Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty 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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| Willow Tree Early Leaf Fall May 14, 2015 I have a weeping willow tree and it put out great leaves this Spring and looked great, but now here in the middle of May all the leaves are turning yellow and falling off like it does in the fall. So ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dogwoods Late in Blooming May 14, 2015 We are seeing no evidence of flowers on two dogwoods this year. One usually is in bloom now, the other later on in the spring. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Life span of pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica May 12, 2015 Do you have any data on the lifespan of pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) under urban conditions where is Not subject to seral succession (trees won't be permitted to overtake it)? On the other hand ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Chickasaw Plum suckering potential in Washington DC area May 11, 2015 I have planted some chickasaw plums around the border of my property. My property is surrounded by a wooded area, which then opens into a golfcourse. Is there a chance that my chickasaw plums would... 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 | ||
| Fruit and nut trees safe for horses. May 11, 2015 My husband and I just moved to Elgin. We have always wanted to grow fruit/nut baring trees but didn't take in to consideration that horses might eat them. We have never had land or horses before, s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| ID of insects attacking a Mexican Plum in Austin, TX May 11, 2015 I live in south austin and have a young 6' tall mexican plum. For the third year in a row it is getting eaten by small green 'leaf-rolling' worms. The destruction the past 2 years was so bad there ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Power line friendly tree for Houston, TX May 11, 2015 Can you recommend a fast-growing, drought tolerant tree (preferably native) to plant next to a driveway that will provide shade on the southern elevation of a one-story bungalow and also not interfere... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Planting Garry Oak in Kinnikinnick in WA May 09, 2015 I want to plant a Garry Oak tree in my backyard in an area currently covered in kinnikinnick planted by the previous homeowner. The kinnikinnick covers a large area - about 10 feet in diameter. Even... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Evergreen Conifer for Moist, Full Sun Site in Ohio May 09, 2015 We need to find an evergreen conifer, classic holiday-shaped tree that will tolerate a very moist, but not soaking wet, site in full sun. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Shade Loving Plants for Under a Black Walnut Tree in Rochester, NY. May 09, 2015 Please advise on plants that will grow in the shade under a black walnut tree in Rochester, NY. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Repairing Previous Silver Maple Pruning Damage May 09, 2015 I cut a limb off my silver maple wrong and now the trunk is developing a hole. What is the best treatment? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Brownish-gold worm-looking things on loblolly pines May 08, 2015 We have a large loblolly pine that each spring drops thousands of brownish-gold "worm" looking things (about 1/2 to 1" long). Do they have a name and what is their purpose? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Stressed Ashe juniper is dropping needles May 07, 2015 We have a large Ashe juniper tree in our backyard, at least 20 ft tall. This past winter/spring, several limbs have died and it's dropped a ton of leaves (clumps of "needles" really). Is it slowly ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Oak Sucker Reprise May 02, 2015 ----Original Question---- SUNDAY - JULY 06, 2014 Title: Live Oak Suckers Reprise, Austin TX QUESTION: Referring to an entry dated March 11, 2011 about Live Oak suckers - what happened to the su... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Need an inexpensive blooming tree in Venus, TX May 02, 2015 I need a non expensive booming tree for our yard. 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 | ||
| Fastest growing shade tree for Austin. April 27, 2015 What is the fastest growing shade tree suitable for Austin? We are anticipating selling or renting our house in two to three years and want a shade tree for a baked full sun area of the yard that will... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Carolina buckthorn and Neem Oil Spray Damage April 27, 2015 It's April, I have a Carolina buckthorn that seemed to be doing well, about 8 feet tall, about 2 years old in part shade. It was putting out new leaves about a month ago and seemed to have infestati... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Looking for non-native Chinese Pistache tree April 23, 2015 Where in the Austin area would be a good place to find a nice sized Chinese Pistache to plant in my yard? 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 | ||
| Plants for a children's playground April 20, 2015 We have extensive native gardens on our 2 acre property, but my children want a garden of their own with plants they can hide under and that are good for imaginative play. Are there any native plants... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Black Sap from Live Oak in Austin, Texas April 20, 2015 We live in South Austin and our neighbor has several beautiful, enormous Live Oak trees whose canopies hang over into our yard. This past week, they've begun dripping some sort of black sap all over ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Removal of Ashe juniper trees April 19, 2015 I have 15 acres with scattered huge oak and elm trees with tens of thousands of Ashe Juniper (cedar) trees 2” to 10” in diameter growing within the drip zone of the hardwoods. How do I take out the c... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Evergreen Trees for Low Maintenance Screen April 18, 2015 We live in Pacifica, CA and are looking to plant a row of low maintenance trees in our back yard along our fence, that grow to be a maximum of 15' high, that stay green year round. What do you recomm... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Southern Magnolia Damaged by Deer April 16, 2015 I have a young Southern Magnolia (about 6 feet tall) that was damaged by deer on the main trunk. The bottom 2 feet looks okay, but where they damaged it and tore branches off, and above that, the leav... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Native Perennials for Bees and Butterflies in VA April 15, 2015 What native perennial plants and trees can we plant to help honey bees and butterfly larvae in Harrisonburg, VA? