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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| Non-native mint invading flower beds in Kendallville IN April 26, 2011 A few years back we were given two sprouts of something referred to as peppermint tea. We planted in our flower bed and now it has taken over. It seems to start slow in the spring but doesn't take lo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How to get rid of nut grass from San Antonio March 22, 2011 We just had a house built on a lot that was mostly rock. The small back yard has a berm on which they brought in soil then mulched it. Now we are getting all sorts of weeds through the mulch, what my... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Getting rid of a small itchy vine in Granbury, Texas December 24, 2010 I am clearing an area near some trees that has never been "domesticated". There is a little itchy vine that grows pretty extensively (not very much top growth, but is all over the place). The smal... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eliminating non-native Asian Jasmine in Austin December 02, 2010 I have a large bed in front of the house full of jasmine that was planted by the builder 25 years ago. What suggestions do you have to eliminate it and prepare the bed to plant native flowers and pl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification of vine in Ohio September 21, 2010 I have a vine in my forest that grows up trees, that could eventually pull them over. It has roundleaves and prickers on the stem. What is this vine so I can research it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Live oak sprouts in Austin August 01, 2010 How can I control the hundreds of live oak sprouts our lovely trees are throwing off? We recently landscaped with rain gardens and the related drainage ditches; they are filled with these very happy ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Getting rid of bermudagrass July 13, 2010 How do I get rid of bermuda grass in my San Augustine grass? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eradication of invasive thistles in Parma OH July 11, 2010 Lawn is full of prickly weeds with very deep roots. May be called Scotch Thistle, although id is not confirmed. They will grow as tall as they can amid other plants, and when mowed in the lawn, they... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eliminating dogbane from transplanted milkweed in Franklin Lakes NJ May 10, 2010 We transplanted milkweed from the wild into our garden. Included in the clump of milkweed was dogbane. We weren't aware of how invasive dogbane is. We've has some success in digging it out but we'... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Controlling poison oak or poison ivy in Iowa April 29, 2010 We recently purchased a property that is VERY wooded and has been vacant for two yrs. with little upkeep previously. We have (we were told) l00 yr old poison oak vines hanging from trees. We hired so... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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