Native Plants
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
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Questions From Near You
Cibolo, TX
Brown spots in St. Augustine grass
Mr. Smarty Plants, My husband and I are in the Air Force and were recently moved to Cibolo Texas. We built a home and hired a landscaper to finish the yard May 07 (with irrigation system). We laid d...
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Cibolo, TX
Bluebonnets planted in late spring bloom, will they bloom again?
New to South Texas & we decided to plant bluebonnets around our house. The seeds were planted in late spring & we were delighted to watch them start their initial growth-cycle. They ultimately produc...
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Cibolo, TX
What is a lawn broom from Cibolo TX
Concerning gulf muhly grass you mention using a lawn broom to get rid of the dead stalks. What is a lawn broom? What does it look like? Where can I purchase one?
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Cibolo, TX
Rust-colored spots on Lantana?
Mr. Smarty Plants,
I live in Cibolo TX and my lantana plants are about 3 years old. They have done exceedingly well until this spring. The leaves have developed brown, rust colored spots and the le...
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Cibolo, TX
Problems with Texas Ash in Cibolo TX
I have a Texas Ash tree I planted two years ago. The tree was 10 feet high with thick foliage. This spring the leaves started falling off after I spread fertilizer on my yard. The end of the branches ...
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Cibolo, TX
Late winter pruning of native Texas Sage
I have several Texas Sage bushes that have started to get very woody and have growth only on the top. This seems to have led to a definite listing to one side.
Should I trim these to the ground or...
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Schertz, TX
Obtaining native plants in the Austin area from Schertz TX
Hi Mr. Smarty Plants, I went to the plant sale this past weekend, I had a good time, there was a great selection of plants. I was there at 9:00AM Sat. and when I asked for some plants than I have on ...
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Schertz, TX
Few blooms on native Bignonia capriolata (cross-vine)
I have an 8-year-old crossvine that has grown and bloomed beautifully until this year. During the winter it lost all of its lower leaves. What leaves were left had brownish-red splotches on them. It h...
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Schertz, TX
Xeriscape demonstration garden
I am working with the city of Schertz to rejuvenate a xeriscape demonstration garden. We want to plant a hummingbird/butterfly garden using native plants. The current bed is currently overrun with ber...
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Schertz, TX
Native plants for sale end of April in Schertz TX
I am trying to raise some native plants for a fund-raiser .They need to be salable by the end of April. Something with flowers would be nice. Any suggestions?
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Schertz, TX
Growing Texas mountain laurel in a pot
I have a really good friend who Mom pass away just recently and they were the best of friends. She loved her mother dearly and did tons of stuff together. Recently I posted a picture of a Mountain L...
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Schertz, TX
Keeping Bermuda out of Native Turfgrass
We live on zip code 78154. Sadly our yard has bermuda grass–we are using solarization to kill the bermuda and plant seeds of buffalograss/bluegrama/curly-mesquite. All the neighbors have bermuda and ...
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Schertz, TX
Young oak tree with dead branches
I purchased my home new a year ago and we have three young oak trees that came with the house. Two of the trees are doing great and their new leaves have grown in. One tree however still has dead le...
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Schertz, TX
What is wrong with my cross vine (Bignonia capreolata?
I have a crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) that has grown and bloomed beautifully for about 7 years. Then last year the bloom was significantly less and the bottom growth almost nonexistant. The leaves ...
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Schertz, TX
More trees to go with live oaks in Schertz TX
We moved to a new house that has two recently planted live oak trees. Other than those two little trees there is nothing else on the property. Because of what I read about the oak wilt I would like ...
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New Braunfels, TX
Will the native turf grass be a habitat for chiggers?
"Researchers create perfect Texas lawn"—Article.
No mention was made of insect issues with this new type of lawn installation. Will 'chiggers/red bugs' still be an issue?
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New Braunfels, TX
How can I distinguish Hibiscus laevis from Pavonia braziliensis in New Braunfels, TX?
How can I distinguish Hibiscus laevis (Halberdleaf Hibiscus) from Pavonia braziliensis (Brazillian Rock Rose)? Earlier this year I was given the former by a friend and former NPSOT chap...
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New Braunfels, TX
Companion plants for non-native Santolina virens
Can you recommend companion plant options for Santolina virens? The companion plant would be planted randomly and interspersed with the santolina and needs to be no taller than 12 inches because of th...
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New Braunfels, TX
Year-round ground cover for sun/shade
Looking for a native ground cover for shade and middle afternoon/evening sun. Would like it to cover all year. I planted aguga and it froze. I have two large beds (I used about 70 4in plants for ea...
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New Braunfels, TX
Plant identification of vine with hard brown bulb-shaped fruit
I was given a brown hard bulb-looking ball with rough tiny dots on it and told it comes from a vine that changes to beautiful colors and these balls hang off the vine. A lady in Houston grows them a...
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New Braunfels, TX
Deer resistant, deciduous plants for New Braunfels, TX
I have three acres of filtered sunlight/mostly shade. What deer resistant, flowering, deciduous plants are best for the New Braunfels area. I have had split leaf phyladendruns for twenty years, but th...
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