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Need plants to replace Red Tipped Photinias in Bonham, TX April 11, 2015 I have 7 red tipped photinias that had all their leaves eaten last summer by an infestation of grasshoppers. I do mean all. They are or were about 10 years old. Can you tell me if they will grow back ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Live Oak Mess in Liberty, TX April 09, 2015 Should I leave the pollination debris that has fallen from my 3 historic live oaks on the ground surface beneath them or use a leaf blower to remove. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Shade Tree for Sunny California Yard April 03, 2015 I am getting ready to sell my home in Van Nuys, California. My home had a beautiful fruitless mulberry that had to be removed. My front door faces west. The house is now very hot. I would like to know... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Companion Plants for Salix nigra in Texas April 02, 2015 I'm looking the list of companion plants as well as those that might not go well with Salix nigra. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Need plants to provide a privacy screen in Cedar Creek, TX March 31, 2015 We need to screen out neighbor's house. What can we plant (fast growing tree or hedge) in partial shade? Area is dry in summer, but does get soggy during heavy rain. We live east of Austin in Cedar C... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Screen Tree for Lockhart, TX. March 30, 2015 What is a good screening tree for a ranch in the Lockhart area that won't get much water. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Source for Hickory in Texas March 25, 2015 I'm looking for a nursery in Texas that sells hickory trees. I've used your supplier links and gone through many, many websites of suppliers. However, the only nut tree anyone sells is pecan. I'... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Groundcovers for Shade Under a Sweetgum March 25, 2015 I have 3 large sweetgum trees that produce so much shade each summer, and grass, even grass meant for shade, won't grow here. It's become a barren desert! I have English ivy but it only seems to gro... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of mystery tree in Huntington Beach, CA March 25, 2015 Have a "tree" that has grown from about 18" tall to about 10' tall in a little over a years time. It has a central trunk that is about 3/4" in diameter at it's largest. It has short thin branch... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trees with white blossoms in Crockett, Texas March 21, 2015 What are the trees that are blooming just East of Crockett Texas (off of Hwy 21) right now - fairly large trees - multitude of white blooms - almost like a wild plum or pear, but tree seems too large?... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Inquiry about the Arizona Cypress trees in the Family Garden March 20, 2015 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I recently visited The Wildflower Center and enjoyed seeing several features that were new since my last visit two years ago. In the Family Garden areas I saw several beautifu... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pinus taeda (Loblolly pines) for a property in Van Zandt County, Texas March 17, 2015 I want to initiate a stand of loblolly pine trees on our property in Van Zandt County in NE Texas. Assuming the ph factor is within range, how do I obtain seedings for this endeavor? Any other advic... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identity of wild plum in Childress County, Texas March 16, 2015 I have a Wild Plum follow up question. My wife grew up around the Childress TX area. She remembers going around the creeks and gathering Wild Plums for her mother as a child. Would you have any ide... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Why did the blossoms on my mountain laurels dry up before they flowered? March 15, 2015 Why did the blossoms on my mountain laurels dry up before they flowered? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Saving a 350-year old Live Oak March 14, 2015 I live in Jefferson Parish outside New Orleans. I have a large Live Oak tree that is over 350 years old and has been damaged by Katrina. I have contacted one arborist and they said that the tree is st... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Companion Plants for Texas Mountain Laurel March 12, 2015 I am building a garden from scratch and need help. I want to plant a Texas mountain laurel on each front section of my house in front of a window, and I also want to use Thumbelina Leigh English laven... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Deer Resistant Evergreens for Pennsylvania Woods March 12, 2015 We are looking for evergreens that will grow in a partially shaded/wooded area and are ideally deer resistant. Hemlocks are out because of a parasite infestation in our area of Pennsylvania. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Dealing with live oak suckers in Central Texas March 05, 2015 Hi, I have a couple huge Live Oak trees in my back yard. Trunks are 4' in diameter. These Live Oaks produce a lot of root sprouts/suckers. I had always head that a tree's roots feed on water/oxyg... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What shade trees have non-invasive root systems? March 03, 2015 What shade trees have a non-invasive root system? I am in zone 7a. Thank you, Mr. Smarty Plants! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need suggestions for planting trees in poor soils in Austin, TX February 27, 2015 Due to the clay soils and poor drainage in East Austin, what ornamental trees do you normally suggest? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
February 24, 2015 I have an Ehretia anacua in the way of possible development of a new building and I have a few questions.\r\nWhat is the typical life span of that tree and are the roots sensitive to compaction and ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Insect damage to Meyer lemon in Texas February 19, 2015 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have a Meyer Lemon tree in Galveston. It produced a lot of lemons. However, something has bit up to quarter sized holes from the side edges of the leaf. Could you please... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need fast growing deciduous trees for Austin, TX February 14, 2015 We'd like to plant several fast growing deciduous trees in a full sun yard with a hard alkaline soil in the western edge of Travis Heights in South Austin. I've noted several locations in our neighb... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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