. It bloomed beautifully in the spring. We installed an irrigation link to water the recently planted areas with succulents, viburnums, spart... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Wintering Purple Coneflowers in pots in Springfield MO August 26, 2013 I have some 8 month old purple cone flowers in containers on my porch. They did not bloom this summer because they were seedlings when given to me. I can not put them in the ground. How can I keep the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Shriveling agave from Miami Florida August 23, 2013 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Most upset - My beautiful agave (wish I could have submitted an image) has stared to misbehave. The once first liquid filled leaves, are starting to look more like the skin ... 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 |  | |
| Gregg's Mistflower stressed in Fredericksburg TX August 07, 2013 My Gregg's Mist Flower plants are very stressed. The blooms have turned brown and the leaves are drooping. Plants are receiving moderate sun, partial shade. Do they need daily watering this time o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Wind and erosion tolerant plants from Austin August 05, 2013 I recently cleared a fire break by removing cedar from around my home in West Austin. I'd like to plant the exposed NW facing slope with native shrubs and trees. Looking for selections that can wit... 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 |  | |
| Trumpet Vine Dropping Buds July 25, 2013 My trumpet vine is dropping its buds before flowering. This happened last year as well. Do you know what is causing this and what I can do to prevent it? 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 |  | |
| 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 | ||
| Vine for full sun in Las Vegas NV July 05, 2013 Looking for vine to thrive in full sun in Las Vegas, NV. I tried Cape Honeysuckle and Star Jasmine and both died within 5 days. The leaves were burnt. What's your suggestion? Thank you. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Nassella tenuissima for Woodland Hills CA June 30, 2013 Good afternoon, I wanted to purchase some already grown Mexican Feather Grass (Nassella tenuissima) and was wondering how often and for how long I would need to water said grass on a scheduled sprinkl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Greywater effect on plants from Dallas June 09, 2013 How does gray water affect plants? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Death of Texas Betony and Blackfoot Daisy from Austin April 18, 2013 I have one small area that there are two plants - Texas Betony and Blackfoot Daisy withered and died eventually. Same kinds of plants are doing fine close by. It is my front yard close to walk way.I w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Resourses that are being taken away - Tiffin OH April 03, 2013 What are resources that are being taken away from humans and organisms? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removing water from local rivers to water garden from San Marcos TX February 14, 2013 I live in San Marcos Central Texas and my household experiments with a lot of organic gardening in our back yard, and I was wondering how using the surrounding rivers such as the Blanco or San Marcos ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Water requirements for fruit trees in California January 15, 2013 Dear Sir; In which of these options (fruit trees) the need for watering in irrigation process is higher than the others: -Olive tree -Nectarines and peaches trees -Hazelnut trees -Pistachios and ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Watering live oak trees from McAllen TX December 24, 2012 What are the watering requirements for live oak trees in deep south Texas? How often and how many inches to be applied? One pop-up spray sprinkler spaced approximately fifteen feet away from each tr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plants for oak shade from Whitney TX December 24, 2012 I live in Whitney, Texas and have a number of beautiful Live Oak trees in a portion of my yard providing deep shade. Asian Jasmine grows in about 5 ft circle around them and then nothing! I have walk ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Water use rate calculations from Toronto ON December 16, 2012 Can the high medium and low water use categories be quantified into a rate, say volume of water required by square foot of planted area? How are the water use categories established? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native New Jersey plants to remove iron water from Lawrenceville NJ October 20, 2012 Are there any native New Jersey plants that can remove iron water View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dying branches on Texas Mountain Laurel from Kempner TX September 14, 2012 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Deer resistant plants from New Braunfels TX August 31, 2012 I have a 1/2 yard covered by a tree, shady. Bermuda grass previous owner planted has all turned brown this summer. I don't have lots of money to work with but would love to landscape that side of fr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Transplanting a non-native rose from Akron OH August 30, 2012 Can I transplant a rose plant that I have in sunny area to an area that will be partially shady? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ailing Tecoma stans from Phoenix AZ August 24, 2012 I have several young Tecoma plants in my Phoenix, AZ garden. I planted them in June and have tended to them over the summer. They are watered twice daily. On some of the plants, I've noticed two oddi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Sycamore leaf snowbell from Pleasanton TX August 18, 2012 How do you care for a sycamore leaf snowbell. Does it like sun or part shade? How much water? How often and what should it be fed. How fast or slowly does it grow? Anything you can tell me would be ap... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with Silverado Sage in Pearland, TX. July 28, 2012 Hi, We have three Silverado Sage bushes we planted last year. They did great during the drought. However, this winter they had a severed leaf drop of mostly just the centers of them. These cente... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Watering Native Trees in Georgetown, TX July 19, 2012 I installed a native/adapted plantscape in early March including several small trees. They were planted in the rocky soil west of I-35 in Georgetown with plenty of added compost and mulch. Other than ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Redbud leaves turning yellow in mid-summer July 13, 2012 The leaves on our redbud trees are turning yellow. The yellow leaves are pale with no other spots and no dark veins. I don't know for sure which variety of redbud they are or how old they are (more t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Care of Live Oaks July 11, 2012 We have Two Young Live Oaks in the front of Our home. We had them treated for insects, ect. Now what can we do to make them Full Green and Happy Happy Happy again.Thank You View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Recycling bath water from Austin July 03, 2012 Is using bath water going to hurt my plants or grass? If I use water from the bath on vegetables and fruits will the soap be absorbed by the fruit and/or vegetables thereby transferring to us when we ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Drip irrigation and uneven distribution June 29, 2012 Subject: Drip irrigation and uneven distribution. I’ve installed drip irrigation in an area of mature shrubs (St. John’s Wort) in Austin. These have previously received about ¾ inch of water once ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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