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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers Nan Hampton, Jimmy Mills and Barbara Medford to be the culpable and capable parties. Yet, others think staff members Damon Waitt, Joe Marcus and Philip Hawkins might 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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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

Questions From Near You

Webster, TX
Non-native, invasive creeping fig in Webster TX
We've recently moved into a new home in the southeast Houston area. The back of our property has a long concrete wall (gets quite a bit of sun), which we thought we could cover with a spreading vine....
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Nassau Bay, TX
Propagation of American Beautyberry
Hello. I would love to know how to propagate the American Beauty (Texas Location) as I think it is most gorgeous. We lost most of our shrubs/plants in Ike and are replacing them. If I do these from ...
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Nassau Bay, TX
Plants That Thrive Under Trees in Texas
I have a flower bed with dense shade (under a mature maple tree and a large mature bottle brush) located on the Galveston/Harris county line just off of Clear Lake. The bed has sprinklers and drains w...
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League City, TX
What insect eats Alamo Fire blue bonnets from League City TX
What insect eats Alamo Fire blue bonnets? Something seems to be eating new seedpods.
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League City, TX
Plant identification
I am trying to identify a flowering plant I saw today in Houston. Its leaves are green and it produces beautiful flowers with 4 petals that kind of remind me of a pinwheel. The petals are about 2 inch...
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League City, TX
Colony of bees nesting in sycamore
I have a very large, old sycamore tree that has recently become home to a colony of honey bees. They have taken up dwelling in a hollow limb of the tree about 25 feet off the ground. While this is gre...
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League City, TX
Damaged oaks from Hurricane Ike in League City, TX
After hurricane IKE, one of our oak trees (in front yard) was partially uprooted from the ground. We did place it back, and tie it down with supports. Further, we inserted fertilizer spikes, and give ...
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Friendswood, TX
2012 wildflower forecast from Friendswood TX
What is your current view of the 2012 Wildflower Forecast? What weeks might be best for someone traveling from Colorado to see our flowers? We are concerned about what the drought will do to the 20...
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Friendswood, TX
Privacy screen by pool in Friendswood, TX
We just moved into a new home with a pool in the backyard. We are trying to figure out what to plant along the back fence to allow for a bit of privacy; we have no direct backyard neighbors but there...
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Friendswood, TX
Problems with Savannah Holly plants in Friendswood, TX.
I have planted 4 savannah hollies in front of my house, two on the left of the door and two on the right. If you are standing in front of my house and looking at the door, the sun rises at the back l...
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Friendswood, TX
Control of Smilax bona-nox (saw greenbrier)
We have some property near Round Mountain, Texas. Under and in the oak trees is a vine that has a heart-shaped, shiny leaf and nasty thorns. I'd like to know the name and how best to try to get rid...
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Friendswood, TX
Toxicity of non-native red-tip photinia to fish from Friendswood TX
Mr. Smarty Plants, I have seen several questions on Red Tip Photinia (RTP) concerning toxicity to horses, dogs and children. We recently lost over 100 gold fish and 6 large KOI in our man made back ...
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Kemah, TX
Dying Pine Trees in Texas
I live on the water front street in Kemah, Texas. We took water in the entire neighborhood during Hurricane Ike. That's been a year ago and now I have noticed our pines trees are starting to die. I s...
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Seabrook, TX
Site restoration in Seabrook, TX
I have 2+ acres in the Seabrook/Kemah area of Texas and am planning the lawn/landscape. The property is zoned as light commercial and will have one 60X120 metal building. The rest of it is my outdoo...
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Seabrook, TX
Screen for utility box in Seabrook TX
Utility box cover: Thinking of using star jasmine on a three sided fence/trellis. Each side 3 ft sq. I can send a picture. Not sure best fence style to use or way to plant. Suggestions? Need cove...
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Seabrook, TX
Native lawn grass for Seabrook TX
We want to seed our lawn in Seabrook, Tx.77586 with a Natural Grass replacing our St. Augustine Grass. I think there is one that is drought resistant (only water it twice a month.) and that does not g...
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Seabrook, TX
Aggressive Frogfruit
I have frogfruit voluntarily growing in my flower beds. I had intended to use it as a ground cover but am concerned that it is taking over. Will it kill (smother) my flowers that I have planted for bu...
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Shoreacres, TX
Plant Identification
I have a vine in my flowerbed that has three leaves and thorns and it looks like poison ivy. How can I tell if it is?
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Pearland, TX
Selection of native trees to replace trees lost in hurricane
Hello, I have a tree replacement list I must choose from as I live in a HOA deeded area. I lost 2 pines to the hurricane. And according to them I need to replace with 2 large trees. The pines were 15 ...
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Pearland, TX
Grasses for dry bottom detention ponds
I am working on a project for my HOA in order to reduce mowing costs and to beautify our neighborhood. We were wondering if you could help us find people knowledgeable about dry bottom detention pond...
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Pearland, TX
Grasses and wildflowers for Houston meadow
I recently bought a house in a new subdivision just south of Houston - as with most new developments, the area is devoid of nature for the most part... I have planted many bird/butterfly/bee fr...
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