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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| Tiny red bugs on Mountain Laurel from San Antonio TX April 02, 2014 Hordes of solid bright red tiny bugs are all over the bark of my Mountain Laurels. The infestation has me very worried. How can I deal with them? Thank you in advance for helping solve this problem. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Sap dripping from redbud in Bertram, TX March 03, 2014 Our multi-trunked Texas redbud has sap dripping down 3 of the trunks. It seems to originate from a very small crack in each trunk. The tree is just starting to show pink this week, and is about to blo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problem with Prosopis glandulosa (Honey mesquite) February 27, 2014 One of our mature Honey Mesquite trees is losing thumb sized branches high up in the canopy because something is stripping the bark. The branches are completely white for 8-12 inches. Of course the ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Galls on live oak tree in Austin December 12, 2013 I live in Austin, and have a 13 year old live oak in my yard. It has developed little spheres, kind of like green peas, on the underside of the leaves. What is it? Is it harmful? Is there somethin... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identity of small objects that look like tiny pecans November 14, 2013 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I am doing my science fair project on acorns. Last year I measured how many acorns and other nature-y stuff fell into a baby pool from a live oak tree in my backyard every ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Something damages leaves on Tecoma stans from Austin November 08, 2013 Help! Something is chomping my Esperanzas. I thought it was deer but they don't seem to be eating other yellow bells in my neighborhood. I think it's an insect. Something is completely stripping the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Do white-tailed deer consume King Ranch bluestem? October 25, 2013 Will white-tail deer in central Texas consume King Ranch bluestem ? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Flying insects eating leaves of non-native Brugmansia in Aline CA October 17, 2013 I have an Angel Trumpet tree. We live in Aline, California 30 miles east of San Diego. Little yellow and black flying bugs eat the leaves. Do you have a remedy for this problem. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native nightshade that is a host to hornworm-hawk's eye moth October 03, 2013 Is there a native nightshade that serves as a host to tomato hornworm/hawks eye moth? I like the moth and as a gardener do not like the hornworm. I would like to have a patch of not terribly toxic nig... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Berry-looking parasites on live oak leaves September 20, 2013 Dripping Springs TX Live oaks. What are these berry looking parasites on my tree's leaves. As many as 4 1/4 in berries per leaf. I have 3 acres with dozens of liveoaks all having them on the leav... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Green cyst-like growths on Texas persimmon leaves September 20, 2013 We have a mature Texas persimmon. We just noticed some green cyst-like growths on the tops of some of the leaves. The undersides of those leaves have black spots where the growths are. They looks like... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with Shumard Oaks and Crepe Myrtle in Cooke Co. TX September 07, 2013 I have a Shumard Oak Tree that has been in the ground approx. ten years. It has done great, even passing up some of my older Shumards. In August it began to lose its leaves at an alarming rate. They a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What causes rock rose branches to snap off? August 30, 2013 my small texas rock rose branches keep snapping in the center. What is causing this and what can I do? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Keeping squirrels out of pecan tree from Garland TX August 17, 2013 My yard is covered in green pecans with one bite eaten by squirrels. How do I keep squirrels out of my pecan tree? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| White sticky stuff on muscadine grape vines from Chappells SC August 17, 2013 Muscadine vine has white sticky substance on leaves and vines, what is it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Leaves wrinkling on Tecoma stans from San Antonio TX August 16, 2013 My two year old esperanza (planted in the ground) froze back last winter, came back from the roots & has been doing well all summer. Recently one branch has leaves that are nice & green but very wrin... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Damage to cedar elm from Austin August 16, 2013 We have a cedar elm next to the corner of our house that has been dropping lots and lots of twigs with green leaves over the past 3 weeks, while our other elms have not. These rapidly pile up on the p... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Help for Collapsing Tradescantia August 14, 2013 My tradescantia has completely collapsed at the crown. The stems are yellowish. This happened once before when I had it planted in full sun and I just had to discard it. This time I have one plante... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Tip Dieback on Lonicera sempervirens August 14, 2013 I have a Lonicera sempervirens (coral honeysuckle) vine in Virginia which does well early in the season, but then around July, the very tips of its shoots (just the last 1-2 inches) wither, turn black... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| What clips green twigs from cedar elms? August 09, 2013 Many small cuttings (3-5 inches long) are dropping from large cedar elm. To my eye the ends look like breaks (not chiseled), but I can't imagine what would cause so many breaks, and so think somethin... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Dry browning leaves on Monterrey Oak from San Antonio August 08, 2013 I have a Monterey Oak that was planted four years ago and was doing great until the last two weeks. It has turned brown and the ends of the branches are very dry and brittle. The root flare was cov... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Replacements for yuccas from Georgetown TX August 07, 2013 I have lost some softleaf and variegated yucca to a beetle grub destroying the root system - like the Agave snout beetle does. I have put an insecticidal drench on my remaining plants, but suspect wi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Invasive native blackeyed susans from Warren OH August 07, 2013 In our demo garden we master gardeners in NE Ohio have been unable to get rid of black-eyed susans which have, like the other person, prevented or "killed" the other perennial plants. They are spre... