Native Plants
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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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| Identification of tart fruit that looks like a pumpkin December 10, 2016 As a child, in Miami, Florida, in the 1950's, another child challenged me to eat a "fruit" that looked like a pumpkin. It was just a little bigger than those candy pumpkins we see now at Halloween, a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Propagating a white cultivar of Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora September 09, 2016 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Sequence of Seeding Wildflowers and Grasses in Texas July 24, 2016 In the How To article on meadow gardening, it recommends that a good chunk of your garden (50%-80%) should be native grasses. The kind mentioned in that article are typically warm season grasses. In... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Young Mexican White Oak Losing Leaves in Texas July 13, 2016 I have a 5 yr old Mexican white oak, 20 ft tall losing its leaves mostly at the top. They turn brown & fall off. It does not lose its leaves in the winter, right?. About 3 ft from the top down is bare... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Shade Tolerant Groundcover for Texas July 13, 2016 I live in Atascosa county in Pleasanton Texas, I have an abundance of Live Oak and Ash trees shading my property and need a groundcover for my backyard which is nothing but sand and where I have dogs ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Manzanita Not Growing Well July 11, 2016 Dear Mr Smarty Plants, I have a four native Dr. Hurd manzanitas growing in my yard, which I planted three years ago. Three seem quite happy with lots of foliage. The fourth has foliage only on this ye... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Promoting Monarch Habitats in Texas July 11, 2016 My parents have a 6 acre pasture in East, TX with native milkweed in it. What are the best times of year to bush hog to promote more milkweeds & do you know of any grants to help manage land for monar... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| New Lawn for a New House in Central Texas July 11, 2016 We have a new house with a barren yard. How soon can we successfully plant grass? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trees for Privacy Screening in Central Texas July 11, 2016 I live in Cedar Park, Texas and have a neighbor who likes to have parties. I need a evergreen tree/hedge that will provide privacy and sound barrier. We have some wax myrtles but they don't work. We ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Shrub for Shady Austin, Texas Backyard July 11, 2016 I am looking for a colorful shrub or bush for my drab backyard in Austin. It won't get much sun and I want something native that detracts bugs if possible. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Wildflowers for Partial Sun in East Texas July 11, 2016 I need the name of wildflowers that will tolerate partial sun and perscribe burns in East Texas (Huntsville area) pine plantations. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Drought Resistant Privacy Screen for North Side of Austin Texas House July 10, 2016 We live in the densely populated Mueller development, where there's barely 3 feet from our home to the 6 foot high privacy fence between us and the house next door. Since the houses are 2 stories, we ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for a moist, shady spot in central Texas July 08, 2016 I am looking for a plant that will grow in almost full shade with plenty of moisture along a fence. We are looking at putting down some flagstone with possibly some moss growing in between, but we don... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Spacing for a Desert Willow Tree in California July 07, 2016 How close to a house can I plant a desert willow tree? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Will Echinacea outgrow Spanish Needle? July 07, 2016 I'd like to plant some Echinacea in an area where Spanish Needle has been growing. I've pulled up the old plants, but I know there's seed there, actually everywhere in my yard! Is there any variety ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Building a Rain Garden in Dallas July 07, 2016 We are designing a rain garden to catch overflow from two large rain cisterns. We need it to be filled with plants that can live with dry and wet conditions. The garden is about 500 to 1,000 square ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removing Old Poison Ivy Vines from Pecan Trees July 07, 2016 I am in the process of cleaning up a creek bank that has very old pecan trees on it. The pecan trees have large poison ivy vines growing up the trunks. We cut one vine and when it died and fell from ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Lindheimer's Muhly Grass Seeds for Human Use? July 07, 2016 Does anyone know if Lindheimer's Muhly seeds were ever used as human food source? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Native Texas Trees from Seed for Fence Line July 07, 2016 My parents have an unirrigated fence line on their property that they want to grow evergreen screening plants along. Given the difficulty of establishing nursery grown plants in such an unirrigated a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| When to See Wisconsin Wildflowers Blooming? July 07, 2016 When is the best time for Southern Wisconsin wildflower blooming? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| When to Move Potted Plants Outside in Texas? July 07, 2016 When can I move my potted patio plants back outside? I live in Heath/ Rockwall, Texas. I have Horses tail, Croutens, and Money tree. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Planting Canary Island Date Palm in Austin, Texas July 07, 2016 I want to plant a Phoenix canariensis on the south side of my property in West Austin, in a sheltered location. We are on very shallow soil - on top of limestone. Does the plant have any chance of sur... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Grass Groundcover for Georgia Hillside July 07, 2016 I am looking for a grass to cover a hillside area down to a lake. It is mostly sunny in the spring & summer, but has no moisture except any rain that falls. I am not interested in having to mow it all... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| When Should I Prune Texas Sage? July 07, 2016 How and when do you prune Texas sage to encourage thicker foliage? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Seeding Bluebonnets in Missouri July 07, 2016 I live in St. Louis, MO and obtained a packet of Bluebonnet seeds as well as a seedling. I read up on inoculating and scarifying the seeds, but I'm unsure as to the soil I should use. I was planning ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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