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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Discouraging rattlesnakes in northern California July 12, 2011 Searching for information re: managing your garden to discourage snakes, especially rattlesnakes. I live in northern California and we have many. I found one of your articles, but the link to an U. of... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Tulip trees losing bark in OH July 11, 2011 We have two tulip trees in our yard that are losing their bark at the base of the trunk. I am careful with the mower keeping away from the tree when I mow. What could the problem be and what can I d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Why are small leaf pieces aligned on top of exposed root? July 11, 2011 Hi. An oak tree in my yard has one of its exposed roots covered in hundreds of small pieces of leaves. The pieces follow exactly the shape of the root above the surface. What insect would do this and... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Replacement for non-native Italian Cypress in Austin July 10, 2011 I would appreciate your assistance with some native plant options to replace Italian Cypress trees in the Arboretum area of Austin, TX. I have 12 of the trees on the north side of the house to obstru... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Controlling Cochineal Insects on Cholla Cactus July 07, 2011 We have cochineal insects on a cholla cactus. Will they kill the plant? What should we do to get rid of them if water spraying them won't work? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Mealy bugs on plants in Washington, DC July 07, 2011 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, There is this white stuff, looking like snow flakes, that is attacking my office plants. I use gasduster to blow it off of them, but that does not stop it from reappearing. Wh... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Caterpillars ate my Sophora in La Mesa, CA. July 06, 2011 Before I noticed what was happening, my newly-planted 1 foot tall Sophora secundiflora was eaten by caterpillars. It now has no foliage. Do you think it will leaf out again? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Mosquito-deterring plants for shady hillside July 05, 2011 We have a part to full shaded hill side/ native woodland area that was once covered with english ivy..we managed to get rid of all the ivy but now we are overtaken with violets..maybe they are even na... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Petals not developing on blackeyed susans from Nashville TN July 05, 2011 I have an established "patch" of black eyes susans. This year, the leaves are beautiful, the centers black..but the petals are practically non existent. They didn't seem to develop correctly. Any... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Something eating Monarda didyma in Washington DC June 30, 2011 Please Help, I have a couple of Bee Balm, Jacob Cline, plants, whose leave are being eaten, by what I do not know. None of the nurseries around here seem to have ever heard of this happening to this p... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
What's attacking my Nellie Stevens Holly plants in Iredell, TX? June 27, 2011 I just bought 10 Nellie R. Stevens holly bushes and planted them as a screen. The leaves on some of the plants are at least half white - not yellow but white. Apparently they were like that when I b... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Squirrels eating seed pods of Rock Rose in Austin June 24, 2011 Squirrel(s) have been ripping the branches off my rock rose bushes in order to eat the seed pods. Previously we had problems with squirrel(s) gnawing on our garden ornaments. I sprayed the ornaments ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Watering oaks in Houston, TX. June 07, 2011 Our yard (Real County, TX.) has many oak trees. We never water these trees, but I wonder if you recommend watering during this extreme drought. The trees look very stressed and are covered in ball m... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Snails in the ice plants in California May 31, 2011 Ice plants and snails. Every morning when I go outside I see at least 20 or more snails. Is there a certain way that I should have planted them that would have prevented them from destroying my plant?... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Replacing Weeds with Native Plants in Dallas Area May 29, 2011 I have a large oak tree in my front yard and lots and lots of miscellaneous weeds (clover, chickweed, stickers, etc.). I am wanting to grow grass in my front yard, that is shaded pretty much most of t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Preventing weeds in kinnikinnick in Richland WA May 29, 2011 We planted our kinnickinick last Nov. and we live in Richland, WA, where it gets hot in the summer. We planted almost 500 of them on a hillside. Weeding is taking over our lives, to say the least. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Black bugs on Autumn Joy sedum in Dublin OH May 27, 2011 How to get rid of tiny black bugs on Autumn Joy sedum? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Ants in vegetable garden in Muskogee OK May 25, 2011 I have ants in my vegetable garden this spring - I think because of all the rain. I think they are the culprits that ruined my spinach and swiss chard. They have left all the lettuces alone..but you... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Possible sawflies on loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) May 03, 2011 My pine trees looked great a week ago, now one from top to bottom is almost without needles. It is covered with greenish caterpillars. They have several stripes down their back . Could these be saw fl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Holes in leaves of wax myrtle from Austin April 30, 2011 I just purchased 4 of the 5 gallon Wax Myrtles at the last spring plant sale and after planting them, they are getting eaten by bugs leaving holes in the leaves. I can't find any of the bugs doing th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Problems with Live Oak in Boerne TX April 24, 2011 I had my large Live Oak trimmed last year. This spring there seems to be a problem with leaf growth. Most leaves are small in nature and appear to have been attacked possibly by bugs. Many of the bran... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Need help with a Coreopsis eating beetle in Shiro, TX April 20, 2011 Mr.Smarty Plants,(Sorry, I kept messing up with my emails) Anyway, here goes: I usually have a beautiful meadow full of lanceleaf coreopsis blooming by now. Not this year. I found to my horror every s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Aluminum foil disorienting insects under plants from Brierfield AL April 20, 2011 Does covering the ground under plants frequently attacked by flea beetles with aluminum foil really disorient the insects? But does it also disorient beneficial insects? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
