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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

Hondo, TX
How common is white blooming Mountain Laurel
Is white blooming Mountain Laurel common?
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Castroville, TX
When is it safe to mow wildflowers in Castroville, TX?
Hi Mr. Smarty Plants, My yard in Castroville, TX sprouted many wildflowers early in April. By now the Blue Bonnets are seeded and gone. However, I still have a lot of Mexican Blankets. My husba...
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Castroville, TX
Native grass lawn for San Antonio
Dear Mr Smartyplants, I live outside of San Antonio and my question is in regards to putting in a native grass lawn. What type of soil should I put down? I've sprayed herbicide and was planning on ...
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Rio Medina, TX
Managing non-native invasive creeping yellow cress in Rio Medina TX
Due to my lawn mower dying and waiting for the shop to fix it my yard got a bit overgrown. I was walking around the yard looking at the blooming wildflowers and have discovered that one of them is Ror...
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Rio Medina, TX
Forum for reporting rare plants
Hi Mr. Smarty Pants, I was wondering if there is a forum for Texans to submit sightings of native plants they find? I live in Medina County and 2 years ago had a rare native plant growing in my yard ...
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Devine, TX
Forestiera pubescens blooming in July
I have a lot of what appears to be Forestiera pubescens. They are covered with the dark blue/black berries and flowers. Apparently they are blooming again in the middle of July. I live about 35 mile...
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Bandera, TX
Deer-resistant native plants for privacy fence in Bandera, TX
I am trying to have a living privacy fence of some type of evergreen shrubs that would grow about 6ft tall and that would be deer resistant. It would be good if didn't need a lot of maintenance. Do y...
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Bandera, TX
Failure to thrive of Lantanas
Here at work we have 4 beautiful yellow Santanas(should I say had), the leaves have started to turn brown and no longer blooming. Appears to have a fungus or disease. Please help!
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Bandera, TX
Propagating a white cultivar of Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora
I am trying to propagate a white cultivar of the Texas Mountain Laurel. I plan to use bee sticks and pollinate the plant. Are the plants self fruiting or do I need to find another white mountain laure...
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Bandera, TX
Clicking heard under an Oak in near Bandera, TX
Hi, I live on a ranch in TX outside of Bandera. We're covered with live oaks, spanish oak and cedar. Last week,as I stood under an oak, I heard a constant fairly loud clicking sound under and around ...
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Bandera, TX
Need to know about little brown spots on Texas Mountain Laurel
I have little brown spots on my Texas Mountain Laurel leaves. I can email you a picture if needed. What could it be and how can I help my little laurels work thru these spots? The texas mountain ...
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Bandera, TX
Deer resistant shade plants for Southern Texas
Looking for low shrubs and flowers that will grow in full shade and that would be mostly deer resistant. North facing front of our house.
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Bandera, TX
killing clover in Bandera
How may one kill clover while not killing native wild flowers in one's lawn?
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Utopia, TX
Blackened leaves on purple sage in Utopia TX
I live in Utopia Texas and have a 5-ft. Texas Purple Sage that has developed a black appearance on the leaves. What is this and what can I do about it?
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Utopia, TX
Grassburs in native lawn in Utopia TX
I recently planted native Texas grass (Buffalograss, blue grama & curly mesquite) at my new house in the hill country. I had to bring in all the top soil. The grass is doing great, but in one area o...
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utopia, TX
Why are branches falling from my pecan trees?
I have tree branches falling that appear to have been cut, not broken,off the tree. Seen most on the pecan trees but had a young red bud die with what appears a clean cut of the trunk approx. 2 feet ...
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Utopia, TX
Pruning Texas madrone trees from Utopia TX
I have a number of large Texas Madrone trees on my ranch in Utopia Texas. A few of them have dead limbs and I was wondering whether I should cut off the dead limbs or just leave the tree alone. I wa...
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Utopia, TX
Fertilizing Newly Planted Trees
Back in November, I planted 20 trees on rocky, caliche slopes around my house outside of Utopia, Texas. The trees were 45 gallon Monterrey Oaks and Texas Redbuds. I have also installed a drip irriga...
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Utopia, TX
Source for information on Habiturf from Utopia, TX
During a recent Central Texas Gardener TV show, someone from the Center mentioned that your Habiturf was going to be available as sod from someone in the San Antonio area this spring. Is that true an...
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Utopia, TX
Native grasses for Uvalde Co., Texas
I plan on seeding a new yard in the Utopia area in central Texas with a combination of Texas native grasses (Buffalograss, Blue Grama & Curly Mesquite). When can I broadcast the seeds..how warm shoul...
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Utopia, TX
Identification of plant, probably Eryngium leavenworthii (Leavenworths eryngo)
burr like bloom shaped like small pineapple,purple in color,grows in a cluster on single stem,dries well
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