Native Plants
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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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| Ruffly foliage on native lantana November 05, 2013 A native lantana in my front yard has developed ruffly foliage on one stem. It looks like miniature broccoli. What can this be? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Non-native jade plants and spider plants beneath Mayberry tree in Bay Point CA October 15, 2013 I have a fruitless Mayberry in my back yard that's about 50/50' can I plant jade and spider plants under it? The tree is very healthy. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pink wildflowers on DFW runways in April-June October 10, 2013 I fly thru DFW quite often and have noticed in April-June timeframe the runways are dotted with a light pink colored wildflower. Have asked the DFW Customer Service folks for the name, ones I've ask... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plant identification of thorny shrub in Tennessee October 03, 2013 I have a mid to dark green thorny type bush growing on my land in Cosby, Tennessee. I am originaly from NJ and I have never seen it before. The stalk is varigated and the thorns are plentiful and very... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Starting shade-tolerant ground covers in New York September 10, 2013 Hi, I have seen some of the posts for shade-tolerant ground cover on the east end of Long Island and my question is process related. Now that I've identified the grasses/plants I need to keep my fro... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trees for clay soil from Charlotte TX August 25, 2013 We have an area in our yard that even Esperanzas won't grow. It is near another that does great. Six Esperanzas are planted in a north/south row about with 10' between plants, the southern most plan... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identity of purple-leafed plant in formal garden in Quebec City August 23, 2013 I saw a plant in a formal garden in Quebec City that was low growing with purple leaves and clusters of deep purple pods/seeds about the size of grapes. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Shriveling agave from Miami Florida August 23, 2013 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Most upset - My beautiful agave (wish I could have submitted an image) has stared to misbehave. The once first liquid filled leaves, are starting to look more like the skin ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants to replace Polygonum cuspidatum ( Japanese knotweed) August 10, 2013 I live in a heavily wooed area of Chippewa Falls, WI. Our property is covered with Giant Japanese Knot Weed. We have been trying to get rid of it for years. We are finally going to try using the dr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Growing conditions for Giant Coneflower from San Antonio August 09, 2013 Rudbeckia maxima is considered to be a perennial plant for the sun but I have had a difficult time maintaining it in a pot in full sun before attempting to plant. Do you feel that it will survive and... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problem with Habiturf. Is it dormant or dead? July 24, 2013 We planted habiturf in spring 2012. It's beautiful. But since last summer, we have had one area that seems to go dormant much more rapidly than the rest, even though it receives the same amount of ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problem with unknown tree in Austin, Texas July 23, 2013 Have recently moved to Austin, Texas and have a tree in my backyard that has been dropping leaves and one major branch appears to be dead. That branch has hard rust colored sap circles (about penny si... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Sudden death of one side of Mountain Laurel from Canyon Lake TX July 22, 2013 Hello! We live in Canyon Lake TX and have a Mountain Laurel that is in distress. It is planted in an irrigated flower bed and has been happily growing for 5 years. It is about 5' tall and has sever... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Halophytic biofilter plants native to Wisconsin July 12, 2013 I am trying to design a biofilter using native WI plants. These plants must be very salt tolerant and low maintenance (as this biofilter will be used to treat storm water runoff from a salt shed), so ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Leaf drop from live oaks in mid-summer July 08, 2013 We have a live oak that is starting to drop a considerable amount of leaves here in early July in Cypress Texas. Its a mature tree with a base diameter of 12-14" and 25-30' tall. We live in a subd... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification of vine with fluffy-seeded pod July 05, 2013 I saw a fluffy seeded pod on our hike this morning. I have seen this vine before, but do not know the proper and scientific name of it. Its leaves appear to be opposite and heart shaped. Could it be a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| How to Control White Fungus on Prickly Pear Cactus? July 04, 2013 Is there any kind of spray for our prickly pear that will help with the white fungus that has appeared on it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Privacy hedge for Palm Springs CA July 04, 2013 Dear Mr. Smarty Pants I have a 6 foot block wall, and my house is elevated, and I need a privacy hedge or tree (even flowering) to create more privacy. I do not want to use Ficus as I hear they can d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Can oleander poison the ground below it? June 29, 2013 Can oleander poison the ground below it? Would it kill/damage grass or other plants below it? Thanks. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Use of Turffalo in Possum Kingdom TX June 27, 2013 Hello, we will be building a retirement home in the hillside area of Possum Kingdom Lake which currently has cactus, cedar, and some live oaks. Our intention is to keep most of the 8 acres natural wi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Spots on calycanthus petals from Buckley WA June 20, 2013 Petals on calycanthus develop black spots the turn into holes. Problem appears shortly after buds open. Occurs every year. Foliage is healthy. Plant growing well and doubles or triples size every ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning Ageratina havenensis from Magnolia TX June 18, 2013 I planted a Eupatorium havanense last year here in the last sandy finger of the piney woods; it gets full sun in a well-drained raised bed, where it flowered well. I pruned it fairly close, and it cam... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| What's invading my bermuda grass? June 11, 2013 Our grass is being totally overrun by this weed.(I don't know what the name is identify it by the description. It is in Bermuda grass and the only way to describe the weed is to say it looks like big... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Asphalt beneath surface of soil in Austin June 03, 2013 About 3-4 inches below the surface of our yard is what appears to be asphalt. It comes out in chunks a few inches across and it's all about 1.5 inches thick. I have no idea what it is; my best guess ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Fruit crops to grow in Tennessee mountains May 27, 2013 My property has a lot of rock formations throughout it and has hundreds of cedars where it is not pasture. I am wanting to grow fruit trees and berry bushes but don't know what can grow in this e... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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