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Possible maple scale on non-native mophead hydrangeas from Newport RI August 07, 2013 I have a mophead hydrangea that has small white cottony tufts under the leaves and on the stems. I believe this is maple scale. Is there a home remedy I can use to rid this disease? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Caterpillars on Mountain Laurel from Austin July 25, 2013 My 1-yr old mountain laurel has been decimated by small yellow and black catepillars. It recovered a bit and pushed out some fresh new growth, and more came and decimated that too. Are these caterpi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Mosquito repelling plants from Euless TX July 24, 2013 Are there any shade loving plants that repel mosquitoes for North Central Texas? I checked your site and saw nothing on this topic. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Bug repelling plants from Rochester NY July 23, 2013 I live in Western NY (zone 6?) and have a shady area where I hang my swing, but it's so buggy under the tree I can't use it! The soil is very dry, rocky. Is there a plant/shrub that I can grow the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Are non-native hostas causing fly invasion from Eastpointe MI July 14, 2013 I live in Michigan with a small backyard. I have 5 large hostas with the purple flower blooms which are located by my patio. I was wondering if they can be causing my large population of unwanted flie... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Spots on persimmon tree leaves from Dripping Springs TX July 10, 2013 We are in rural Hays County Texas off Hamilton Pool Rd Texas. Large persimmon trees are turning yellow, blackish spots on underside of leaves. What do we do? 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 |  | |
| Insects attacking Gregg's Blue Mistflower from Comfort TX June 20, 2013 I have a beautiful stand of Gregg's Blue Mist flower that have been attacked by an unknown insect. The new growth is curled and stunted and it is not flowering. I'm not alone..I've seen the Gregg'... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Lily plants being chewed from Austin June 20, 2013 Something is chewing my lily plants to the ground. Any ideas what and do I stop them? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| White specks on unknown houseplant from Ridgeway SC June 20, 2013 I have an unknown houseplant that seems to have some sort of pest or disease on it. It has white snowy specks atop its leaf. I bought this purple fuzzy leafed houseplant from Walmart in Winnsboro, SC ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Changing colors on Mexican Plum trees from Bellaire TX June 20, 2013 The leaves on my Mexican Plum tree have recently started turning yellow/brown and the veins in leaves are red. Is this a watering issue or disease issue? Mites are on the leaves. This has been a ra... 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 |  | |
| Waxy deposits on Magnolia fuscata from Ethel LA June 18, 2013 I have a 4yr old Magnolia Fascata (aka banana shrub)- I noticed that it has small oval shaped yellow waxy deposits on the branches.. I have also noticed small black ants on the branches. The unknown d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pill bugs in potted plants in Atlanta GA June 14, 2013 Hello, I repotted four aloe vera plants two days ago with a cacti soil and watered them thoroughly in terra cotta pots according to directions on the bag. Well the next morning the pots had pill bug... 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 | ||
| What's causing holes in trunk of white oak tree in SouthBend IN? June 10, 2013 We have a huge White Oak in our backyard that is approx. 130 years old. This evening I became aware that there are several small holes around the trunk that appear to be oozing a dark sappy liquid. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What insect eats Alamo Fire blue bonnets from League City TX June 10, 2013 What insect eats Alamo Fire blue bonnets? Something seems to be eating new seedpods. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Western soapberry dropping leaves in San Antonio June 03, 2013 My Western Soapberry tree (China berry?) Suddenly started dropping full, perfectly healthy green, leaf units. Now half the tree is turning yellow. There is a second tree in the yard not far from this ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Round green seed pods are likely leaf galls May 31, 2013 While walking on a tree-lined dirt road after a mid-May storm, I noticed several seed pods but could not locate the plant they fell off of. The pods were round, light green and looked like large round... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with Ashe juniper from Lakeway TX May 25, 2013 Dear Sir/Madam, I have been living for the last three years in Lakeway, Texas approximately 20 miles west of Austin. In my back garden there are several ashe junipers about 15-20ft tall. However... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| White fungus-like growths on plants from Stephenville TX May 25, 2013 What is a white fungus-like growth on plants in a garden? It can be seen on the ground in ball-like shapes similar to puff balls or on plants View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of insects on crepe myrtle in Florida May 22, 2013 I have large colonies of striped bugs on large crepe myrtle in my backyard. They stay in large groups and have long antennae. There are larger black bugs among the groups that appear to corral and g... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with Arizona Ash from Naco AZ May 19, 2013 Hi Mr. Smarty.. Live in southeast corner of Az. My Az. Ash is diseased. Just noticed leaves are curled, (still green) and when I open the leaf it has a zillion little white, what look like mites ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with Gregg's mistflower from Fredericksburg, TX May 19, 2013 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants: Something is wilting the tops of my Gregg's mistflower, Conoclinium greggii. I cannot see bugs on the plant, so I am wondering if it's a disease. The problem is widespread to... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants to repel mosquitoes from Leander TX May 19, 2013 What are the best plant for repelling mosquitoes in the Leander area? The land here is hilly and rocky. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Life with Voles May 12, 2013 Voles! We live next to a park and wildlife area: voles constantly invade our garden. We've tried, and cannot eliminate them: rather, hope to plant native forbs and shrubs they (might) avoid. Our site... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Affect of poisonous plant roots in soils for vegetables from Rusk TX May 11, 2013 I have a huge old flowerbed in front of my house that I want to plant veggies in, but I'm afraid to. It has a catalpa tree there, which I sell the worms from, but the entire tree (bark, leaves, flowe... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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