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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| Wildflower meadow on former cattle pasture in North Carolina May 17, 2005 We have purchased approximately 7 acres of land in North Carolina. A neighbor has been using the land for grazing his cows, but I hope to plant it with wildflowers once we've built a small house. W... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cut wildflowers for wedding in June in Panola Co., TX May 17, 2005 I need fresh picked Texas wildflowers for my son's wedding dinner on June 3. The wedding is in Carthage, Panola Co, Tx. I'm from Austin and am not familiar with that vicinity. What flowers should b... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Texas native wildflowers viable in Michigan May 14, 2005 Can you tell me what wildflowers native to Texas would also thrive in Michigan?? I'd like to surprise a "transplant". View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native, durable, drought tolerant grasses for Amarillo, TX May 13, 2005 Are there any kinds of native grasses that are drought tolerant, durable and able to survive heavy foot traffic, and native to the Amarillo, Texas area? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Invasiveness of non-native gooseneck yellow loosetrife in Maine May 12, 2005 I live in Maine, and purple loosestrife is invading our habitat. It outcompetes native species. Does gooseneck loosestrife have the same damaging qualities? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| More on bluebonnets May 12, 2005 My bluebonnet plants have seed pods (I guess they are, they look like pods of snap peas). Can I collect these or do I just leave them alone and hope they multiply? If I can collect them, what is the ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Copper beech May 12, 2005 Hi, I work for a youth camp in southeastern Pennsylvania. The property for the camp was purchased from a farmer in 1958. The farmer was a collecter of unusual trees and one of the trees on our prop... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| When to mow bluebonnets May 12, 2005 I have approx. 2 acres on the side and front of my house in Austin County. When can I mow the remaining high grass and not disturb the natural renewal? Also, I plan to purchase more bluebonnet seed ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Sources for native plants astragalus and acerola May 12, 2005 Where can I get a plant of astragalus as well as acerola? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Perennial plants native to northeastern Pennsylvania May 12, 2005 What perennial plants are native to northeastern Pennsylvania? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on vitex May 12, 2005 I recently purchased a vitex tree and I don't know anything about it other that it blooms. Can you tell me everything there is about this tree? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Wildflower seeds planted in May for summer in Fairfield, TX May 12, 2005 Are there any wildflower seeds which can be planted in May for the summer? I have planted a wildgrass seed mixture I purchased from Turner Seed Company and planted it today (5-2-05). It was supposed... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on Rohel’s saxifrage May 11, 2005 Hi, can you help? Do you know what is a plant named: Rohel’s saxifrage? "Bulgaria - Cenral Balkan National Park - Kozya Stena (Chamois Wall) Reserve was established on December 22, 1987. With an a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yellow Indian paintbrush, Castilleja indivisa May 09, 2005 Does entireleaf Indian paintbrush, Castilleja indivisa, come in yellow in the wild? I have Indian paintbrush in the front pasture and noticed last weekend that there were 5 or 6 that were light yellow... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Propagation of Emory Oak acorns May 08, 2005 Dear Wildflower Experts, By any chance do you know how we could obtain some Emory Oak acorns to plant on our farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland? I know it’s not a given that the trees would grow... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Seeds of mayflower May 03, 2005 Although I now live in Virginia, I grew up in eastern South Dakota. Several years ago while visiting SD I was walking in the pasture and noticed that many of the wild mayflowers (pasqueflowers) had ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on Herbertia lahue May 03, 2005 Herbertia lahue is now blooming in Russ Pitman Park in Bellaire, TX. Below is a story about it. I heard that the plant is a protected species, but I could not find anything to confirm that. Could y... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Huisache blooms when freeze is over May 02, 2005 I live in San Antonio, TX and have heard that when the Huisache blooms all danger of frost or freeze is over. Is that true? And, this year to date (April 22, 2005) we have not seen the Huisache bloo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Texas native mulberry tree May 01, 2005 My family recently moved to Kyle, TX (north of San Marcos, south of Austin). I am delighted to discover a dewberry tree in our yard. I have never heard of such a thing. Is this a common species?... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native plant initiatives for universities in Southeast U.S. April 26, 2005 Hello, I am an undergraduate student majoring in botany at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN. I am a native plant enthusiast and would like to promote n.p.'s on campus. Do you kn... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Prairie Paintbrush and Managing Roadsides April 26, 2005 I have been visiting a piece of land beside I-35 for quite a few years now. It is home to tons of different plants, but it really has a fantastic show of Prairie Paintbrush - the multicolored ones, n... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on Plant Identification April 25, 2005 We bought our house last October and there were beautiful pink flowers blooming along our sidewalk. They bloomed until past Thanksgiving. They resembled Azaleas but we don't know what they were. Th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Germination and propagation of bluebonnets April 25, 2005 I live in Austin. Last fall I spread a load of dirt on my lawn to provide soil contact for the 2 pounds of bluebonnet seeds I subsequently spread (this was in early November). The germination rate a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on Texas cherry tomato April 24, 2005 We just bought 2 Texas cherry tomato plants at the plant sale. We have to container garden in a walled courtyard due to deer. (Would deer be attracted to the plants in a garden with herbs and high de... