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.
Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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.
Search Smarty Plants
| topic | question | |
| What to do with bloom stalk on yucca June 08, 2008 Six years ago, I dug up two small narrow-leaf yuccas from a deer lease outside of Junction, Texas. I planted them in a raised bed in my yard and the smaller of the two survived and grew. To my surpris... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trimming back Agave havardiana June 05, 2008 Hi.. thanks for all the great information on Agaves. We have a number of Agave Havardiana (blue) that love where we planted them. Several have gotten HUGE. So much so that they are starting to ge... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning of Bauhinia lunarioides May 29, 2008 I have a Bauhinia variegata..when is the best time to prune it? it tends to grow horizontally..where do you clip off the limbs? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Repairing damage to Anacacho Orchid Tree in Austin April 30, 2008 Hi You Guys!! We have an understory Anacacho Orchid Tree in the front and my sweetie was trimming the big oak and dropped a branch down, splitting one of the large branches off the Anacacho. The wou... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure of older branches on Bauhinia lunarioides to thrive April 27, 2008 We planted a sapling of the Anacacho Orchid Tree (Bauhinia lunarioides) winter (Jan, Feb?) and now it has leaves and blooms - but only off of new branches near its trunk, as the old branches haven't ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Clipping of beans from newly planted Tecoma stans April 22, 2008 I purchased a Esperanza Plant in a pot from a nursery in April of 2008. We planted it and it is doing fine, but came with blooms and beans. Do I need to do clip or prune the beans at this stage of g... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Browning of leaf tops on Iris plants April 22, 2008 My Iris plants bloomed beautifully, now some of the leaves are turning brown from the top down, about half way. Is this normal? What can I do about it and should I cut off the brown leaves? Also, what... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure to bloom of Texas Mountain Laurel April 15, 2008 My +/- 4 yr old Tx. Mountain Laurel, has never bloomed. It is in full sun. I sometimes (minimal) fertilize it. I've pretty much planted it and let it grow. Its been pruned back last year when som... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trimming bloom stalks of iris April 15, 2008 Mr. Smarty: I live in Nevada, and have some very beautiful Iris plants. They have all blossomed and now I am left with stems. Is there any way I can cut them back so they blossom again? If so how shou... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure of Bald Cypress to fully leaf out April 14, 2008 My family just moved to a house in Burnet County, about 7 miles south of Bertram, close to the Balcones Canyonlands NWR, with very rocky limestone soil. We bought several trees last fall, including a ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| topic | question | |