Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty 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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| topic | question | |
| Questions about hollyhocks and yucca May 25, 2016 I have 2 questions. In Western N.Y. State the hollyhocks grow like weeds but add color with their large stalks. I've sent for seeds and the best I can do in N.W.Travis county is 9 inch plants that die... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Century Plant woes May 04, 2016 My century plant was fine two weeks ago. Tonight I seen this. Not sure what is happening. It 9 years old. IMG_4716.JPG View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Growing Native Cactus Indoors in Dallas December 17, 2015 I have a Chihuahuan fishhook cactus (Sclerocactus uncinatus), a pincushion cactus (Epithelantha micromeris) and a horse crippler (Echinocactus texensis), which I bring in for the winter, since they te... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Puncture wound from Blue Agave leaf. October 19, 2015 A blue agave leave went through my glove and into my hand. It's swelled up a bit and hurts. Is this just a passing thing. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Opuntia drooping in Austin, TX September 02, 2015 I planted an optunia spp. in March. It has nearly tripled in size. This week, I noticed the entire plant has started to droop. Temperatures have been very high with no rain for weeks. The cactus is... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| White spotting on prickly pear cactus July 28, 2015 Hello- I have large prickly pear cacti and just noticed large white spotting on some of the leaves. I also see some black bugs and apparently they are the problem.They are about 1/4" long. How can I ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yucca Blossoming in Minneapolis MN July 07, 2015 I have 4 yr old yucca that sent out a five foot spike with flowers! I live in Minneapolis; is this unusual ? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Need to have an Agave plant removed in Austin, TX. July 01, 2015 I was wondering where or who could I have come to my business and buy my century agave plant. As it is growing crazy and we would like it removed. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Twist-leaf Yucca flowering in Burnet County, TX. June 16, 2015 I recently moved to Burnet County and our property is full of twist leaf yuccas which are now blooming, but not all are blooming. Why do some twist leaf yuccas bloom and others don't? Are they m... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Will cochineal insects washed from cactus plants harm adjacent Oleander? June 11, 2015 Will mealybugs (cochineal insects) power washed off prickly pear cactus harm adjacent oleander plants if the white fluff gets on the oleander? My neighbor asked me to power wash my prickly pears and t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Agave attenuata Poisonous? March 12, 2015 Is Agave attenuata (foxtail agave) poisonous to horses or humans? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Skin Reaction form Cochineal on Prickly Pear February 16, 2015 I have severe burning and peeling skin on pads of fingers after touching "white stuff" on a prickly pear. White stuff tuned purple then burned skin even after washing hands. Skin has been cracking a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Will Sotol (Dasylirion wheeleri thrive in caliche soil? December 02, 2014 I live on a high hill in the Hamilton Pool area outside of Austin. I am looking to plant a Dasylirion wheeleri that I grew from seed collected in New Mexico aria East Of Soccoro. I am wondering if the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems on Prickly Pear Cactus in Illinois November 19, 2014 I have a fungus on my prickly pear cactus that is not a bug. I tested it and my fingers didn't turn red when I squeezed them. So how do I get rid of this as it is spreading to my other cacti? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Propagation of Agave suckers November 18, 2014 I'm trying to transplant Dragon Toes Agave suckers. Is this similar to other agave pup transplants? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need help with century plant in Willis, TX September 21, 2014 Ok so I have two gorgeously monstrous century plants in my yard..I love em BUT I don't know if the have ever bloomed but since I am removing pups as fast as I can during the rainy season I'm assumin... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Night-Blooming Cereus not Blooming September 04, 2014 I have a plant called a night-blooming cereus, which during the warm season, is supposed to have blooms that come out at night and close up but don't fall off when morning approaches. But my cereus h... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Can non-native Epiphyllum (Orchid Cactus) be grown in Round Rock, Texas? July 01, 2014 Can the Epiphyllum (Orchid Cactus) be grown in the Round Rock Texas area or is this area too hot for it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Container plant in difficult sun exposure from Leander TX June 06, 2014 HELP!!!! I have a large Mexican terracotta pot on my front porch. This awkward area is facing westward, so receives the full dose of Texas sun after about 3 pm onward. Now here's the catch; my fr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Unidentified stalk, possibly manfreda, from San Marcos TX May 23, 2014 I had a very weird stalk pop up in my yard in San Marcos TX this month (May 2014) It bloomed very quickly and appears to be a manfreda but there is no rosette, or leaves of any kind - just the thick o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problem garden strip in Austin May 22, 2014 Currently I live in the west half of a duplex. There is a small strip of dirt about two feet wide between the wall and the sidewalk in the backyard. It faces west, meaning it only gets sunlight duri... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Hanging plants for Austin, TX May 18, 2014 I'm looking for a hanging potted flower suggestion for Austin. Most locations are shaded under a large tree, but some locations may have several hours of afternoon sun. I'd love to see some hummin... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Propagation of an agave from Dripping Springs TX April 30, 2014 Hi there, I have a Century Agave in my backyard. It is over 6 feet tall and is now producing the center stalk. I understand that means the plant is going to die. My question is how to harvest the pups... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Source for DNA sequencing of Opuntia species March 04, 2014 Hi Mr. Smarty Plants, I am trying to do a Opuntia speciation study, and rather just identifying the species by morphological comparison, I would also like to go a little deeper by comparing the DNA... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Damage to Yucca rostrata from Nottingham, England February 26, 2014 Hi, I have a yucca rostrata which has had its head snapped off in high winds (we live in Nottingham, England) we have left the trunk in the ground, will this re grow?? What is the best thing to do wit... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Debugging and Preserving Dried Cholla Cactus January 04, 2014 Hi. Recently found an intact skeleton of a cholla cactus. I want to Bring it in our house. Are there any dangers associated with this, like bugs inside the "branches?" how would you suggest I prese... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Both large and small Century plants putting up stems from Cayucos CA November 18, 2013 I have a Century Plant that is sending up a stem. I am excited to see it bloom. I noticed that one of the small pups, about 4 inches tall, is also sending up a stem. I have not found a mention of pups... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Correction of tree name from Bay Point CA October 16, 2013 The tree should of been Mulberry don't know how it was changed!! Tuesday - October 15, 2013 From: Bay Point, CA Region: California Topic: Non-Natives, Cacti and Succulents, Trees Title: Non-... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native jade plants and spider plants beneath Mayberry tree in Bay Point CA October 15, 2013 I have a fruitless Mayberry in my back yard that's about 50/50' can I plant jade and spider plants under it? The tree is very healthy. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Growth of yucca from seed pods from Saginaw MI October 05, 2013 How do you grow a yucca plant from the pods? Do I need to dry out the pods first? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Overwintering Yucca Seedlings in Illinois October 02, 2013 I have many yucca seedlings I started this year. My question is what do I need to do with them to overwinter here in Northern Illinois and when do I plant them in the ground for best chances of survi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Do flowers on century plants grow century plants from Huachuca City AZ September 06, 2013 The flowers on century plants: can they "grow" century plants? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Bringing upright a leaning cholla cactus August 29, 2013 I have a 3 ft. tall Cylindropuntia bigelovii that fell over after recent rains. I righted it and supported it with garden stakes for about a month. I was afraid to pull too hard on the low... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Shriveling agave from Miami Florida August 23, 2013 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Most upset - My beautiful agave (wish I could have submitted an image) has stared to misbehave. The once first liquid filled leaves, are starting to look more like the skin ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Taking down a Century Plant blooming stalk from Fair Oaks Branch TX August 09, 2013 Our century cactus looks like it's in the final stages of blooming and I read on your site that the original plant dies. Can we go ahead and cut down the tall blooms? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Killing a century plant from Burton TX August 08, 2013 How do you kill the century plant, they are taking over? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Replacements for yuccas from Georgetown TX August 07, 2013 I have lost some softleaf and variegated yucca to a beetle grub destroying the root system - like the Agave snout beetle does. I have put an insecticidal drench on my remaining plants, but suspect wi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Bloom stalk not visibly connected to Century Plant from Johnson City, TX July 31, 2013 Can anyone tell my why my Century Plant is growing a bloom stalk a couple of feet away from my plant instead of up through the middle? Ive never seen one do that and it strikes me as being rather odd! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | | |
| Plants for hanging flower boxes from Austin July 27, 2013 I have two long flower boxes 17" x 15" x 25 feet long one on the north side of the apt and one on the south made of metal suspended about four feet from the ground. One will get the morning sun and ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Controlling agave pups from Galveston, TX July 26, 2013 I live in Galveston, Tx.I have several large 5ft tall century plants in my yard and the pups are coming up everywhere..how do I control these??? HELP!! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Soaptree yucca falling over in Mesa AZ July 24, 2013 My soaptree yucca is about 5 ft tall and has fallen over. Does this plant require staking for I thought not, or is something else going on with it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Non-blooming yuccas in Brooklyn CT July 14, 2013 I have outdoor yucca plants that don't flower - - in full sun. Why? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Century plant leaves yellowing from Magnolia TX July 04, 2013 The leaves on my large Agave/Century plant are turning yellow. The bottom leaves, touching the ground are dying. Plant is 5.5" tall, 6" across & approx 10 yrs old. Recently we put red mulch around t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| How to Control White Fungus on Prickly Pear Cactus? July 04, 2013 Is there any kind of spray for our prickly pear that will help with the white fungus that has appeared on it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for area around salt water pool June 27, 2013 What are some plants that will grow around my salt water pool where there is some salt water runoff occasionally. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Ingestion of agave sap from Albuquerque NM June 11, 2013 My boyfriend was out in the Arizona desert without water for two days and sought moisture through what he thought was a yucca plant but instead we believe was agave. He sucked the moisture off the ins... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Black rot at center of Agave from Clovis CA May 12, 2013 We have some beautiful variegated "Green & Cream" Agave plants in our cactus garden. One in particular has done quite well for several years and is the largest, about 18" tall & across, it has neve... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Container plants for Yakima WA May 11, 2013 My condo complex has purchased large, pottery pots for around our pool. I need to choose low maintenance plants. hopefully something that takes limited water, etc. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removing grassy weeds from cactus garden in Corpus Christi TX May 07, 2013 How do you get grassy weeds out of a cactus garden? I don't want to use roundup around the cacti? Can you recommend a herbicide that won't harm the cactus? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cat eating yucca stalks in England May 07, 2013 Is it safe for my cat to eat yucca as she is being sick and its hard to stop her View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | | |
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