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topicquestion
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...
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Possible Herbicide Contamination of Soil
July 07, 2016
My mother will be 80 this year and lives in Houston, Texas. She has a raised bed garden near her neighbors fence. It has been there for many years. She feels that he uses Roundup for his weeds near a...
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Status of Texas Olive tree in Katy, TX
March 30, 2016
I have a Texas Olive tree and it has very few leaves. Is this normal?
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Repairing Damage to Oak Tree Bark
February 02, 2016
I have destructive horses who have torn a lot of the bark off of my oak trees. I've moved the horses from that area, but is there something I can put on the places where the bark is missing so the tr...
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Pin Oak Dropping Leaves Early
December 17, 2015
I have a large pin oak that's losing it's leaves at this time. Is this too early? I have been watering the tree during the hot, dry weather and overall the tree looks healthy and has a good crop of ...
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Causes of death to Papershell pinion pine (Pinus remota)?
December 03, 2015
Good afternoon. I did my best to review the site and have not found a comparable question - apologies if I have missed something. I own property equidistant between Leakey and Campwood off of HWY 33...
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Should Mexican milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) not be used to attract Monarch butterflies?
November 20, 2015
Should I remove Asclepias curassavica (Mexican milkweed) in my garden for threat of OE parasitic protozoan threat to Monarch butterflies? Is this threat as widespread as Chronicle implies? I had great...
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What is the black stuff growing on my thoroughwort?
October 27, 2015
What is the black stuff on my thoroughwort plant's leaves that is killing the plant?
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Precautions regarding pruning live oaks in the Austin area.
October 27, 2015
Is it still recommended that we clean pruning shears and spray wounds when pruning live oaks in the Austin area?
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Is my Crimson queen maple dying?
October 20, 2015
Is my Crimson queen maple dying if it's leaves are turning brown?
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Need help for diseased Cherry Laurel tree in Houston
October 19, 2015
A couple of weeks ago the leaves on my decade old cherry laurel began to turn brown. Now they are entirely brown. I have not changed the way in which I cared for it, but about three days ago I noticed...
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Ficus pumila on Stucco Walls
October 06, 2015
Can the creeping fig vine damage the stucco covered walls?
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Palm Leaves Turning Brown
October 03, 2015
My palm plant leaves are turning brown starting at the tip and moving down the leaf. I've changed my watering amounts, and moved it from the direct light to partial light and back. It's not by any ...
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Rejuvenating old Lindheimer muhly clumps
October 02, 2015
I've got two clumps of Lindheimer's muhly in full sun in the western (limestone) part of Austin. I'm thinking they've been there for the past 8 or so years. In the past two or three years, the g...
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Florist Gloxinia Care
October 01, 2015
Got a florist gloxinia and it was doing great for months. Went on vacation and returned; it was wilted. Think son watered it too much. Allowed it to dry. It has some new leaves forming on the very leg...
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Willow Tree with Bark and Leaves Falling Off in Missouri
October 01, 2015
My willow tree is suddenly lost leaves on 1/2 of the tree. The tree has 2 major trunks and the leaves that have fallen (all off within about 3 weeks) are on one trunk but the bark is impacted on both ...
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Need help with Wheeler's Dwarf Pittosporum
September 02, 2015
We have about five Dwarf Wheeler Pittosporum plants. All of them are mature and were doing well. I was on vacation for a week or so and when I came back I saw of each of them is plant 90% dead. The d...
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Dieback of river fern and maidenhair fern in the Texas summer
August 28, 2015
My river fern and maiden hair fern are dying back. I know it is hot, but they are in shade and watered regularly. The river fern is dying back from the tips. Any fungus or bugs I should be looking ...
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Can a Quaking aspen grow in central Texas?
August 11, 2015
I live in Austin and like the idea of a Quaking Aspen tree. I live on a creek and the tree(s) would get good sun and water. Am I crazy?
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American Beech with Brown Leaves
August 06, 2015
I have a North American beech tree in Oregon. Its leaves started out with big brown spots on the leaves and is pretty much turning all the leaves on the tree brown. What could be causing this and wha...
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Beautyberry Dying Back
August 06, 2015
I've got an American Beautyberry which I planted in the spring. It's now about 2-3 feet tall and has 3 trunks (or limbs). It's in an area which gets about 5 hours of direct sun per day and I've be...
