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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| Need for sunlight for Sophora secundiflora to bloom June 22, 2007 My mountain laurel doesn't bloom. We live in Oak Hill and planted it about seven years ago. It bloomed one year at about age three or four. Since then nothing. What can I do? It only gets indire... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Privacy plantings to replace invasive bamboo June 22, 2007 We are looking for good screening plants for our new house (the houses are very close). We like the way bamboo looks it is tall and narrow for the most part, but we do not want bamboo since it is inv... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Percentage of plants native to U.S. June 22, 2007 About 50% of the plant species in Hawaii are naturalized, invasive, aliens (from other places). What are equivalent statistics for the lower 48 states (continental US) as a whole? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Tentative identification of Ibervillea lindheimeri June 22, 2007 I live close to the Center and found a plant in the park near my house I'd like identified. It was a vine with bright red fruit on it. The fruit was about the size of a cherry tomato but was oblong... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Saprophytic fungus on mulch June 22, 2007 I just did some major landscaping in my west Austin, TX backyard. I added many native plants and mulched all of the new beds. I did this just before the heavy rains in the past two weeks. I now not... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Life expectancy for Ulmus crassifolia June 21, 2007 What is the life expectancy for a cedar elm? We live in Austin, and the tree was likely here before the house, which was built in 1939. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Propagation by seed of Capsicum annuum June 21, 2007 I have always been told that the only way that a seed from a chili pequin pepper can germinate is that it has to be eaten by a bird and passed through it's digestive system. I have heard that there i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Recognizing poison ivy June 20, 2007 I am having a difficult time identifying poison ivy. It seems so many plants look like poison ivy can you help me I don't want to kill everything but on the same hand I don't want to itch. Thanks f... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Sedges and ornamentals for shade in Bastrop County June 20, 2007 I bought a home in Elgin, TX that was owned by an elderly woman. Most of the lawn is shaded by elm or pecan trees. In the sunny areas, i got native wildflowers to grow like lantana and coneflower,... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Medicinal qualities of Monarda clinopodioides June 19, 2007 Monarda clinopodioides Gray basil beebalm Could you tell me if the above-mentioned plant is edible or has any medicinal use? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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