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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| Eradicating non-native pyracantha bushes in California August 26, 2008 We removed several pyracantha bushes but they keep coming up in other parts of the garden. How do we kill the shoots? Thank you for any help View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification August 19, 2008 Hi, I live in South West Michigan and there is this plant I can't figure out. It has oval leaves in a row on each side of its stems, large thorns, and when the plant is grown it has what seems to be... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Are palm leaves poisonous? August 18, 2008 Are palm tree leaves poisionous? Because my dad was doing yard work and was stuck by a palm tree leaf in his calf. His calf has swollen and in he thinks it broke off in his calf. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of shrub with thorns August 07, 2008 I have a plant in my garden that I need to identify. It is a tall shrub (approx. 10 feet) that has very large thorns on its green branches. It is now showing small white flowers. I don't know if i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Tree resembling live oak, but with thorns August 04, 2008 I'm trying to ID a tree in our backyard, most of our trees are Live Oaks and the tree in question has a dark almost black and gray bark that looks just like a Live Oak. The leaves are similar but lig... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning and deadheading rosa rugosa while blooming August 01, 2008 Can you prune the dead flowers and branches of rosa rogosa while it is still blooming? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identity of red raspberry-like berries in Connecticut July 28, 2008 I found some edible berries today in the woods that look like raspberries, are red like raspberries, but don't taste like them at all. They're very shiny red, remove easily from the bush. The flavor... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant with poisonous thorns July 27, 2008 Is there a bush or tree out there that has thorns on it that can make you swell and cause you to feel like you can hardly move you're whole hand. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of prickly vine in north Texas July 07, 2008 While trimming the shrubs around my suburban house I noticed (and my legs were torn up by!) a vine-like plant with small green serrated leaves and millions of small, very sharp thorns. I search Invasi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of thorny plant in Michigan June 16, 2008 i live in southern michigan and have a thorny plant with oval leaves growing in my flower beds. this used to be a grassy area how did it get there. i live on the edge of town. what plants in my area h... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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