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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| Problem with flameleaf sumac (Rhus lanceolatta) July 14, 2008 My Flameleaf Sumac appears to have an insect infestation in the bark which oozes a sappy sticky substance. This has apparently caused one of the limbs to die. Will it kill the whole plant and is there... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Propagation of maple tree in Canada July 08, 2008 I have a gorgeous maple tree in my front lawn and I want to plant more like it. The tree gives off very few keys a year so I want to make sure this works. How do I go about planting a maple key? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Lack of fruit on Texas persimmon July 08, 2008 I have several Texas Persimmons on my property, most have nodules covering most of the leaves that I am presuming to be insect eggs. Between my neighbor and I we have over a dozen of these tress grow... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-flowering mimosas in Texas July 08, 2008 I have two mimosa trees, about 3 years old. Both were grown from volunteer seedlings. Neither have flowers nor have they produced seed pods. Are they too young or do they need a source of pollenation... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Changing color of crape myrtle blooms July 08, 2008 I have 5 well established crape myrtle trees whose blooms are a very light lavender/pink color. I would like to know if there is any way to deepen or change the color of the blooms. I would prefer a m... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Catalpa and maple with dying branches in Wisconsin July 07, 2008 We have a northern catalpa in our front yard. It's been there for about three years now and is probably 25' high. This year it appeared to be doing great. It flowered and then all of sudden last ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Trees for creek side in Illinois July 04, 2008 I have a creek that runs along my back yard, and was wondering if you could give me some suggestions on water loving trees to grow next to it. The creek gets sun all day and is located in zone 5. (so... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Columnar evergreen for Colorado July 04, 2008 I am looking for an evergreen 6-8 (or more) feet tall, very columnar; 3 feet spread in diameter, zone 5, full sun, dark green, clayish-OK soil. Thank you so much! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Effects of concrete patio poured around tulip poplar tree July 01, 2008 We have a beautiful tulip poplar tree in our back yard that we wanted to be the focal point of our patio. We had seen pictures of patios with trees incorporated in patios leaving two to three feet of... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Selection of trees for new home June 30, 2008 We are moving to Roanoke, Texas(Denton County) into a new home. Our home will have 3 trees which we can choose. They are Texas Ash, Live Oak, Sweetgum, Silver Leak maple, Cedar Elm and Bradford Pear... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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