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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| Tree removal from Austin November 18, 2013 Unfortunately we need to cut down a Spanish oak (11" diameter, over 50 feet tall) that is leaning against our upper story deck (if it falls, the roof, deck, and steel supports may be crushed). A lim... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Sprout from a non-native sago palm in Poinciana FL October 16, 2013 I have two mature (10 years old)sago palms. One of them sprouted a new "head' at the top of the trunk. It is competing with the original one. It is not a pup coming from the root area. Can I cut it ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Sprouts from stems of plants from Happy Yard IN September 28, 2013 Is it normal for a plant to start a sprout from its own root system next to the stock/stem? Is it trying to regrow? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Maintenance of milkweed from Austin September 12, 2013 I help plant and maintain a Monarch Waystation Garden in San Leanna, Texas (South Austin). Should milkweed plants be cut back during the winter? Last year we cut them back a bit late and some died c... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Transplanting large Silverado Sage bushes from Mesa AZ August 19, 2013 We just bought a condo with three Silverado Sage, each one is 6-8 ft tall, trained to grow as "trees" with bare branches for the bottom 4 feet or so, and beautiful flowering branches on top. They ar... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Rose care for Austin August 18, 2013 I am a transplant from the Pacific NW and need to relearn rose care for Austin. When is the best time to cut back the roses, or do I even bother? I also need to find out how far back I can trimming a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Recovery of an agarita having been cut down from San Antonio, TX August 16, 2013 I had an agarita adjoining a cedar and a volunteer hackberry in my yard. The tree trimmers were supposed to cut out the hackberry but unfortunately also cut the agarita back to the ground. How long ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Taking down a Century Plant blooming stalk from Fair Oaks Branch TX August 09, 2013 Our century cactus looks like it's in the final stages of blooming and I read on your site that the original plant dies. Can we go ahead and cut down the tall blooms? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Will catalpa roots damage a nearby swimming pool? July 13, 2013 Will a catalpa tree cause problems to my swimming pool? It is 8 feet away and I cut all the branches off every fall. It then grows back to about 6 feet in diameter an makes a great garden feature but ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Care of poppy plants July 10, 2013 I bought a tiny poppy grow kit at Target for 99 cents. Amazingly, they have grown into numerous large and very healthy plants, though they don't all appear to be the same species. Some have grown to ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Oak roots damaged by ax from Austin July 03, 2013 Hello. I am attempting to create my own tiny copy of the Wildflower Center within my yard. I'm using all native, drought tolerant plants. My front yard is full of live oaks. I used a sod cutter la... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning non-native Chinese fringe flower from Austin June 24, 2013 When is the best time of year to prune Plum Delight? And how severely can it be cut back? 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 |  | |
| Can Monterrey Oak be topped into a bush from Austin TX June 16, 2013 I received a suggestion to use Monterey oak as privacy hedge by topping the small tree and letting it bush. I can't find any pictures or info on this being done though. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Getting a senna to fill out from Irvine CA May 30, 2013 I have a Senna of some kind, started from a seed by a friend. I got it as a small,six in high) seedling. After two years it is now blooming beautifully, but is a single thin stem 4 feet tall with ve... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning of tree poppy from Livermore CA May 29, 2013 We have a Dendromecon rigida which has been in place for about 10 years and is doing fine. But the older growth gets dry, brown and crinkly, while the newer growth is bright and lush. I would like t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Yaupon sprouts from Bennettsville SC May 29, 2013 I have Yaupons in a flower bed and they have too many shoots to pull up, can I spray them with roundup and not kill the bush and what strength should I use? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| How to deal with suckers on Flame-leaf Sumac May 20, 2013 Hi! It seems you can have too much of a good thing! Our flameleaf sumac is taking over our yard. There are multiple shoots appearing in our flower beds and in the lawn. How do I get rid of the unwante... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Suckers from Oak Tree Roots in Austin May 17, 2013 Hi. I am a home owner in Austin TX with several live oak trees. We love them and want to keep them healthy. We have a nice landscape in the back yard and I’m wondering if you can answer a quest... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Planting and care of Desert Willow in Golden Valley, AZ. May 17, 2013 I got a desert willow to plant in yard. Some of the leaves dried out before I could plant. Will that stop the tree from growing into a decent size tree or stay as a shrub? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning practices from Austin May 16, 2013 I need to do some pruning in my front beds and I know nothing about plants. From what I have been able to identify I have bicolor irises, plumbago, Japanese Aralia. I don't even know where to begin o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removal of pods when pruning Tecoma stans May 10, 2013 When pruning Tecoma stans for growth and shape control,should I cut off the pods? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Lilies not blooming from Austin May 03, 2013 Last December 8, you published a letter in the Statesman that I had written to you regarding Rain Lilies, Oxblood Lilies, and Copper Lilies. The were sprouting in my garage in a bag. You recommended... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Rocky Mountain Juniper Grazed by Deer April 29, 2013 I have four Colorado red cedar (Juniperus scopulorum). The deer have eaten from their height down. Now these narrow top to bottom evergreens have only tops left. Will the bottom fill in if I protect t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with Blackfoot Daisy from Lewisville, TX April 23, 2013 I planted a row of Melampodium leucanthum (Blackfoot Daisy) last spring at the front of the front yard, next to the sidewalk. It's full sun, east facing, unamended black clay gumbo soil. I put mulc... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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