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
Tuesday - September 02, 2008
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Diseases and Disorders
Title: Problems with lantanas in Austin
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Lantanas redux! I'm having similar problems with my Lantana here in Austin, Texas, as the person in Bandera. My husband has cut it back to the ground twice this summer. It returns, beautiful vibrant, full of blooms for several weeks, then succumbs again, not to bugs, it seems to me, but rather to some sort of fungus that turns the leaves brownish gray and curls them up. Whatever this is has also affected our Texas sage bushes, one of which (not so incidentally, the one closest to the lantana) has not come back. The other three Texas sages were cut back to the ground and are trying to come back again. So what do you recommend for fungus?ANSWER:
Sorry, we may have already told you all we know about lantana diseases in our previous answer. We would not recommend a fungus treatment until you know for sure it is a fungus. Often, the honeydew left by aphids will become a host for fungi. They can be at least partially controlled by a good hard spray of water. However, we neither recommend for nor against any kind of pesticide, but would like to suggest that you contact the Travis County Extension office for possible information and help.More Diseases and Disorders Questions
Will damage to live oak root make it more susceptible to oak wilt
December 24, 2012 - Hi. I knicked the root of a live oak when digging. Will this hurt the tree and make it more succeptible to wilt? Is there something I can use to protect the exposed part of the root and make it les...
view the full question and answer
Non-native red-tip photinias dying in San Antonio
August 20, 2009 - A 17 year old Red tip Photinia in a hedge shows signs of dying. The main stalks are quite large and offshoots from two of the stalks have brittle, drooping leaves. The center of the plant looks norm...
view the full question and answer
Native Annual Plant Substitute for Impatiens
May 11, 2013 - What can be used as an annual flowering plant to substitute for the diseased impatiens? Is Vinca one you would suggest?
view the full question and answer
Problem with American Beautyberry in Houston.
July 02, 2014 - My American Beautyberry is dying one branch at a time. The entire plant looks great, now flowering and starting to put out berries. Then one or two branches will completely die. Trim those off, wi...
view the full question and answer
Live oak leaves not dropping from Austin
April 29, 2014 - We had a 65 gallon live oak planted last October. We watered it regularly and it was green all through the winter. In March the leaves started to turn brown but never dropped, as they should have.
...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |