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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| Lonicera sempervirens not harmful to dogs from Naperville IL December 16, 2012 Is the trumpet honeysuckle (lonicera sempervirens) harmful to dogs if eaten? I have been told in the past that the common trumpet vine is harmful, but this appears to be different. Thank you!! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Dyes from native North American plants November 29, 2012 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have been working as a textile designer for many years and am now interested in harvesting native North American plants in order to create natural dyes. Which plant ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identity of milkweed vine with smooth seedpod November 23, 2012 I believe the vine I am curious about may be Matelea reticulata. However, most of the pictures I have seen of that vine show bumps on the exterior of the seed pod, and the pod I have is green and smo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Fasciation on Texas Mountain Laurel November 21, 2012 Do Texas Mountain Laurel normally have a staghorn looking growth hanging on them after blooming in addition to the seed pod clusters or could this be a mutation? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Eliminating unwanted vine on arbor in San Francisco November 20, 2012 There is a vine growing on our arbor, it has sickle-shaped pods and is crushing the arbor, how do we get rid of it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Arizona centaury near Lost Maples from Austin November 05, 2012 I found a clump of Arizona centaury growing/blooming beside a road near Lost Maples State Nat. Area in the Texas hill country last week. Centaurium calycosum is the scientific name. I have 2 questio... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of a plant saprophytic on oaks October 04, 2012 What is name of plant poking up through the leaves near base of oak tree that appears as a cluster of yellow-brown stalks that resemble small pinecones or pineapples or cobs of corn? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Smog-eating plants from Ft. Worth TX September 30, 2012 Looking for a list (40 >) of Native Texas Plants for Fort Worth Urban (Condo) that are Drought tolerant or (drip irr) and Fragrant and long blooming and eat up the city smog. Fort Worth is in a non-at... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Native deer-resistant plants for Virginia September 26, 2012 I live in Roanoke/Salem Virginia and want to plant a few plants native to the area along the front yard rock wall. I would prefer they be the same, deer resistant, around 5-6 feet tall max and flower... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with mature cottonwood in Justin TX September 17, 2012 I have a very large, 90" circumference, approx 60' tall, cottonwood tree in my front yard that appears to be sick. The trunk splits at about the 4' level into 2 parts. at that split is a 10" wide... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Bark problems with Monterrey oak from Austin September 15, 2012 I planted a 65 gallon Monterrey Oak (White Oak) in my front yard in February of this year. I water it once a week. All of the leaves and branches appear very healthy and there is no discoloration.... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Gaura dying from Townsville, Australia September 14, 2012 My passionate pink Gaura appears to be dying. It had a beautiful blooming period & now is going backwards. What is happening? I have pruned it, but don't know how to save it. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Want a vine, non-toxic to dogs, for Reno, NV. September 11, 2012 I want a non toxic (to dogs) vine for Reno, NV View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Sap dripping from a lacey oaks in San Antonio September 06, 2012 I have a lacey oak tree, approximately 6 ft. tall that has been in the ground almost a year. The tree looks healthy but there is a small area on the trunk that looks and feels wet. The substance is s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Male or female Jatropha curcas from Brownsville TX August 16, 2012 How do know the sex of a young Jatropha C. plant? how many weeks before you can tell a boy/girl plant ? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Landscaping with water garden from Pendleton SC August 15, 2012 Searching for native plants in SC. Your results miss some plants listed on your site. I noticed this reading the Mr. Smarty Plants response to "Edible Plants for North GA" We aren't far apart. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Is it safe to eat vegetables grown in the same bed as foxgloves? August 12, 2012 I have foxglove in my flower beds and have planted tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and cantaloupe in the flower bed and now I am concerned about the shared root system. Also, my tomatoes are touching the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Forestiera pubescens blooming in July August 07, 2012 I have a lot of what appears to be Forestiera pubescens. They are covered with the dark blue/black berries and flowers. Apparently they are blooming again in the middle of July. I live about 35 mile... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Non-native gardenias in Southampton Ontario July 31, 2012 I purchased 3 gardenias this year for the garden. Now I'm told that I can't leave them out all year round here in mid/western Ontario. Is this true, and if so, how do I keep them over the winter i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Something dripping from red oak in Austin July 30, 2012 There is a large red oak outside my apartment. The leaves are shiny and covered with what appears to be oil. The ground underneath is coated with this also. When I parked under the tree my car beca... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with maple tree in Redding CA July 17, 2012 I have a 2 yr. old October Glory tree that is looking bad. It leafed out this spring, but not as much as the others. In total I have 9 red maples along a fence row about 15 feet apart. The trees on ei... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Differences between Lantana urticoides and Lantana camara July 13, 2012 I have found an orange variety of lantana growning in several location in Jefferson County. Is there any way I can tell for sure if it is L. camara or the native L. urticoides? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of vine from Las Vegas NV July 11, 2012 I'm interested in identifying the vine shown by the leaf in this photo: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zR3R4JSPYcCI4ESczNXWM4h8z33Cq5cyZNqSSYf9hx0?feat=directlink My mother-in-law got one o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Growth on top of Echinacea purpurea (Eastern purple coneflower) July 03, 2012 I grow purple coneflowers in my garden. ONE plant has something growing on the top of each cone. I would like to know what it is but I don't see how I can add a photo to this post. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Flower with spike of yellow flowers with hairy purple filaments July 03, 2012 Fuzzy purple stamens! I can't find this plant identified anywhere. Blooms abt 1" or a little more across. 5 yellow petals, 5 sepals, & 5 stamens with yellow anthers, & the filaments are covered wi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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