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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| Possible reasons for non-fruiting wild plum March 10, 2007 My grandfather has land in Lee County with thickets of wild plum, I believe creek plum is another name. However, they never seem to produce plums while thickets nearby on the roadside less than one mi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Differentiating between Iles decidua and Ilex vomitoria February 15, 2007 Is there any way to tell a male possum haw holly from a female? I have a possum haw that never lost all of it's leaves and has no berries. Could it be a male? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Diagnosis of problem and treatment of damaged Cedar Elm February 01, 2007 Part of our mature Cedar Elm looked damaged last summer. We were advised by a landscape designer to spray it with Kocide in late January as a treatment. Is there an alternative to this? Should we h... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Alleotrophic effects of caffeine found in Ilex species January 24, 2007 I'm doing research for my biology class on the alleotrophic effects of caffeine. I'm planning to use Ilex vomitoria as the caffeine-producing plant. As the control I want to use another non-c... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Fast growing, native fruit trees for Northeast Texas January 23, 2007 What kind of fruit tree will grow fast and be pretty in Northeast Texas? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Fruit-bearing crabapple for Austin, TX January 07, 2007 Is there a fruitbearing crabapple that will live in Austin. If so, what soil type is required? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Texas Ash January 03, 2007 Where can I purchase a Texas Ash? One native tree nursery advertised Texas Ash but the trees turned out to be Fan-Tex, which I believe is an Arizona Ash cultivar. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Viability of Desert Willow and Hong Kong Orchid Tree in Spring Branch, TX December 26, 2006 We live in Spring Branch, Rt 281 north of San Antonio. We want to plant a Regal Desert Willow tree and a Hong Kong Orchid tree. Will the cold / freeze be a problem? Where locally can we purchase th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Flowering and fruting of Texas wild plums and where they grow November 28, 2006 Could you please tell me about Texas wild plum trees—when they flower, when they bear fruit and where they grow. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Possible woodpecker damage in Monterrey Oaks November 17, 2006 I live in NW Austin and have two Monterey Oak trees, each about 30 - 45 gal in size. They both were planted approximately 9 months ago. Both trees seem to have some cracking bark on the trunk along w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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