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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| Recovery of damaged fuchsia plant in hanging basket July 23, 2007 I had a beautiful fuchsia plant hanging on my porch. The hanger gave way and the plant fell straight down into another flower bed. The fuchsia seemed ok. I put it back in the pot put up new strong ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Control of live oak suckers by cutting July 23, 2007 How do I control the Live Oak root suckers? At the moment we are cutting them as they come out of the ground. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplant shock in Dakota mock vervain July 23, 2007 We just planted some Verbena bipinnatifida in our back yard and when we planted it, it had purple flowers on it but now they've all dried up. We live in central Colorado and thought this plant was fa... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Effect of unusual wet weather on desert willows July 23, 2007 I live in North Central Texas and have 3 beautiful Desert willow trees that are usually in full bloom. I've kept them pruned to form a nice full tree shape but now they are losing leaves and looking ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Repair of broken branch stump on pecan tree July 18, 2007 Hi Mr. Smarty Plants, big fan. Recently one of my pecan trees had a large branch break off, about 4 or 5 inches in diameter. The strange part was there was no clear sign of what caused the damage, i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Juniper as host of cedar-apple rust July 17, 2007 Thanks for the helpful advice on the Eastern Red Cedar. I was wondering if you could ease my mind about a potential problem. I have read up on some of the native plants in my area in a very good book ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Advisability of trimming oak trees in August July 13, 2007 In general,what is your opinion on pruning oak trees in August? If it is positive, should the extreme moisture of this year affect the timing? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of gooseberry plant July 12, 2007 Grew up in Colorado, our yard and several near us had medium to large size deciduous shrubs that produced small (.25"-.375") red berries that were very tomato-like. Delicate with a thin skin, sligh... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Recovery from transplant shock for bougainvillea July 12, 2007 I live outside of Phoenix. I just bought a bougainvillea in a large pot. It was doing nicely until I brought it home. I placed it in a sunny spot in my front yard inside of a large volcanic rock that ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplant shock in Vacccinum corymbosum (highbush blueberry) June 28, 2007 Blueberry plants - We planted Northland and Blue Crop, 2 of each. All 4 plants have some leaves that are turning brown. This starts at the tip of the leaf, eventually encompasses the entire leaf, a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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