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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

Hochheim, TX
Eliminating straggler daisy from St. Augustine grass in Hochheim TX
I have straggler daisy in my St. Augustine grass. What herbicides work well on straggler daisy and won't ding up the grass too bad?
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Yoakum, TX
Smarty Plants on Rain-lily
What is the common lily (I think) that grows in the ditches and especially this year because of all the rain. The flower is trumpet shaped and has red stripes in the petals? Very common everywhere t...
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Gonzales, TX
Locating source for Crataegus Brazoria (Brazoria Hawthorn)
I want to purchase a Crataegus Brazoria Sarg. (Brazoria Hawthorn) but cannot find a source for one. Can you help?
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Gonzales, TX
Tool for removing live oak root shoots in Gonzales TX
I've read your answer to live oak root shoots. You said to get rid of them by going 2 to 4 inches below the surface and cutting them. What tool is best for this shoot removal? I'm getting very tir...
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Gonzales, TX
Plant identification
We found a bush on our ranch in southern Gonzales County. It has oval shaped leaves about an inch long. There are no thorns on the branches. Fruit is round and smooth, the size of a small cherry to...
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Gonzales, TX
Transplanting non-native sago palms in Gonzales, TX
How to harvest Sago palm pups. I have 2 very old sago palms and they have loads of new starts (pups) coming off of the plant. I want to cut some pups and start some new plants without harming the pare...
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Gonzales, TX
Propagation of Blackfoot Daisy from Gonzales TX
How do I propagate Melampodium leucanthum, blackfoot daisy?
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Gonzales, TX
Source for Brazoria Hawthorne
I want to buy several Brazoria Hawthorn to plant in my yard and need a source, can you help?
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Hallettsville, TX
Mountain Laurel not growing in Hallettesville, TX.
Mountain laurel has been planted over 2 years. Well drained,sandy soil, full sun. They have not grown or set blooms despite occasional all purpose fertilizers. What is wrong?
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Yorktown, TX
Sending a picture of an oak from Yorktown TX
How I can I send a pic of my oak in Yorktown near Cuero?
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Harwood, TX
Identity of yellow-flowered plant with stickers
I have yellow flowered plant taking over my lawn. I used weed killers last year and it has spread this year and still spreading. It has small burs (not as hard as a regular sticker bur but will stic...
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Flatonia, TX
Want to identify caterpillar that is stripping prickly ash in Flatonia, Tx.
What is the 5/16ths long 1/8th inch long pale opaque green caterpillar that strips prickly ash? It has tiny black dots down its spine and along each side. It has stripped two large trees? Will th...
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Luling, TX
Propagation of Mexican olive in Luling, TX
Mr. Smarty Plants: we live in Luling, just south of Austin and have a 4 year old Mexican Olive tree; question: how do we propagate this 'hard to find' tree? Thank you so much.
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Schulenburg, TX
Native wildflowers attracting bees in Schulenberg TX
What native wildflowers are honey bees attracted to?
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Victoria, TX
Mistake in propagation of Mustang grapes from Victoria TX
I didn't read first! I planted dried mustang grape seeds in good potting soil, watered and put on tall clear plastic bags to retain moisture, will they ever come up? Should I get the seed out and r...
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Victoria, TX
Problem with crapemyrtle shoots in Victoria, TX
I have a problem with crepe myrtle shoots coming up in my flowerbed. I had to remove a large crepe myrtle tree (18" diameter stump) and digging out the stump was not possible. I killed the stump wi...
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Victoria, TX
Bee Plants for Victoria Texas
I live in Victoria south Texas and want to plant bee beneficial native wildflowers, could you provide advice or contact
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Victoria, TX
No Berries on Possumhaw from Victoria, TX
I bought a Possumhaw about 4 years ago because I love red berry plants. So you can realize my disappointment in this very healthy looking green tree that refuses to give me any red berries. What is wr...
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Kingsbury, TX
Genetically altered bluebonnets?
I am trying to locate where I can purchase what I consider real bluebonnets not the genetic altered ones. The ones I am talking about are completely blue without the white tip on top. Do you have an...
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Stockdale, TX
Finicky Trumpet Vine in Stockdale Texas
I need help dealing with a very old trumpet vine. It was my grandmothers and she died in 79. It's always been beautiful till 99 when my grandmothers house burned down. It was right behind it. It cam...
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Rosanky, TX
Removing Texas cedar Juniperus ashei from Blanco River banks
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Should cedar trees be removed from our Blanco River banks to prevent them from sucking too much of our precious water before it makes it into the river system? If so, what s...
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