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American beautyberry losing leaves in San Antonio
August 03, 2015
I planted 3 American beautyberry last fall, and 2 of them are doing great. All the leaves on the 3rd one suddenly started dropping about 2 weeks ago and it looks dead. I can't find anything to tell...
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Powdery Mildew on Monterrey Oak
July 30, 2015
Monterrey oak developing gray-white patches on some but not all leaves leading to wilting. could this be powdery mildew? Tree not stressed. Thanks. Best treatment?
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Red, puffy growths on Concord grape vine
July 07, 2015
I have a growth on my grapevine that is red and puffy almost looks like it is full of water. It is a Concord grapevine. I have images I can send to you! It is on the stems.
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Protecting storm-damaged pecan and black walnut trees in TX
June 29, 2015
Several trees on our property in northeast Texas were uprooted by a tornado. A pecan tree with a circumference greater than 93 inches was carried to the ground. Although it is completely horizontal,...
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Discouraging Poison Ivy
June 27, 2015
Is there a fern that discourages poison ivy from growing?
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Milky Substance on Salvia greggii
June 26, 2015
The Salvia greggii that I have in the front yard has a milky substance on it ... and the plants are not doing well. Is this some kind of fungi or disease? What can I do to "cure" it? Thank you! Lia...
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Need help with dying clumps of Cedar Sedge
June 24, 2015
Carex planostachys. This grass was planted 2 years ago in light shade. It grew well until this year. Now some clumps are dying. Others in same area look fine. No insects can be detected. Why are...
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Why are large numbers of leaves falling from my Live Oak trees in Driftwood, TX?
June 24, 2015
Today is June 6, 2015 and I have noticed that for the last week and a half, only a few live oaks out of many, have been losing large numbers of green leaves and turning brown on the ground. I cannot ...
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Dying Damianita in Blanco, TX.
June 18, 2015
My Damianita bloomed its heart out and since all the rain here in Blanco the biggest plants turned brown and look dead. I've trimmed back some and do see green stems. Will they come back? How far ...
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Various landscape problems in Omaha, NE.
June 18, 2015
Thank you for your time, sorry i cant sort this out because my issue seems to fit many but also none of the issues I've read about. Some patches of grass in my lawn have yellow spots and dying and/or...
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Red oak leaves have a swelling along the veins
June 17, 2015
I have red oaks in my back yard, approx 30 or more have a disease that are wilting the leaves. Looking at the back of the leaf there is swelling along the spines. I've gone to one nursery in town ...
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Brown spots on native oak trees
June 16, 2015
Hi, My native live oak trees are declining. The leaves have small brown spots that increase in size until the leaf dies and falls off, then the branch and then the entire limb. I have not watered the...
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Why doesn't Diervilla lonicera bloom in Wisconsin?
June 11, 2015
I have had a Diervilla lonicera in southeastern Wisconsin for at least 5 years. It has never bloomed. Why? It appears healthy.
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Central branches on Texas Ash have died
June 09, 2015
I have a Texas Ash tree that was planted about 4 years ago. It seemed fine last summer and was well watered. This spring, when it started leafing out, the central branches at the upper part of the tre...
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Need help for my Texas Persimmon in Leander, TX.
June 03, 2015
Help!! My Texas Persimmon is distressed with either bugs or infection. I'm not sure what to do. I wanted to insert a picture here, but wasn't able to. If there's a way for me to submit a picture...
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Failure of TX bluebonnets to thrive
May 28, 2015
We have had extraordinary luck with bluebonnets growing in our driveway of decomposed granite--until last year and this year. The bluebonnets seem to be drying up and wilting away. The ones in other a...
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Falling Balls from an Oak in Kingsland TX
May 25, 2015
I have a large Live Oak in the back yard, with St. Augustine grass under it. It is April 3, 2015. The leaves have fallen and now little tiny round balls are falling. I am hearing a popping noise und...
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Ostrya virginiana Compatible with Juglone
May 17, 2015
Is Ostrya virginiana sensitive to juglone?
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Willow Tree Early Leaf Fall
May 14, 2015
I have a weeping willow tree and it put out great leaves this Spring and looked great, but now here in the middle of May all the leaves are turning yellow and falling off like it does in the fall. So ...
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Texas sage losing inner leaves
May 14, 2015
I have a Texas Sage bush that on the outside is beautiful with green leaves. The inside branches (the middle) of the bush are bare of any leaves. Why?
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Mountain Laurel suffering from Spring freeze
May 12, 2015
I have a 4 1/2 ft Texas Mountain Laurel shrub in current location for several years. A hard freeze this spring killed every leaf on the tree, but the stems remained green. My other smaller Mt. Laure...
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Need to know about little brown spots on Texas Mountain Laurel
May 11, 2015
I have little brown spots on my Texas Mountain Laurel leaves. I can email you a picture if needed. What could it be and how can I help my little laurels work thru these spots? The texas mountain ...
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Elaeagnus sudden death in Waxahachie, TX
May 11, 2015
I live in North Central Texas and have eleagnus planted along my fence in full sun. Last year one dropped all it's leafs and died. The same is happening to one beside it this year. I have sprayed ...
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Shade Loving Plants for Under a Black Walnut Tree in Rochester, NY.
May 09, 2015
Please advise on plants that will grow in the shade under a black walnut tree in Rochester, NY.
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Stressed Ashe juniper is dropping needles
May 07, 2015
We have a large Ashe juniper tree in our backyard, at least 20 ft tall. This past winter/spring, several limbs have died and it's dropped a ton of leaves (clumps of "needles" really). Is it slowly ...
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Effect of heavy rains on Lindheimer Muhly
May 04, 2015
It is April 2015, in San Antonio we've had very heavy rains recently. My Lindheimer muhly, which was looking beautiful, has now turned brown all over. Is this normal or is this a problem?
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Carolina buckthorn and Neem Oil Spray Damage
April 27, 2015
It's April, I have a Carolina buckthorn that seemed to be doing well, about 8 feet tall, about 2 years old in part shade. It was putting out new leaves about a month ago and seemed to have infestati...
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Ground Arizona ash wood suitable for mulch?
April 23, 2015
We cut down a 40 year old Arizona ash tree and had the stump ground into mulch. Can we use this mulch in our vegetable garden and flower beds
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Teucrium resistant to Verticillium Wilt?
April 20, 2015
Is Teucrium frutescans, or Bush Germander resistant to Verticillium Wilt? I cannot find it on a list anywhere.
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Rust on Blackberry
April 17, 2015
I have two new blackberry bushes that I planted fall 2014. Only weeks after I planted the plant began to have rust color balls under the leaves then leaves began to die and fall off. When I returned t...
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Goldsturm Rudbeckia Stunted and Doesn't Bloom
April 16, 2015
I have Goldsturm Rudbeckia that never flowers nor gets taller than 4 inches. Meanwhile, my phlox does fantastic in the same area. This area is sand top dressed with black dirt. Please help! Goldst...
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Shrubs for Central Texas that are Verticillium Resistant
April 16, 2015
We need a list of at least a few shrubs in the 6'x3'+ size that are Verticillium Wilt resistant. We have taken out the affected Elaeagnus and would like to replace it with a screen of similar densit...
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Iris Changing Color?
April 03, 2015
I have some iris planted under a very tall tree and they bloom nicely every February. The original bulbs were given to me when I moved here to Arizona 30 years ago. They have always bloomed white. I h...
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Leucophyllum Resistant to Verticillium Wilt
March 25, 2015
I need to know which large shrubs are resistant to verticillium wilt? I believe that a few of our Elaeagnus have succumbed to this disease, but being over 15 years old, I am not positive. I am thinki...
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Mexican Lime Turning Yellow
March 25, 2015
What causes moderate yellowing of 40% of the leaves of an 8 year old Mexican Lime Tree that is booming and blooming right now with lots of thick new growth? I used a general garden fertilizer a few ...
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Dealing with live oak suckers in Central Texas
March 05, 2015
Hi, I have a couple huge Live Oak trees in my back yard. Trunks are 4' in diameter. These Live Oaks produce a lot of root sprouts/suckers. I had always head that a tree's roots feed on water/oxyg...
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Repairing the split trunk of a TX mountain laurel
February 28, 2015
I have a fairly large mountain laurel that I just realized has a split down the trunk. Is there anything I can do to save it?
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Safe Concrete Planters For Plants?
February 24, 2015
We are building low concrete walls around a patio (in Washington, DC). Can we create the walls to act as planters or will the lime leaching make the soil too inhospitable for most plants?
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Rust on Amelancier Foliage in PA
February 03, 2015
I live in Pennsylvania and have been plagued with a rust on my serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) trees over the past few years. I am unable to find very much information on this disease on the we...
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Sap oozing from trunks of Cherry Laurels in Austin, TX
January 24, 2015
I have several mature compact cherry laurels whose leaves are beginning to turn yellow. They are in raised beds, have been properly fertilized, have compost spread around them, and are properly water...
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Problems with Purple Heart in Raleigh, NC
December 24, 2014
I was hoping you could help me with an indoor/outdoor houseplant issue. I have a purple heart, that lives outside in the summers and indoors in the winters. I brought it in a few weeks ago and am no...
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Migrating Turkey tail fungus in garden in Austin, TX
November 25, 2014
I have turkey tail fungus that has migrated from a rotting elm tree stump to a part of my garden that has a healthy wax myrtle tree and other native shrubs, but no rotting tree stumps. Its presence h...
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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?
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Oak Wilt in Georgetown, TX
November 17, 2014
We have lost several live oaks to oak wilt. Another couple are dying but still have some green leaves. Is it OK to cut down these trees now or should we wait until they are entirely dead? I've heard ...
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Texas Redbud Suddenly Died in NM
November 06, 2014
We had a Texas redbud, approximately 5 1/2 years old. It had been doing great then all of a sudden after it bloomed this spring, the leaves appeared but then shriveled right away. We noticed the trunk...
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Young Bur Oak not Flourishing in Texas
November 06, 2014
We have a bur oak in our SW Travis County lawn in Texas, planted about 3 years ago as a 6-7' tree. It is now about 12' but has not "flourished". It has put out virtually no horizontal branches, an...
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Is Sabal minor juglone tolerant?
October 13, 2014
Is Sabal minor or any other small and shade tolerant palm juglone tolerant? I’d like to plant one in an area near a pecan tree but I am not sure if they will play well together.
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Why are my Rock Roses dying?
September 22, 2014
I planted several rock roses last fall. This spring they have grown wonderfully, but all of a sudden, one shriveled and died. I took it out and replaced it. Now, another is starting to shrivel. It ...
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Fuzzy Citrus Fruit on Satsuma and Lemon Trees
September 13, 2014
A man asked you about fuzzy little small fruit-like balls that looked like tiny lemons. I have huge numbers of these on both my mature Satsuma and lemon tree this year. I get 100's of really great f...
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Weeping Willow Problem in Texas
September 04, 2014
Our weeping willow's leaves are turning yellow and falling off. We are also seeing some brown, gnarly looking pods on some of the stems can you tell us what's happening?
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Problems with a Cercis (Redbud)
August 25, 2014
Half of my redbud tree is pooped out looking. On two places on the bark are areas where a few layers of bark have pulled back. In these areas there are white growths.
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Shasta Daisies without Petals
August 21, 2014
My shasta daisies do not have the white petals, only the yellow center is in bloom. There are no visible signs of insects. They get a good amount of sun - about 5 hours per day. What could be the prob...
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Recovery of water-stressed Agarita
August 11, 2014
Hello! I planted a small agarita at the end of May and then left town for six weeks. During that time it was supposed to receive weekly deep irrigations to help it establish, but it seems that som...
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Treating splits in a Cottonwood tree trunk
August 09, 2014
How to treat slipts in trunk of 4 year old Cottonwood tree.
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Pecan tree dropping dead leaves
August 02, 2014
I have a very old, tall pecan tree in my yard that has been dropping dead leaves for the last three weeks. My back yard looks like it is the Fall season. Do you have any insight on this?
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Mexican oak and red oak not looking healthy
August 02, 2014
I purchased a Mexican oak tree and I believe a red oak tree from your center about 1 year ago. Recently I've noticed that they don't look as healthy as they have been, and I just looked at the leave...
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Live oaks dropping brown leaves
August 02, 2014
We have three live oaks and one of them has been dropping quite a few brown leaves over the past two weeks. I looked at pictures of trees with oak wilt and ours do not look like the pictures. I als...
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Mountain laurel with fasciation
July 24, 2014
My Texas Mountain Laurel bush has developed several "crested branches." What causes this, is it harmful & how do I get rid of them??? Thank you!
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Gaura Plants Dying In PA
July 16, 2014
I had six gaura plants. They were beautiful last year. Now I have one that is doing well and the others are dying slowly one at a time. I don't understand this. They are on a slight slope and have ...
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Yaupon hollies dying mysteriously
July 16, 2014
I have a row of yaupon hollies (Ilex vomitoria) that I keep trimmed like a hedge. They were all healthy for many years. Two years ago one of them died and I removed it, leaving a gap in the line of h...
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Problem with American Beautyberry in Houston.
July 02, 2014
My American Beautyberry is dying one branch at a time. The entire plant looks great, now flowering and starting to put out berries. Then one or two branches will completely die. Trim those off, wi...
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Northern Catalpa Tree Doing Poorly
July 02, 2014
One of our Northern Catalpa trees appears to be dying. It is about 28 feet tall and this year only about 1/3 of it is producing leaves. It is next to our largest Catalpa tree (about 65 feet tall and a...
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Tan, rough, fan-shaped growth on mountain laurels
July 01, 2014
A tan rough fan-shaped "something" is growing at the end of the mountain laurel branch where the flowers would be .. what is it and can it harm the plant?
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Live oaks exhibiting white foam spots from Round Rock, TX
June 08, 2014
We have several native very large Live Oak in our backyard, and this summer we have noticed white foam spots on the branches. We live in Round Rock next to the Williamson County Park. The spots look...
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Problems with Copper Canyon Daisy from Austin
June 08, 2014
We had 3 copper canyon daisies. Two of them bloomed profusely last year, but only one has come back this spring. We cut them all back as instructed. When it was clear that two were not coming back, we...
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Stress on Goldenball leadtrees from Austin
June 07, 2014
I know of two separate instances where young Goldenball Lead Trees (leucena retusa) have shown symptoms of defoliation and a bleeding of white sap from sores that have developed on the bark. The first...
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Decline of sheared dwarf hollies from Rockwall TX
May 31, 2014
I have 20 year old established dwarf yaupon hollies in front of the house that I trim every year and shape the same. This year the new growth that was 2 1/2 " long I noticed the new leaves were curli...
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Mildew on phlox paniculata from Morrisville PA
May 30, 2014
My Phlox paniculata, all 7, have powdery mildew. I read about using NEEM to combat the mildew. NEEM is organic but the bottle says it is also an insecticide. The phlox are near my milkweed and gold...
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Brown leaf problem with herbaceous blooming plants from Greenfield MA
May 28, 2014
I have 3 plants cimicifuga brunette and lots of astile planted near each other. Suddenly the edges of leaves have turned brown and shriveled and spread to entire plant, all of them. It has not been ...
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Problems with non-native artichoke from El Paso, TX
May 25, 2014
I have a five year old artichoke plant in the ground that gets sun and some shade, has plenty of fertilizer and compost. Gets enough water. It has been beautiful in years past and last year had 10 a...
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Small tan balls on oak from Pipe Creek TX
May 21, 2014
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, our spanish oak is growing tan colored lumpy balls about the size and weight of a marshmallow..sometimes just one at the end of a short stem and sometimes 2-3 clumped together....
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Trimming of Escarpment Oak from Austin
May 18, 2014
We have a 2-year-old quercus fusiformis in our front yard and have been advised by some people that we need to remove the bottom branches and trim the ends of the branches that are hanging far down. ...
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Problems with transplanted Texas Madrones from Junction TX
May 13, 2014
We planted 3 little Texas madrones last year 9 - 12 inches high. 2 of them seem to have some kind of black blight along the edges of the leaves that I don't think was the result of our late freezes. ...
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Problems with non-native Banana Shrub from Houston
May 01, 2014
My 7' beloved Banana Shrub (magnolia) has white dots on top of the leaves and nasty black stuff covering the backside of the leaves. The plant is dropping leaves. What can I do to save it? I has bee...
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Live oak leaves not dropping from Austin
April 29, 2014
We had a 65 gallon live oak planted last October. We watered it regularly and it was green all through the winter. In March the leaves started to turn brown but never dropped, as they should have. ...
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Blossom end rot on non-native tomatoes from Newport RI
April 25, 2014
Can epsom salt or eggshells end blossom end rot on tomatoes?
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Non-native invasive carrot wood tree losing leaves in Alpine CA
April 22, 2014
My carrot wood tree is losing all of its leaves. The tree is about 15foot high & 13 years old. Could it be gophers? The tree was trimmed 1 year ago.
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Dying foliage on non-native Otto Luyken Laurel from Georgetown KY
April 09, 2014
I have 5 luken laurel scrubs planted around foundation. They have done very well until this last winter..the foilage is now brown and crispy. Will they come back? Do I need to prune back the damage...
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Plant mistakes from Cedar Park, TX
April 09, 2014
At our "Wilts End" in Cedar Park, TX. and are looking for a tall shrub/tree that will hide a 6-ft tall concrete wall and muffle the noise from a busy street. The wall forms a very wide-angled V shap...
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