red maple bark damage by squirrels April 15, 2011 We have two acres of land, largely covered by various oaks and cherry laurels -and, after many hours of cutting down chinese tallow trees..finally some red maples. Our problem is that we also have a s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Problems with purple passion flower from DeKalb TX March 27, 2011 Yes my purple passion plant, is pretty but there is a piece of it that's all limp, what do I need to do to revive it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Half-life of the insecticide imidacloprid March 07, 2011 How long do systemic insecticides such as imidacloprid (Merit) remain active in nursery grown plants? Asclepias curassavica (tropical milkweed)is frequently grown with imidacloprid to prevent... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Weird growth on oaks in Middleburg FL February 05, 2011 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants; I have this plant/fungus that grows on my trees here in northeast Florida & nobody has been able to identify it for me. It looks like a clump of pine needles growing on the ba... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
White fuzz on Christmas tree from Lewisburg PA January 04, 2011 Our Canaan fir Christmas tree is now coated with white fuzz after being up for 4 weeks. The fuzz looks like spider webs, but it is also in clumps around the needles. When you rub your finger on it, ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Larvae infesting Mexican white oak December 16, 2010 What larvae/worm would dwell and eat the inside of a Mexican White Oak? I planted one last November and it was doing great. The bark started cracking towards the bottom but the top was very full & gre... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Fungus Spots on Native Bush Honeysuckle December 03, 2010 My native bush honeysuckle plants that I have along my back fence have leaves that are turning yellow with spots. It appears to be a type of fungus, but not powdery mildew. Any suggestions as to what ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
What are the webs floating in the air? Are they harmful to plants? October 03, 2010 Austin, TX has experienced fall weather for the past week..low humidity, nice temps, sunny skies. But long webs are connecting from trees to our plants to the porch. Not on the trunk of the tree like ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Larvae swimming in water with plant cutting September 09, 2010 When you take a cutting from a plant and put it in water and bring it in your home a couple of days later you notice larvae swimming around, what is that? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Fighting ants and bugs in Richardson TX September 01, 2010 Before my blue fall asters and my Clara Curtis (perennial) mums bloom in a few weeks, what can I do to help prevent the ants and other bugs from eating them to death- so I can enjoy them a bit longer ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Eliminating muskrats from a cottage garden in Ontario August 22, 2010 We have perennial gardens at our cottage and for the first time this year the muskrats have come and leveled everything..shasta daisies, coneflowers, day lilies, phlox, etc. Any suggestions as to how... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Failure to bloom of lantanas in San Antonio July 22, 2010 Mr. Smarty Plants, We have lantanas in our front yard. This summer the leaves have turned white and they die to a brown color all the while the leaves are "crispy". At the beginning of the season... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Insects on non-native euonymus in Lake Orion MI June 23, 2010 I had a greenlane euonymus that had a few flies last year but was infested with thousands this year. We ripped it out, it was an 8 year old plant. Do you know why they are attracted to it now? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Dealing with beetles feeding on cholla cactus June 20, 2010 Hi Mr. Smarty Pants, I bought a Cylindropuntia imbricata from the Wildflower center and it was growing like crazy. I recently noticed a lot of beetles feeding on it. Some are black and some are gra... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Flying insects attacking yucca flacida in Wilmington NC June 11, 2010 How do I treat flying insects from eating the flowers on my Yucca Flaccida shrub. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Puppy-proof plants in Denton TX June 04, 2010 I recently got a couple of puppies that stay outside in a fenced off area of the backyard. Of course, they love trying to dig under the fence and get out. I placed cement landscaping border stones alo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Why is my recently planted Esperanza doing poorly in Texas City, TX? May 28, 2010 I have an Esperanza I planted about 2 months ago. It has been doing well, except today all but one stem of the plant is wilting and the leaves are rolling. I see no bugs on the plant. Any idea what... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Something eating leaves of Eastern Redbud in San Antonio May 27, 2010 I know you had this question a few years back but no answer. Something is eating the leaves of my Redbud (Eastern, I think. There are varying sizes of bites, but most leaves stripped, some to stem. Pl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Use of saltwater to kill weeds in gravel in Hamilton Co. TX May 26, 2010 I want to get rid of weeds and grasses in our gravel driveway and parking areas. Which would be less harmful to the adjacent native plants and trees: saltwater or herbicide? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Plants ants avoid from McAllen TX May 22, 2010 Which native plants do ANTS avoid (are there?)? We have a big ant problem here. Thanks! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Eliminating straggler daisy from St. Augustine grass in Hochheim TX May 14, 2010 I have straggler daisy in my St. Augustine grass. What herbicides work well on straggler daisy and won't ding up the grass too bad? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Problems with rusty blackhaw viburnum in Austin May 07, 2010 I have a four foot rusty blackhaw viburnum. Last summer the leaves turned reddish and in the late summer most of them fell off. This February the plant started to leaf out and then bloomed. It has ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Yucca with halticotoma valida bugs in Burleson TX April 18, 2010 I have had Yucca plants in my yard for 10 years, but this year is the first time I have seen halticotoma valda, and there are thousands of them. How do I get rid of them? are they harmful to the plan... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Need bug repelling plants in Arlington, VA February 08, 2010 What kind of plants are best bug repellents, and need little or no maintenance. I'm a city girl and don't like bugs (spiders) View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Identification of strange tiny creature in plant water January 14, 2010 I have a house plant rooted in water. I has been for over a year and the plant seems healthy, I change the water often and keep it clean. I now have noticed that something is growing it. A fish type o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Perennial plants resistant to cutter ants in Aransas Pass, TX January 12, 2010 We are moving to Aransas Pass, Texas. Are there any perennial plants resistant to cutter ants? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Treating cuts in tree trunks November 21, 2009 We have two young trees that deer made bad cuts in the trunks. What can we put on cuts to keep bugs and disease from getting in them.? Thank you. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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