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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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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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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

Copper Canyon, TX
Planting time for wildflower seeds in Denton Co., TX
I live in Denton county, Texas and I purchased 2 lbs of native texas wildflower seed from the local agr. extension. Is it too late to plant now and expect flowers from my seed ? Should I plant anyway...
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Highland Village, TX
Non-native pomegranate failing to fruit from Highland Village TX
Last spring I planted a pomegranate tree (type: Wonderful) which is supposed to produce edible fruit. It had 5 or 6 absolutely beautiful blooms, but each of them dropped off and no sign of fruit. Is...
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Highland Village, TX
Evergreen hedge for Dallas-Fort Worth area
Our red tip photina hedge is slowly succumbing to black spot and we'll need to replace it within the year. (Yes, I now understand red tips come in two varieties: diseased and about to become disease...
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Flower Mound, TX
Wisteria with root rot in Flower Mound, TX
I have a wisteria that is showing rot root from an exposed wound on the side of the base. Would like to save the tree. What can I do to fix the problem.
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Flower Mound, TX
Plant ID in Flower Mound TX
I have a large native tree in the back yard, leaves resembles a live oak, but evergreen,& small white flowers in the spring, very tall vase shaped tree. It had no acorns or berries.
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Flower Mound, TX
Are These Plants Natives for Flower Mound, Texas?
We are having our flower beds reworked and these are the plants that the company is recommending to plant. I would like to know if these plants are native to our area:pink muhly grass, lythrum, lorope...
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Flower Mound, TX
Eastern red cedar as tall privacy hedge for North Texas
I live in Northern Texas, outside of Dallas, and I need a very, very tall hedge to hide the view of the neighbors car lot from our second floor. We see everything beyond his fence and it drastically ...
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Flower Mound, TX
Brown circular ring in trimmed branches of redbud tree
I have a redbud tree that was recently trimed back. When looking at the cross section of the branches, I noticed a brown circular ring. Is this a problem and if so what can I do to correct it?
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Flower Mound, TX
Wildflower seeds for trail for Eagle Scout project
I'm a boy scout with Troop 1202 in the Dallas, Texas area, planning an eagle project to benefit my local parks department. The project will be to plant native wildflowers (from seed) along a trail. ...
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Flower Mound, TX
Hedge plantings for Flower Mound, TX
Need to cover ~ 1000 linear feet with a thick hedge plant that will be ~ 8-15 ft tall, 8-12ft wide, fast growing, evergreen, drought resistant. Live in Flower Mound Tx. Researching on Red tip Photinia...
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Flower Mound, TX
Exposed area on native elm in Texas
I have an elm tree starting to show signs of dying. It has an exposed area at the trunk of the tree turning white. When it rains there is a 6-inch strip (the width of the exposed area) running up th...
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Flower Mound, TX
Tall, narrow evergreen for front of house in Flower Mound, TX
Please recommend a tall, narrow evergreen to be placed at the front corner of my house.
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Flower Mound, TX
Winter weeds in Flower Mound TX
My lawn is being overrun by winter weeds. How can I get rid of them? Should I wait until March when I put down weed and feed fertilizer?
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Flower Mound, TX
Native plants for full sun and low maintenance
I have volunteered to plant flowers/bushes around a sign at my church. I want to plant indigenous plants so the maintenance is low but I also want attractive plants. The soil is clay and the locatio...
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Corinth, TX
Cedar elm with brown leaves
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, We feel we may have limited time to save our beautiful Ceder Elm. We have many trees in our yard (Post Oaks and Cedar Elms) and have been told they are all between 50 - 75 year...
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Corinth, TX
Plants for area near saltwater pool near Dallas
Could you recommend perennial plants that would do well next to my saltwater pool just north of Dallas (Corinth) Texas?
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Corinth, TX
Drought resistant plants or flowering shrubs with pink flowers
I need a hardy, drought resistant flower or flowering shrub for my renter, who likes pink flowers. She doesn't remember to water and most likely won't do any weeding. Area is Corinth, TX.
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Flower Mound, TX
Growing bluebonnets in pot in Flower Mound TX
We received a package of bluebonnet seeds along with the DVD Wildflowers: Seeds of History as a gift. In the film, Andrea DeLong mentions that bluebonnets did not grow well in a rich organic soil. W...
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Lewisville, TX
Distance for Escarpment oak to house from Lewisville TX
I am planting an Escarpment Live Oak about 15' from my house. Thats as far away as I can plant it. Will this be a safe distance? How large will it be in 20 years?
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Lewisville, TX
Location of Indian Paintbrush in Lewisville, TX area
Know the location of any spots where Indian Paintbrushes grow in North Texas? I'm in Lewisville, about 10 miles north of Dallas.
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Lewisville, TX
Century Plant woes
My century plant was fine two weeks ago. Tonight I seen this. Not sure what is happening. It 9 years old. IMG_4716.JPG
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