Native Plants
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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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| Overwatering Texas Mountain Laurel from Rosanky TX June 06, 2012 I just read your article in the Statesman about over watering Mt.Laurel. Now I know why my lovely 15 year old tree is dying. We put in new grass this winter and I watered too much. Is there any hop... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Sunny and shady lawns from Austin April 28, 2012 My front yard has a large bed surrounded by a mix of St. Augustine and Bermuda grass. Last summers heat killed off about 90% of the St. Augustine, which we would like to replace anyway to conserve re... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Turf grass for part-time home from Louisville KY April 28, 2012 We have a small yard at a remote location with cistern water, and need a turf grass for a yard, clay soil, which I am willing to amend. It will receive sporadic attention as my husband and I do not l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Need to identify a fungus in a flower garden in Lansinging, MI. April 25, 2012 I have a fungus in my flower garden. It is white and ground hugging. It is in a moist area under a large spruce where mulch has been laid down. When I step on it , it expels a green dust. What is it a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Replacement for grass under non-native weeping willow from Yorba Linda CA April 24, 2012 What would be a good replacement for the grass currently growing under a weeping willow? Something requiring low maintenance, the problem is with mowing over and around the roots. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Interaction of Habiturf and St. Augustine grasses from Willow City TX April 16, 2012 How does Habiturf and St. Augustine interact? Does one dominate the other? Can you plant them in close areas? Thank you. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Chlorosis in yaupon from San Angelo TX April 08, 2012 Thank you for your information on the yaupon holly. We just finished clearing out the mulch and the red ground cover that popped up. I will quit watering it as much as the rest of the plants. Our y... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Decline ot Heartleaf rosemallow from Austin March 26, 2012 My tulipan del monte -a new small plant from the wildflower center--did great all winter and was forming a new flower bud, just died in a matter of a few days. It looks like it "dried up", no visib... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Ants in the compost pile from Georgetown TX March 09, 2012 Can you give me any suggestions for ridding my compost pile of ants? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Shade ground cover under honeysuckle from Wichita KS February 21, 2012 Hi! I know this is a bit odd, but I am trying to find a nontoxic, good ground covering plant that can live in the shade while competing with the roots of a whole bunch of honeysuckle. I have a few ide... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Reducing Allergens in Yards and Gardens January 31, 2012 What are some allergen-free native plants to Central Texas that thrive in the soil and can survive in the weather? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Spreading compost from Kyle TX January 22, 2012 I'm trying to find if there is some type of "implement" to help spread compost in my yard that is easier than a shovel and rake. Any ideas? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Frost damage to native plants in Austin December 19, 2011 Hello, We bought a number of native plants at this fall's WFC sale and planted them. The recent frost seems to have defoliated our pitcher sage, beautyberry, butterflyweed, and flame acanthus plan... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Live oak leaves turning yellow after planting in Houston December 19, 2011 We bought a 65 gallon live oak in early October, and have been watering fairly heavily three days a week. It seemed OK, then all of a sudden lots of the leaves are turning yellow. Is it getting too ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Non-native Podocarpus macrophyllus in Ft Worth TX November 12, 2011 I know this question does not pertain to a native plant but I've spent too much time not finding an answer to my question. I have many mature Podocarpus macrophyllus bushes at my house I purchased in... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Source for pecan mulch used at Wildflower Center from Austin November 11, 2011 Hello Mr. Smarty Pants I was recently at the Wildflower Center. I saw all the pecan shell mulch and was wondering where you get it from. I noticed awhile back that it is one of the recommended mu... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native Grass is Falling Over November 09, 2011 Hi Mr. Smarty Plants, I've tried to find this answer but am stumped as to the cause. We live in Fredericksburg, TX and have several different tall grasses, Yellow Indian grass, Little Bluestem, wire... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Water eroding corner in Austin October 25, 2011 I live close to the Wildflower Center. My yard slopes - as do my neighbors' yards to one corner in my yard. The result is constant moisture in one corner. The rest of the yard is caliche, rocks (m... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Removal of live oaks leaves on lawn in Austin October 11, 2011 We have about a half inch or so of mostly live oak leaves still on the ground which I thought was good root protection and also holds in moisture. There is a small group of people in our condo subdi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Planting Anacacho orchid tree in Llano, TX October 05, 2011 Re Bauhinia lunarioides: I'm trying to pick a good site in Llano Co for a 5 gal tree I received as a gift. Your plant database says part shade. The arid zone trees publication you reference in a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of shrub looking like honeysuckle in Odessa TX October 02, 2011 Bought a shrub in Pecos, TX yesterday. It looks like honeysuckle but the brightest flat orange I have ever seen. Flower and greenery looked like honeysuckle but when I looked on the Internet under or... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Deer-resistant groundcover for New Braunfels, TX September 24, 2011 Could you recommend some deer resistant ground cover plants for the New Braunfels area? We have tried Ajuga and Katie's Ruellia and they have been eaten. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Stumps of fallen oaks in Hurricane Irene from Newton PA September 03, 2011 Two large red oaks fell in the woods in our yard in Newtown PA due to Hurricane Irene. The trees have been removed, but the stumps remain. Please can you recommend some fast-growing, attractive, nativ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with Carolina Laurel Cherry from Pflugerville, TX September 02, 2011 In 2007 we planted 7 Carolina Laurelcherry (Prunus caroliniana)across our back fence. Everything was fine until this year. Three of the trees seemed to get sick and a local arborist said the roots ne... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Landscaping plant for Austin September 01, 2011 Great site! Have gotten lots of ideas. We're about to start construction on a fairly major landscaping project: raised beds/privacy screen. We're at the top of a hill in the Hill Country just wes... