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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| Groundcover for sunny slope in Minnesota May 24, 2016 Hi, I'm from Apple Valley, MN. We backyard has large slope areas that get sun through out the day. We have huge weed and buck thorn problem. Can you please suggest a good ground covering plant that gr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Vine for 60 foot long by 2 foot high cinder block wall May 20, 2016 Looking for a vine to cover a 60 foot long 2 foot high cinder block wall. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Century Plant woes May 04, 2016 My century plant was fine two weeks ago. Tonight I seen this. Not sure what is happening. It 9 years old. IMG_4716.JPG View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cork Screw Rush doesn't spiral in Whitehall, PA. April 29, 2016 Why won't the stems on my cork screw rush plant twist and/or spiral? It's planted outside. It was twisting and spirally when I planted it. Growing outside the past 4 years but does not twist or curl l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cedar Elms too close together April 27, 2016 I'm fairly new to North Texas and recently bought a new home with 2 young cedar elms in the front yard. From my understanding these trees can grow quite large. My front is about 25 feet wide and the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Sophora seeds to give away April 13, 2016 When we moved to TX years ago we bought a mountain laurel so we could have the beautiful purple flowers and were disappointed when the flowers every year were white (with a few purple ones here and th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Why doesn't my Rusty blackhead bloom? April 10, 2016 I have planted Rusty blackhaws the past several years..some bloomed the first year and every year since....and others 3 years old have not bloomed yet... Do all Rusty blackhaws bloom eventually or ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Red bugs have appeared on my Texas mountain laurel April 10, 2016 What should I do about the red bugs on my mountain laurel? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Large, fast-growing shade tree for Val Verde County, Texas April 03, 2016 What is an overall good shade tree, very large & fast growing, to plant in Central South Texas, Val Verde County region? I am told that virtually nothing but Live Oaks or some other type of Oak will ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Status of Texas Olive tree in Katy, TX March 30, 2016 I have a Texas Olive tree and it has very few leaves. Is this normal? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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