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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| topic | question | |
| Using Horse Manure for the Garden July 07, 2016 Can you use horse manure for decomposed matter for your flower beds, etc.? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problem with Adding 5 inches of Mulch and Soil Under Juniper July 03, 2016 My landscaper added about 3" of mulch and 2" of dirt under my ashe junipers to create a planting bed. Several have turned gold/yellowish this winter including a female tree. They are still flexible an... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Using seaweed in compost October 05, 2015 What do you think about using seaweed in compost? I live on the Gulf Coast View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Oyster Shell source in Austin September 18, 2015 Hi, I was not sure who to reach out to, but I work for Quality Seafood here in Austin, and we have several gardeners who take our old oyster shells and grind them up or put them in their gardens for ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Can oak pollen be composted? April 28, 2015 I have quite a few live oaks in my backyard and my flower beds are filled with pollen stuff. Can I compost and mulch over this or is it a good idea to rake as much as I can out first? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ground Arizona ash wood suitable for mulch? April 23, 2015 We cut down a 40 year old Arizona ash tree and had the stump ground into mulch. Can we use this mulch in our vegetable garden and flower beds View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Converting a Texas backyard to grow Xerophytic native plants January 09, 2015 I am planning the conversion of our backyard, about 4000 sq ft of largely St Augustine, into a grassless landscape of hardscaping and native plants. I’ve been an avid gardener of rock garden plants i... 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 |  | |
| Is mulch from hackberry and chinaberry trees safe for flowerbeds? September 17, 2014 We had to remove several large hackberry and china berry trees. Is its mulch safe to use in garden and in flower beds? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Late planting plum tree from Lago Vista, TX May 01, 2014 I have two plum trees in plastic containers that I purchased in March. For a lot of reasons, we didn't get them planted. I have kept them alive by watering consistently, but I am now wondering what... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants to grow under elm tree in Amarillo TX May 01, 2014 I have a large elm tree and I can't get seem to get anything to grow under it. I was wondering if there are any shade-loving groundcovers that you would recommend (have tried English Ivy, hostas, an... 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 | ||
| Recovering neglected garden space from Grapevine TX March 22, 2014 I live in Grapevine TX (Dallas). I just moved into a house where almost the entire large backyard is covered by oak trees that shed tons of leaves throughout our mild falls/winters. The yard has not... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Sheet mulching before planting Habiturf from Grand Prairie, TX March 03, 2014 Have you tried sheet mulching as a bed prep and to kill bermuda grass before planting habituff? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Revegetation of school site with meadow plants from Austin December 23, 2013 We are revegetating a hill country school site (typical calciferous soil stripped of vegetation & minimal topsoil) with a native seed mix equal to Native American Seed "Meadow Mix". We have an abund... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| The Pros and Cons of Using Stone Mulch for Plants and Wildfire Safety December 04, 2013 I am trying to grow native plants that are wildfire-resistant. I want to avoid the use of flammable mulch -- especially in beds next to the house. I'm considering river rock or crushed stone, but one... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Use of cedar/juniper mulch in wildflower meadows August 31, 2013 What to do with freshly shredded cedar/juniper mulch? We have a pile of freshly ground cedar mulch that we can either keep in a large pile until it has composted(but the neighbors are complaining), or... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trees for clay soil from Charlotte TX August 25, 2013 We have an area in our yard that even Esperanzas won't grow. It is near another that does great. Six Esperanzas are planted in a north/south row about with 10' between plants, the southern most plan... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problem With Vegetable Garden Soil June 09, 2013 We live in Liberty Hill on 25 acres and we are working to restore native grasses and plants. We are ardent supporters of the Wildflower center. I say this because my question is not "typical" of wh... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native, invasive creeping fig in Webster TX May 26, 2013 We've recently moved into a new home in the southeast Houston area. The back of our property has a long concrete wall (gets quite a bit of sun), which we thought we could cover with a spreading vine.... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Can non-native coleus grow in mulch from San Antonio May 12, 2013 Can Coleus plants grow in Mulch only? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Chlorosis on plants in Austin April 09, 2013 I have several plants that have chlorosis on the new growth. I did an at-home basic soil test. Ph came out at 7.5 (the highest the scale went, so it could be higher than that). Nitrogen and phosphorus... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Amending soil for butterfly garden in Houston April 01, 2013 My girl scout troop will be planting a butterfly garden at a middle school in Houston. In researching plants to use, we have come across some such as echinacea, rose vervain, galliarda and Texas gay... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Allelopathy of American elms from Dallas March 24, 2013 Are American elms at all allelopathic? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Surface tree roots hurting grass in Houston March 21, 2013 We have 2 mature Arizona Ash trees in our yard (30-40'). One of them is in a sunnier location and has developed an extensive network of surface roots (up to 1 to 1 1/2" Dia.) between the tree and th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dog wallowing in damp area in garden from Great Bend KS March 20, 2013 I Have a wet area in my back yard that is close to my house. and off my patio there is a water hydrant,gas meter, electrical for my hot tub, my sprinkler valves and pump all there. My dog digs throug... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Use of free cedar mulch in Round Rock, TX March 17, 2013 Round Rock provides city residents free mulch to pick up. It is all cedar apparently. I am turning my now dead, mostly clay, very alkaline and rocky thin soil front lawn into a bigger flower bed of mo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Disposal of Ashe juniper from Austin March 07, 2013 I am in western Travis County and we have been clearing our land of some of the Ashe Juniper. When there is not a burn ban, we burn them because there are just too many to shred. I was wondering if ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pros and cons of live oak leaves left on ground in Dripping Springs TX February 20, 2013 What are the pros or cons of leaving live oak leaves on the ground around trees or bushes? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Vine for pergola in Belton TX February 06, 2013 Hello, I would like to know what vine would be best to cover a rather large pergola. It will be in full sun in caliche soil. :( The area has access to a water hose and I would like to have something... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Will recycled tire mulch harm butterfly larvae? December 05, 2012 I discovered orange butterfly larva in the hardwood mulch under my Turk's Cap. Will it harm the larva if I switch over to recycled tire mulch? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dirt at tree base from Austin November 03, 2012 Hello, I recently bought a home in Austin with a live oak tree which is about eight years old. The previous owner did exactly what all the experts say NOT to do, which was to mound dirt right up agai... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ground cover under trees from Austin November 03, 2012 I need ground cover plants that can tolerate leaf litter and grow under oak tree shade. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Suitability of Carolina Cherry Laurel for Bulverde TX October 24, 2012 The local Home Depot is selling Carolina Cherry Laurel Trees. They look beautiful. Is this a good tree for Bulverde TX..20 miles north of San Antonio? Can it survive? Will it be a high maintenance... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Feeding live oak and redbud trees from Fredericksburg TX October 23, 2012 Can you please tell me what to feed my live oak and texas redbud trees that survived the drought? We have granite soil. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Destructive landscape crews in The Woodlands TX October 20, 2012 Hi. We need help. We recently moved to a house where landscape crews have been blowing away the leaf litter from the front yard for many years. The underbrush was also cleared long ago. The result... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Area under live oaks from Austin October 08, 2012 We have many live oaks in our mostly shaded half acre. While I have tried to plant mostly native plants, often beneath them, the plants are showered with leathery leaves, acorns and sap, while oak sp... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Splash-proof plants from Oakton VA October 01, 2012 Hi Mr Smarty Plants, Re: low, evergreen ground cover, Northern Virginia The bare soil around my freshly painted screen porch splashes up onto the white framing when it rains so I am looking for ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Removing St. Augustine for natives in Grapevine TX September 29, 2012 We have St Augustine in our yard and we hate it. It guzzles water, we have to cut it often, and it's thick and hard to work with. Anyway, we want to replace it with a combination of some kind of g... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Varieties of Ceanothus suitable for Illinois September 07, 2012 Ceanothus Velutinus is the smell of western Montana, my home, to me, and I have relocated to Illinois. I miss it so much that whenever I go home I bring back a jar of ceanothis leaves and keep th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Disagreement on amending soil for planting from Austin September 01, 2012 In today's newspaper column, you answered a question about transplanting a redbud. You said to follow the instructions on the WFC web site, except you recommended adding compost to the backfill soil.... 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 |  | |
| 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 |  | |
| Difficulty with Clay Soil from Palm Bay, FL August 22, 2012 I had a very nice little native shady area behind my house for over 40 years, but now it has been cleared except for a 100 foot tall live oak in the center of this raised mound (50' x 80'). I've be... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Bird nest fungus in Central Austin, TX. August 21, 2012 Hi, I live in Central Austin and have different types of ground cover (such as silver pony foot)in my garden and have noticed huge patches of bird's nest fungi in between and under. Every time it ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native, invasive bermudagrass from Memphis TN August 17, 2012 I live in central Memphis and have well-drained clay soil. I have converted much of the front yard from turf grass to beds of native plants, which survive our hot humid without supplemental watering e... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Oak leaf hydrangeas from Edwardsville IL August 13, 2012 Hello, I live in West Central Illinois (across the river from St. Louis) and I am considering planting several Oak leaf Hydrangea's in my yard. The location where I would like to plant them is und... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Will Habiturf thrive in Houston? July 31, 2012 Will Habiturf grow in partial sun? My lawn is surrounded by trees so that there is only about an hour each day with direct overhead sun. The rest of the day there is a light shade. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplant shock in non-native crape myrtle from Wesley Chapel, FL June 12, 2012 I just bought a 12 ft. crape myrtle and planted it, giving it plenty of water I think. After 3 days the leaves are wilting and flowers are falling off. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cardboard or newsprint for mulch from Cedar Park TX June 09, 2012 What is your opinion on using cardboard and/or newspaper for mulch in flower beds or around trees? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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