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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

Natural bridge Caverns, TX
Caterpillars on young bluebonnet plants in Comal Co., TX
Due to much needed recent rains our bluebonnets are coming on beautifully. Today however when looking at what I thought was frost damage noticed caterpillars that start eating from the center and work...
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Garden Ridge, TX
Screening bush for shady area
I need some kind of bush that will act as an air conditioning blind. So far the deer have eaten or destroyed everything planted in the very shady mulch bed. What do you recommend?
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Garden Ridge, TX
plant labels to indicate resistance to wildfire
I have a group of students researching plants that are more fire resistant. They have learned that keeping home landscaping around a structure will help reduce the risk of a structure catching fire i...
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Garden Ridge, TX
Need a privacy screen of native plants for swimming pool in Garden Ridge, TX
We are building a pool and would like to use native plants as a screen around the fence, preferably a shrub that grows quickly to about 6 feet. Any suggestions? Thanks.
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Garden Ridge, TX
Student research on fire-resistance plant labels from Garden Ridge TX
Dear Mr. Smarty Pants, I'm a 4th grader at Garden Ridge Elementary in Comal County. I am researching fire resistant plants. Can you please tell me if most plants' tags say whether they are fire r...
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Garden Ridge, TX
Plant identification
Comal County, Texas. Trying to identify a plant found growing in Comal Co. It was growing along the ground, with long, spiky leaves, and a ball of green flowers with a dark purple/brown 5 pointed sta...
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Bulverde, TX
Junipers for restoring area in Bulverde TX
Are ashe or virginiana junipers for sale around the hill country? I would like to recreate the natural plant life that was bulldozed next to my home. Do you recommend any other types of juniper that ...
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Bulverde, TX
Non-native Sago Palm from Bulverde TX
My husband's job has taken him out of state and he left me in charge of his 27 year old sago palms, (house plants, sort of bonsai). They waited until he left and then quite perversely sprouted 3 foo...
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Bulverde, TX
It's so hot, even the Salvia greggii are sad, in Bulverde Texas
I have several Salvia greggii in large terra cotta pots. The leaves have developed a yellowish tint and are thinning. What is the best process to get them back to full green foilage?
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Bulverde, TX
Plant spacing of Cenizo in Bulverde TX
How far apart should Texas sage be planted?
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Bulverde, TX
Amendments for faster-growing trees from Bulverde TX
What faster growing trees will grow in black gumbo clay that is about 12 inches deep above caliche rock in full sun with a sprinkler system set on 1 inch/week? How many and how much amendments such...
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Bulverde, TX
Suitability of Carolina Cherry Laurel for Bulverde TX
The local Home Depot is selling Carolina Cherry Laurel Trees. They look beautiful. Is this a good tree for Bulverde TX..20 miles north of San Antonio? Can it survive? Will it be a high maintenance...
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Bulverde, TX
Trimming native salvias in January
I have heard you can trim Hot Lips, Raspberry and other salvias back severely in January, to about six inches from the ground. Is this correct?
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Bulverde, TX
Plants that will not clog lateral lines with roots
We recently had to replace the lateral lines for our septic tank because wisteria roots had clogged the drainpipes. The machinery tore up our front and side yard,and we are trying to get them back int...
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Bulverde, TX
Source for non-native Crown of Thorns from Bulverde TX
Can you please tell me where I can buy a Crown of Thorns plant in or near Bulverde, Tx.
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Bulverde, TX
Why so many acorns in Houston?
My son's home in Houston has a Live Oak. This year it has dropped MILLIONs of the seed pods. This hasn't happened in the nine years of living there. Is anything wrong with it? It looks OK but he ...
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Bulverde, TX
Salt from water softener affecting roses.
I have a water softener at my well and wonder if an accumulation of salt over time is causing problems for my roses. After several years of doing really well the branches turn brown and eventually die...
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Bulverde, TX
Golden groundsel plants or seeds for Bulverde TX
Where can I find golden groundsel, plants or seeds?
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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
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
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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