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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!

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Questions From Near You

Austin, TX
Native plants for limestone ledge with thin soil in Austin, TX
My back yard is essentially a limestone ledge with less than an inch of soil on the top in full sun. What native plants can live in this environment? Since I can't really dig a hole, maybe I should...
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Austin, TX
Possibility of native plants as natural mosquito repellants
I live in Austin Texas and have what I would consider a mosquito infestation in my garden for most of the year. Are there native plants to this region that are proven to be naturally mosquito repella...
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Austin, TX
Cherry laurels next to retaining wall in Austin
My neigbors have 2 cherry laurel trees in their back yard planted within 4 feet of my retaining wall and fence. I am worried the root system will damage my retaining wall. The branches are already pus...
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Austin , TX
Crape myrtle in Austin
Please don't bother to answer my question about how to treat a crepe myrtle with sticky stuff falling from it. I just found the answer on your site. Good site, by the way.
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Austin , TX
Best planting time for wildflower seeds in Austin, TX
When would be the best time to plant wild flower seeds and mow an area where we want to grow wild flowers in Austin Texas?
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Austin, TX
When to move eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides)
I have a huge Eastern gamagrass clump that I need to move. What is the best time of year to transplant native grasses
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Austin, TX
Replacement trees for southwest facing backyard in Austin, TX.
The back of the house we are purchasing faces southwest and is completely devoid of large shade trees. I have been told that the previously existing trees were destroyed by oak wilt. I am in love wi...
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Austin, TX
Improving blooming on mock orange
I have a now 6 yr. old mock orange shrub in the garden which has never bloomed, darn it. I have fed, not fed, mulched, not mulched, sheared, not sheared. What gives? Will it ever bloom, or shall I ...
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Austin, TX
Native Groundcover for High Activity Location in Austin, TX
Howdy! We live in South Austin and have a smallish backyard that we're perennially working on. We have two young, very active dogs that spend a lot of time RUNNING and we never can keep ground cover ...
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Austin, TX
Planting from pots in summer in Austin
It's the last week in June and temperatures are going to be at 100 or more all week. I've some plants that I'm wondering about transplanting to an exposed site in this heat: muhlenbergeria lindheim...
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Austin, TX
Assessment of Turffalo variety of buffalo grass (Bouteloua dachtyloides)
Dear Mr.Smarty Plants, Now its March 2008, and your trial installation of Turfallo has had a year to prove itself; I'm interested to know your opinion of Turfallo Grass. There are such good e-c...
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Austin, TX
Evergreen shrub for part shade in Austin
I am planning a pocket prairie on the north side of my house. Where I am struggling is finding an evergreen shrub that will grow about 6-8', be native and provide semi-privacy in front of a bedroom ...
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austin, TX
Diagnosis of problem and treatment of damaged Cedar Elm
Part of our mature Cedar Elm looked damaged last summer. We were advised by a landscape designer to spray it with Kocide in late January as a treatment. Is there an alternative to this? Should we h...
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Austin, TX
Protecting plants from birds near bird feeder
I am happy to have several cardinal pairs living in my yard, but I need to discourage them from eating & destroying my purple heart planted under the huge cedar that holds my bird feeders. The cardina...
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Austin, TX
Deer-resistant Texas native flowers and bushes from Austin
What are some Texas native flowers and bushes that are deer resistant?
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Austin, TX
Container Gardening with Texas Native Plants
I live in an apartment in Austin, Texas and want adorn my balcony with a window box this spring. Could you recommend flowers that I could plant that do not need a lot of space to flourish? Also how ma...
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Austin , TX
Native trees and wildflowers for acreage near San Marcos, TX
We are moving to 4 acres between Lockhart & San Marcos TX. The soil is a kind of gummy black clay. Elms, mesquite and grasses seem to grow well in it. What native trees and wildflowers would do wel...
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Austin, TX
Control of sooty mold from aphids in Crape Myrtle
I have a crape myrtle in my front flower bed that has a sooty black substance on the leaves and trunk. I've done research and understand this is caused by aphids. My question is how do I get the bl...
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Austin, TX
Finding bloom time on "Explore Plants" feature of website
In using your 'Explore Plants' feature, I have noticed that you can search for plants according to their bloom time, but when looking at a specific species' page, I have not been able to discover t...
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Austin, TX
Green worms on salvias
I recently bought a "salvia blue chiquita." Some leaves were yellowing, but full of flowers and still attractive. Have had it on my deck for less than a week and have found 2 tiny greenish "worms...
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Austin, TX
Blackfoot daisy declining in Austin
My Blackfoot Daisies have grown large, bushy, have bloomed well over the past two summers. Now parts of the plants are drying up, dying. Will pruning out the dead parts help the plants to survive, or ...
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