Native Plants
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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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| A year and a half old live oak tree is doing poorly in Nevada, TX. May 08, 2012 We planted a live oak tree about a year and a half ago. the tree is still rather small. The leaves are of a vibrant green, however the leave have only grown through the center of the tree and not out... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| How do you stop the bark from peeling off the tree in Amarillo? May 07, 2012 How do you stop the bark from peeling off the tree? I live in Amarillo, TX. If you can't stop the progression, how do you keep the tree alive? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need to find a place to buy Western Soapberry in Paris, TX. May 05, 2012 Where is the closest place to purchase a Western Soapberry tree? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with evergreen sumac in San Antonio May 03, 2012 I planted 5 5-gallon (approximately 2 feet tall) evergreen sumac in early January. Since that time they have sprouted out new shoot with new leaves several times - every time the leaves have wilted a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Spots on bark of Mountain Ash from Engadine MI April 30, 2012 I have a mountain ash that is about 5 years old & have just noticed white, patchy, scaly looking spots on the bark. Is this something to be concerned about??? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with blueberries from Kernersville NC April 29, 2012 My blueberry plants have no leaves or scrawny ones. I have 13 plants, 5 of them are like this. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning live oak in Austin April 28, 2012 Hi, We recently purchased a house in South Austin and there is a huge Live Oak Tree about 6 feet from the back door (so so so love it!) The only real issues I have so far are: 1. Needing to trim a ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Why did my Prairie Flax plant die in Austin, TX? April 27, 2012 Hello, We planted 4 prairie flax last fall in garden. They were all growing nicely until last month when I found that one of them has completely dried up and died. The plants are planted together a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Need help with a fungal disease in oak trees in Austin, TX April 26, 2012 Two adjacent oak trees in my yard are showing distinct symptoms of Sudden Oak Death. Most notably, the lowest ten feet of their trunks have several bleeding cankers with thick, tarry ooze and no accom... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need to identify a fungus in a flower garden in Lansinging, MI. April 25, 2012 I have a fungus in my flower garden. It is white and ground hugging. It is in a moist area under a large spruce where mulch has been laid down. When I step on it , it expels a green dust. What is it a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Tilling for grass under old live oak in San Antonio April 15, 2012 Hi, I have a 250+ year old Texas Live Oak. As usual, the lawn under the tree, after 18 years needs to be redone. MY QUESTION: to put down new sod the lawn company needs to till the soil about 4 t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with yaupon from San Angelo TX April 08, 2012 We have a 3-yr-old yaupon holly entering its 3rd summer. We have put store-bought wood-chips under the tree several times since it was planted. A plant has grown under the tree, possibly out of the ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Texas wild olive tree April 05, 2012 I live in the Phoenix area. My Texas wild olive (Cordia boissieri) is about 5 years old, about 12 feet tall and has beautiful blossoms all year long. However, this past year (through all seasons... 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 |  | |
| Mountain Laurels are dying in Georgetown, TX. April 02, 2012 Ten year old Mountain Laurels both last year and this spring have had entire branches turn brown just after blooming this Feb. Round Rock Arborist suggested I contact you. Last year one of my laurels... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Hypoxylon Canker removal in Austin TX March 26, 2012 I have several oaks that appear to have been killed by Hypoxylon atropunctatum from last summer's drought. Is it safe to cut them down in March or does that risk spreading Oak Wilt too. Should I ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Black fungus on cholla cactus from Austin March 25, 2012 How to get rid of black fungus on cholla cactus? Cut it off? And treat with what? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with volunteer tree in Joshua TX February 15, 2012 I have a 'volunteer' tree which has been in our back yard for about 15 years. It has had the usual traumas, ie. lots of snow, ice, etc. but after last years drought, its bark is coming off and sev... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problem with non-native Houttuynia cordata (chameleon) January 30, 2012 I have a Houttuynia cordata chameleon plant in a clay pot. My zone is 9b and my yard is partial sun. Up until January, it was thriving. Now, it is dead. I think the cold killed it. I kept it moist at ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Live oak leaves yellowing from Denton TX January 26, 2012 In autumn of 2010 I planted 10 live oaks about 6 to 7 ft. tall. I have see that during the month of Dec. 2011 to Jan. 2012 they are showing some yellow leaves. What can I do to help them? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Habiturf installation after Take-All fungus January 24, 2012 Are other soil remedies needed (besides those listed in your Habiturf brochure) to install Habiturf on land which had a St. Augustine lawn which was decimated by take all patch. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Leaves dropping on evergreen sumac in San Antonio January 11, 2012 I have a large evergreen sumac in my back yard that started off as a small shrub 10 years ago. This summer the leaves turned red and now have dropped off. Is the plant dead? It sent out two smaller pl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Cause of trees losing bark in Arkansas December 27, 2011 I live in very rural Arkansas and we did have extreme heat this past summer and since then I have noticed several trees in the woods that have lost huge strips of their bark and I was wondering if it ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Live oak leaves turning yellow after planting in Houston December 19, 2011 We bought a 65 gallon live oak in early October, and have been watering fairly heavily three days a week. It seemed OK, then all of a sudden lots of the leaves are turning yellow. Is it getting too ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Failure to thrive of Tex-ash in Tucson AZ December 02, 2011 I planted a mature (15') Tex-Ash about a year ago. Lately more and more leaves seem to be browning and it has never filled out. I am concerned I am going to lose it if I don't get it something befor... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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