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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| Pruning of wax myrtle in St. Augustine FL May 30, 2009 How severely can we prune our wax myrtle? It had grown 10 feet tall and very spindly and we want it to be a border hedge in front of the preserve in back of our yard. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning smoketree in New Jersey May 29, 2009 How far from ground level do I prune a relatively young Smoke tree to get the bush effect? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Perennial summer blooming plant for Livonia, MI May 22, 2009 I want to find a plant that I can cut back in the fall, will come back in the spring, flower throughout the summer, be a medium size plant, no taller than 48", about 36" in diameter. It would get f... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cleaning up Adams Needle yucca in Vancouver Island BC May 19, 2009 We have Adam's needle yucca's in our the flower bed of our newly purchased home here on Vancouver Island BC. They thrive and produce impressive flowers. How do I clean them up in the spring time ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problem with crapemyrtle shoots in Victoria, TX May 13, 2009 I have a problem with crepe myrtle shoots coming up in my flowerbed. I had to remove a large crepe myrtle tree (18" diameter stump) and digging out the stump was not possible. I killed the stump wi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Getting rid of yucca plants in Blanco, TX May 12, 2009 How does a person get rid of Yucca plants? We have four fig trees that do not bear figs, what do we need to do? We live in SE Blanco County, Texas. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Can I trim back my 20 ft Yucca plant? May 11, 2009 I have a yucca tree which is about 20 ft. tall, has four main trunks. I would like to prune it to approx. 10 ft. but wonder if that will kill it or if new shoots will come out up near the cut. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care of Northern honeysuckle bush April 26, 2009 I have a honeysuckle bush, I have had it for about year to two years. I would like to know if I should cut the brown parts off. There are some vines that do not look good, but some of the branches ha... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Bignonia capreolata with brown leaves in Pennsylvania April 24, 2009 3 year old crossvine leaves brown and dead looking. Will it come back and bud out? Crossvine on fence southern exposure. Crossvine on fence in another area has leaves and are dark green/purple - sa... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Survival of yucca plant mowed down in Oklahoma April 15, 2009 I have a yucca plant that came from a very old plant of my late father, and had transplanted it 6 years ago and it came back every year and bloomed. This morning I went outside and noticed my husband... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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