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Keys for identification of native plants in Ohio April 22, 2005 Do you know of any good web sites that provide keys for the identification of native plants? I'm conducting a wetland plant inventory in southwestern Ohio. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on Blue Cohosh April 21, 2005 I acquired a potted plant of Blue Cohosh at a sale. My question is where can I plant it? I live in Seattle but also garden in Zone 5 at Lake Wenatchee Washington. Shade or sun? How hardy is it? ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Cutting back, pruning and dividing native plants April 21, 2005 I am wanting to cut back, or prune, and divide many of my native plants but don't know how. What should I do? I bought them all at the native plant sale at the center last fall. We have a family ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Source of seeds for Penstemon murrayanus April 20, 2005 Is it possible to obtain seeds of Penstemon murrayanus? I'd like to contribute to the propagation of this threatened species. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Methods of controlling poison ivy April 19, 2005 What do you suggest for controlling poison oak (ivy)? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Treatment of mealy bugs on house plants April 19, 2005 I have some house plants that have a "fungi" that has appeared and spread from one to the others. I believe it is killing the plants. It is a white fuzz the is sticky to the touch. when i whip it... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Optimum pruning time for butterfly garden April 18, 2005 I am planting a butterfly garden that I would like to be pretty as well as beneficial for butterflies. If I am going to have both host plants and nectar plants in the garden and the butterflies will b... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Asters bloom period April 16, 2005 When do the asters bloom? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Bare feet-friendly native groundcovers for New York April 14, 2005 We own land at elevation 1600', near Sherburn, NY. We want to walk barefoot around the tipi area, but don't want to plant grass (mowing grass). What native ground cover would be kind to bare feet ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Galls on live oak trees in Austin, TX April 14, 2005 I am a resident of a condominium complex in Austin that has numerous Live Oak trees. Can you explain what the gall type things are hanging from the trees at this time of year and all over the grounds?... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on teddy bear vine April 13, 2005 I am looking for a plant called teddy bear vine. The scientific name is Cyanotis kewensis. I had one a long time ago (20+ years) and I loved it, but I can't find another one or find out whe... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Differentiating between Spiraea betulifolia and Spiraea japonica April 12, 2005 How can I tell the difference between Spiraea betulifolia var. corymbosa (an imperiled species) and Spiraea japonica (an invasive species) in the wild? They both seem to be the same size, color, habi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on Rain-lily April 12, 2005 What is the common lily (I think) that grows in the ditches and especially this year because of all the rain. The flower is trumpet shaped and has red stripes in the petals? Very common everywhere t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Smarty Plants on southern magnolia April 11, 2005 I live in East Texas and there are two 50-year-old southern magnolia trees in front of my house on the highway right-of-way marked to be destroyed. The Texas Department of Transportation has allowed t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Smarty Plants on spines April 09, 2005 What do you call part of a plant that is needle-like or has spikes or bristles? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Health of pond cypress April 08, 2005 Is there a common reason pond cypress trees vary greatly in their apparent health in similar conditions? I have 7 of them on my property, only two look healthy, one died and fell down recently. The lo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Wildlife habitat in Gambia April 06, 2005 Thank you for the interesting website. We bought a plot in the Gambia and would like to change it into a habitat for different living species; hence, your kindly advise is welcome as we are definitel... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Information on wildflower programs in cities and states April 06, 2005 I am moving to a new town in a few weeks and am interested in starting a program to beautify the community using wildflowers. I've been interested in this for quite some time, but the opportunity ha... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Possibility of survival of Genus Castilleja in Wisconsin April 04, 2005 In traveling through Texas last week we noticed many many little orange flowers which are absolutely fascinating. I found a picture of that flower in your website for Wildflower Days 2005 in the to... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Genetics reason for color variation in Indian paintbrush April 03, 2005 Are the color variations in Indian paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa) a matter of genetic mutation or minerals in the soil? I say it's genetic and the rest of the family says it's environmental. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Where is marijuana plant native? April 03, 2005 In what part of the world is the marijuana plant native? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on thousand year old interrupted fern April 03, 2005 We recently built a new home in the mountains of western Virginia. I am told by the local Botanist that there is a patch of "thousand year old interrupted fern" that runs through, among other pla... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Duck-resistant plants for pond in California March 31, 2005 I want to plant around a water pond and I need some plants that my ducks will not destroy. Please help. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removal of invasive mints March 30, 2005 How do I remove common mint from my garden? I removed the previous years plants and tilled the soil. This year they came back more than before. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pustules on geranium March 28, 2005 I have a geranium that has developed oblong red/brown pustules/raised bumps on the undersides of the lower leaves. The foliage around the bumps is stil green but everything else has yellowed View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Propagation of Indian Paintbrush March 28, 2005 I have tried for years to propagate Indian Paintbrush and have had no luck-started inside or outside in the fall down't seem to matter. What can I do to get them to grow? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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