Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members 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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Smarty Plants Question Topics
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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| Trimming of penstemon after bloooming from Austin April 30, 2012 I planted a penstemon in my backyard last fall and it's doing great. Once the flowers have bloomed, do I cut the stalk back? It is about 2 ft tall and doesn't appear to be doing anything. I belie... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Seeds of agave attenuata from San Diego CA April 16, 2012 After the agave attenuata bloom dried up there are seeds like thing hanging on the foxtail; do I leave it until it dies or do I chop that down. Are those seeds for propagation. The leaves of the plan... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Red oaks that didn't drop leaves in Austin April 04, 2012 I have a number of Red Oaks on land that did not drop leaves this past fall. Now these same trees seem to be dead? It seems there's some type of mold/fungus on the trees. Some trees have small patche... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Flowers for days on end in California March 30, 2012 What are some plants or flowers that I can grow "all-year" in California? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Is a yucca going to have a stalk from Sylvania OH March 15, 2012 Hi, I was wondering if the stalk on a yucca plant grows back every year after it is cut off? How to tell if it is going to have a stalk because some of my yucca's do not have one? Thank you for your ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| pruning crape myrtle (ugh, non-native) March 05, 2012 We would like to plant a Dynamite Crape myrtle in front of our front window. They grow 20' to 30'. Can I trim it each year to about 15' to 20'? Should we plant it approximately 5 feet from the ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning Agarita in the Winter February 18, 2012 I recently came upon a small grouping of agarita plants that had been somewhat choked by cedar. Having removed the cedar I noticed there were quite a lot of dead branches within the shrubs. Would Fe... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Trimming of Flame acanthus from Bastrop TX February 17, 2012 My flame acanthus never lost leaves off the bottom tier of branches this winter. With the brief warm weather and rain we've had, the top and middle tier of branches have all re-leafed. It is very l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Roots in foundation of home in Audubon NJ February 17, 2012 I live in an old house (almost 90 years old), and within the past year I have noticed in one area the concrete basement floor breaking. Today I finally made time to investigate. In these old houses ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removal of non-native invasive Ligustrum japonica from Austin February 14, 2012 I bought a house that I am slowly turning into a native garden, but as a teacher, I have a really small budget. One entire border of my backyard (30 feet) was planted with evil Ligustrum japonica. I l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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