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Erosion at edge of driveway in Abilene TX August 26, 2011 My lawn suffered a great loss of grass over the winter and the soil at the edge of the driveway is washing away with watering and the occasional rains that we have. I am trying to get the grass to gr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Replacing mature Arizona Ash trees in Austin August 26, 2011 Mr. Smarty Plants, I have 2 very large, very old Arizona Ash trees in my yard. I want to remove them and replace them with something like Cedar Elm or Chinquapin Oak. The problem is that they are t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Difficulty of watering at drip line of trees from The Woodlands TX August 18, 2011 I'm watering my couple dozen native mature trees to make sure they survive this drought and its aftermath..and I'm reading about how to water at the drip line. But..all of my trees' drip lines ext... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Stabilizing a sand bank in VT August 13, 2011 We have a summer cottage in Burlington, Vt. and need to stabilize a mound of sand. The "bank" we are trying to stabilize has partial sun and faces south. It measures approx 4' high and is 30' long... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for small shady area with clay soil August 09, 2011 Many people have space between the sidewalk and the street in front of their homes. In that space in front of our house is a growing maple that provides a lot of shade. The space is very dry, with... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| removing paper mulberry shoots from lawn August 09, 2011 Dear Mr./Ms. Smartypants, I recently moved into an Austin home with the backyard taken over by paper mulberries. There were originally 2-3 large bush/trees, but now that I've removed them I realiz... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native grasses for central Georgia August 06, 2011 We've just bought a 1990 circa house in Dallas, Georgia. It sits on a .62 acre lot. One half of the lot is woods, the rest is lawn. The lawn is covered mostly with weeds and wild strawberries. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Chlorosis in sycamore in Kyle TX August 04, 2011 I'm trying to assist an elderly neighbor of mine with a plant issue. We have designated street trees in this community, our street being a Sycamore. The previous foreman out here called it a Mexica... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| It's so hot, even the Salvia greggii are sad, in Bulverde Texas July 28, 2011 I have several Salvia greggii in large terra cotta pots. The leaves have developed a yellowish tint and are thinning. What is the best process to get them back to full green foilage? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Garden problems from Centreville VA July 23, 2011 Plants die, trees won't grow. I've replaced the soil (6") twice. Replaced grass twice and planted new plants and tree. After two yrs, the tree is still the same size and the flowering bushes nea... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Should Texas live oaks be mulched under drought conditions? July 19, 2011 Should we mulch our live oaks in pastures for water retention? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Possibility of hydrophobic soil in Austin, TX. July 13, 2011 I believe I have an area in my garden with “hydrophobic soil”: no matter how much or how slowly I water, it just beads up and rolls off and the soil beneath remains cement dry and powdery. In my readi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yucca blades damaged by weedeater in Hellertown PA July 05, 2011 Can I cut off the blades of a Yucca plant that have been eaten on the edges with a weed wacker and are very unsightly looking? Can they be cut back to the flower shaft? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native grass lawn for San Antonio June 25, 2011 Dear Mr Smartyplants, I live outside of San Antonio and my question is in regards to putting in a native grass lawn. What type of soil should I put down? I've sprayed herbicide and was planning on ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Transplant shock in Mountain Laurel in San Antonio, TX June 03, 2011 I planted a 2 ft. tall Texas mountain laurel a month ago. Some of the leaves have turned very yellow and some of them are falling off. The plant doesn't look real healthy in general. I did add s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What hydrangeas can be grown in Austin? June 02, 2011 I was told that oak leaf hydrangea was the only hydrangea variety that could be successfully grown in Austin TX. My oakleaf hydrangea is doing great and I would like to plant other varieties. Can you... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for red clay in Hattiesburg, MS May 16, 2011 Looking for plants and flowers to plant in red clay? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Will wood shavings in the soil require nitrogen from Charleston MO May 04, 2011 I cut down a big maple tree and a lot of the wood shavings was left in the soil. I planted a flower bed over the area this spring. I later read that the wood chips in the soil would use a lot of nitro... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Gardening advice for Quebec April 15, 2011 I live in Aylmer Quebec 1. I bought some lily bulbs at a Christmas bazaar. When can I plant them and what do I put in the hole with the bulbs? 2. I bought a little potted cedar at COSTCO for a Ch... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What will grow in red clay in Conroe TX? April 10, 2011 We just built a new home and the foundation was poured on red clay which is what my flowerbed area is in. Could you please tell me what can be planted that will grow. I am looking for ground cover, fl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ground cover for sun in Phenix City, AL April 04, 2011 I live in Phenix City, AL and am new to planting. I have a 60 x 15 feet slope that is just dirt. I am going to till it next week and want to plant some various ground cover plants (that will grow to c... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smaller trees for limited space in yard in Austin March 29, 2011 Follow up to "I have a choice of three shade trees from the city of Austin. They are Live Oak, Elm, Cedar. Although I am happy to have a free tree, I think the choices are not the best for my home. I... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Various holly hybrids or selections for Pflugerville TX March 24, 2011 I love Savannah Hollies. I used them all the time in the Dallas area. Now that I have moved to Austin, I am wondering if I can plant them in this area. I have a soil pH of 7 and drainage is moderate. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Using non-native Red-Tip Photinia as a mulch from Pittsburg TX March 23, 2011 Wondering if its ok to use Red Tip Phontinia as a mulch? thanks View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Existing live oak taking over in Monahans TX March 22, 2011 I have just purchased a home with a huge Live Oak tree in the front yard. The previous owners have over the years allowed the sucker roots to grow unchecked. The tree is shading most of the lawn (di... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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