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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Saturday - September 29, 2007
From: Dripping Springs, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Meadow Gardens
Title: Mowing equipment
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
My 10 acre property along a creek in N. Hays Co. includes roughly 7 acres that is a woodland / meadow mix. I want to find a mower that I can set to a 6" cutting height, yet anything smaller than a full blown tractor pulling a mowing attachment seems to be capable of a maximum 4 - 4 !/2" cutting height. Do you know of a machine capable of this sized for the small acreage homeowner?ANSWER:
Sorry, anything that involves internal combustion is way out of our line. For us to research and recommend something like this would basically be equal to recommending a product or manufacturer, which Mr. Smarty Plants and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center do not do. We would suggest you go to any large home improvement store, or even a tractor supply company, look at the possibilities and ask them the question. Obviously, they're going to be trying to sell you their particular product, but that's their job, and you can make your decision based on the information you get. And you could start with an Internet search, just to get a feel for whether such a thing is even manufactured. Good luck on your search, and when you have a question about something with roots, we're here for you.More Meadow Gardens Questions
Recreating a wildflower meadow, central Texas
July 02, 2013 - We have an acre on our property that has bluebonnets. Unfortunately, it also has other plants that we don't want -Johnson grass, nettles, burrs.
We plan to do a controlled burn in the fall and re-...
view the full question and answer
Herbicide use in bluebonnet field in Blanco, TX
April 10, 2012 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have the best of both worlds and the worst of both worlds. I’ve been throwing bluebonnet seeds for 6 years on our property near Blanco, and when it rains, as it has this year...
view the full question and answer
Wildseed Planting in a drought
September 14, 2011 - Due to the extreme drought and no rain in the near future in central Texas would it be prudent to have a wildseed planting in October?
view the full question and answer
When to harvest native grass seeds?
May 29, 2015 - We are trying to restore native grasses to a small pasture between Oak Hill and Dripping Springs. Last spring (2014), we seeded a mix of sideoats grama, little bluestem, dahl bluestem, and sprangleto...
view the full question and answer
Compatibility of mixed ground covers with St. Agustine grass
March 04, 2015 - My husband and I live in Northwest Austin. We have removed lawn from our front yard and replaced it with mulch and some trees and other plantings.
We would like to replace the lawn in our backyard ...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |