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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| 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 |  | |
| 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 |  | |
| When to Prune Desert Willow in Texas? March 18, 2016 I just learned I should have pruned back my desert willows. It's early March in North Texas. Is it too late to prune now? They are not leafing out yet. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Removing Center Stem From Desert Spoon (Sotol) in Phoenix March 11, 2016 I have a desert spoon. I hate the center stem. Can I remove the center stem without hurting the rest of the plant? And what is the best way to remove it? I looked for this answer in your questions bu... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Should flower stems of Texas mountain laurel be removed after they bloom? March 02, 2016 Should I trim off the old flower stems from this years bloom on a Texas Mountain Laurel? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning Wax Myrtle trees & bushes February 28, 2016 When is the best time of year to prune Wax Myrtle trees & bushes. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning overgrown Texas sage February 15, 2016 Texas sage bushes have been left to grow like mini trees. Can we have trimmed back to get a 'full' bush? Bottom 2 feet of plant look so dead. Will it sprout again as a bush if trimmed back and do... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Rejuvenating an old Wax myrtle hedge February 15, 2016 I have 8 wax myrtles that were planted about 9 years ago as a screen from our neighbors. They are about 12 feet high. During the past 9 months they are getting thinner and thinner. Two of them hav... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Evergreen privacy screen 8 feet or less January 29, 2016 In needing to plant an evergreen privacy screen, what is the tallest Ceniza variety? I'm having great difficulty finding an evergreen hedge material 8' or less. After having taken a class in pla... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Reducing the Height of a Redbud Tree January 23, 2016 We have a very large, about 15-year old, Redbud tree that is growing so tall it's obstructing our view of the river. How and when can we prune this tree back so it does not hurt the tree. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning a Martha Gonzales rose January 20, 2016 How much should I prune back an established Martha Gonzales Rose to keep healthy? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Decreasing the Height of Smooth Sumac December 09, 2015 I have a 9-10 ft. Smooth Sumac that I purchased from an LJWC plant sale several years ago. It has a main trunk and one branch about halfway up. I have read that these sumacs can be pruned down to almo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| How to prune a Lantana tree October 02, 2015 I have a potted Lantana tree that will come indoors for the winter. It is quite large and should I prune it back for the winter? If yes, how do I prune it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning Spruce Pine (Prunus glabra) September 02, 2015 I have a Pinus glabra/spruce pine that is approx. 7' tall. It's limbs are few and some have been broken. Will trimming back the longer limbs to give it a Christmas shape harm this tree? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| 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,... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning non-native peach in Austin, TX. June 18, 2015 I planted two five gallon Texas Star peach trees last February but didn't have the nerve to prune them back to knee height. After having been convinced that this is a good thing to do, I'd like to k... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cutting back a Rhododendron in Maryland June 17, 2015 I have a planting of six shrubs across the front of my house (alternating azalea & rhododendron). All have died except for one huge rhody & a small azalea next to it. Can I cut the huge rhody back to ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning Live Oak trees to limit height. June 08, 2015 I notice many of my neighbors here in Katy (Fort Bend county) would have landscapers cut the lower limbs/branches of the live oak trees in their front yards, and the trees naturally keep getting talle... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| 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? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Repairing Previous Silver Maple Pruning Damage May 09, 2015 I cut a limb off my silver maple wrong and now the trunk is developing a hole. What is the best treatment? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Non-Blooming Bridal Wreath Spirea in PA April 23, 2015 We have 12 - 15 Bridal Wreath Spirea across our backyard. We have lived here for about 10 years (the plants longer). They have always bloomed except last year (2014) several didn't bloom and this y... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Passiflora and Leucophyllum together in Texas April 23, 2015 I've got a Passiflora incarnata that has self-propagated around a cenizo sage. My question is, will the passionflower vine choke out or otherwise damage the cenizo? Do I need to cut back the vine? ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Southern Magnolia Damaged by Deer April 16, 2015 I have a young Southern Magnolia (about 6 feet tall) that was damaged by deer on the main trunk. The bottom 2 feet looks okay, but where they damaged it and tore branches off, and above that, the leav... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need to control Turk's cap in front yard in Austin, TX February 28, 2015 I have several turks cap in my front yard- they grow well, but they grown huge-high and spread out. My neighbors' are much more compact! how can I keep them in control? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning Gaura February 19, 2015 My Gaura lindheimeri is very "leggy", but is blooming well at the end of the spindly stems. Should I prune it back or leave it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Time for pruning wax myrtle in Texas January 31, 2015 We live in Houston. Can we prune back our southern wax myrtle now? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning Citrus Suckers October 06, 2014 Mr. Smarty Plants, you are the only person that has "not" insisted that the little balls on Satsuma and lemon trees were clumps of bugs. They are surely what you described in the answer to my previo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Shearing Pink Skullcaps September 21, 2014 My pink skullcap plants keep dying. The ones that are still alive are about 3 years old, but have large sections of dry twigs. Do I shear them and hope they come back or are they gone? I live in Helot... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How to Care for a Yucca after Blooming September 13, 2014 We just moved into our home and there was an existing yucca plant in the yard and it had bloomed. There was some kind of vine growing in and around it. We tried to clean out the vine but I noticed a l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning Texas Mountain Laurel September 04, 2014 I've had a Texas mountain laurel for 4 years that's being trained into a tree. I think it was a 3-year old tree when I purchased it. Unfortunately, it has suffered from overwatering, and the two mai... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | | |
| Transplanting and Pruning Callicarpa August 21, 2014 I saw the previous question about Callicarpa from the guy in Texas and I have two questions based on the response. In SW Vermont, is late fall still the best time to transplant my Callicarpas? Also, i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Lack of Blooms and Low Hanging Limbs on Mountain Laurels August 06, 2014 My mountain laurel didn't bloom this year but has a few hard pods on it. It is 9 ft tall but very top heavy with most growth low. I need to prune it a lot at the bottom because it has branches hangi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning Post Oaks July 26, 2014 I live in Houston and have two post oaks. One is right by my house. I'd like to trim them but was told they are sensitive and might die if I trim them. Is this true? What is the right course of ac... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Optimal time for trimming Fall asters July 04, 2014 RE: fall asters What is the latest date in the summer that I can trim my fall asters and still get a good amount of blooms in October? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Growing Grapes in Southern Texas on an Arbor July 02, 2014 I've redirected several grape vines (from the top third of a broken oak tree) onto an arbor. The base of the vine is about 3 or 4 inches in diameter. Is it feasible to work with (prune) the smaller b... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cuttings from beautyberry from Stockport OH May 22, 2014 My beauty berry is starting a new growth about 2ft from main plant, can I dig this and part of the root without hurting the main part, if so, when? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| 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. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| 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. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning a Young Cercis canadensis (Redbud) Tree April 05, 2014 I have a redbud tree that was transplanted when very young (five years ago). It just started budding last year. It is growing very well but the branches are low. It's like it's growing out instead o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning of non-native oxblood lilies from Austin March 27, 2014 My Oxblood Lilies flowered quite late last Fall. Their foliage is still very green. Can I cut it down now or do I have to wait until it goes brown? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Spring care for Garrya ovata from Pflugerville, TX February 24, 2014 Hello again, Mr. S-P, I planted a Mexican silktassel in April 2012 (purchased at the WFC). It has done well, but the leaves are bronzed and splotchy from this winter's freezes. All the stems are... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Live oaks lifting up sidewalks in Palm Coast FL December 12, 2013 My live oak trees roots are lifting up my side walks. Can I cut just the roots that are causing the problem without hurting the trees? Thank you. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| When should salvia greggii be pruned from Austin December 12, 2013 Should salvia greggii be pruned in fall/winter? I thought I read onsite that all woody perennials should be left untouched or pruned to 6 inches. Does this apply to salvia greggii? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning buttonbush from Pottsville PA December 10, 2013 In a formally planted park, a small area has become swampy. I have choosen to plant it with wet tolerant native plants. I would appreciate any suggestions on pruning the buttonbush [Cephalanthus occ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning lower branches of Cordia Boissieri from San Antonio December 08, 2013 My Texas Wild Olive Tree is about 6 feet high now. I bought it at the 2012 plant sale. This past summer it put on new branches near the base of the tree which I would like to cut off (to encourage u... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning Roughleaf dogwood November 28, 2013 We put 5 rough-leaf dogwoods along our side deck; having been told (by the local, natural plant seller) that they would reach a maximum height of 6 feet. They have grown taller than that (despite som... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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