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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| 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 |  | |
| 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 |  | |
| Bird Attracting Shrub for NH July 03, 2016 I am trying to attract birds to my newly built home's front yard. I have no foliage out front near our picture window. I live in Londonderry, NH. What bush or shrub can I plant that will attract bird... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Information about mustang grapes March 14, 2016 We live in the Driftwood area. There is a native vine that looks like Mustang grape but never produces. A friend who is native to this area called it rat vine. I miss my Mustang grape jelly. Is t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Growing Chile Pequin Indoors December 09, 2015 About a year ago I visited your page and as a result I planted 8 seeds in spring 2015 from a large Chile Pequin plant that came up wild in my Cedar Park home near Austin. The last harvest was late su... 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 | ||
| Arctostaphylos Hanging Basket for Texas April 24, 2015 I would like to plant an Arctostaphylos uva-ursi in a hanging basket with a coco liner. Will this work, or will the roots grow too long? it's the 'Massachusetts' cultivar. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Growing Avocados in South Texas April 24, 2015 What types of avocados can be grown in South Texas? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Edible Plants of Florida April 06, 2015 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants My name is Gabriel Bedoya; Im anthropologist, with large experience in research of traditional culinary, symbolic systems and native kitchens. Due to my experience in those s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non Toxic Fruit Plants April 03, 2015 I am trying to plant on my backyard. My dog spends about 8 hours a day outdoors and I am afraid she will be poisoned. I am overwhelmed by the information of toxic trees\plants for dogs. However, I ju... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identity of wild plum in Childress County, Texas March 16, 2015 I have a Wild Plum follow up question. My wife grew up around the Childress TX area. She remembers going around the creeks and gathering Wild Plums for her mother as a child. Would you have any ide... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Is the fruit of Melothria pendula edible? November 22, 2014 Is the fruit of Melothria pendula edible? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Are American Hazelnuts Self-Fertile? November 06, 2014 I planted an American Hazelnut a couple of years ago that I ordered from a catalog. Is this plant self-fertile or do I need to plant another one? I have seen conflicting information on this subject. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native Grasses as a Hay Crop in Beeville, TX October 22, 2014 I am looking to cut Hay on about 38 acres just west of Beeville, Texas. I want to convert the land to native grasses, but I still want to have a decent hay crop that I can sell. What is a good set of ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Red berries growing along county road in Caldwell County, Texas September 06, 2014 Hello, first I would like to thank you for your time. I thank it's great that you guys and girls answer questions (I'm sure y'all are busy). That being said I will get to the question. On the sides... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Recipe for Sideroxylon lanuginosum (Gum bumelia) fruits August 17, 2014 Do you have a recipe for using the fruits of Sideroxylon Lanuginosa? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for farm animals from East Greenwich RI May 03, 2014 What type of perennial flowers and shrubs are safe to plant around farm animals (dogs, horses, chickens, turkeys) in New England climate? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Blossom end rot on non-native tomatoes from Newport RI April 25, 2014 Can epsom salt or eggshells end blossom end rot on tomatoes? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Edible forest garden for northern Minnesota March 07, 2014 I am planning an edible forest garden for northern Minnesota. Can you suggest a list of plants that are native to this area. We are in zone 3a or 3b. Thank you! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Edible plants in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania March 02, 2014 Hi again! Thanks for answering my one question. I have another though. Do you know of any edible plants with no nasty side effects ( like stomach aches or being nauseous) that grow in Lycoming County ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Edibility of Washington Hawthorn berries from Williamsport PA February 22, 2014 Please tell me if Washington Hawthorn berries and leaves are edible and if so, how to prepare them. Thank you! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Wild Edible Books for Pennsylvania February 11, 2014 I was hoping I could get some suggestions of one or more good books on wild edibles that I can find in Southwest PA. Any help will be greatly appreciated. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Fruiting times of native trees and shrubs in the Pacific Norhwest December 30, 2013 I am looking for information on fruiting/seeds/nuts times of native trees and shrubs in the Pacific Northwest. Obviously they fruit after they bloom but all I can find is very general information such... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Looking for stinging nettle not exposed to pesticides or exhaust December 26, 2013 Hi, Thank you for providing this service! I'm interested in foraging and wild edibles in Austin and am wondering if anyone can tell me a spot where I could harvest some Stinging Nettle that is un... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Fruit trees for Kempner, Texas November 29, 2013 I just moved to Kempner , TX and would like to plant a couple of fruit trees in my 1 1/4 ac yard. I would like to plant a species that will do well and produce edible fruit. Any assistance will be app... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Can I make my large pecan trees produce larger nuts? November 14, 2013 I have 2 older large pecan trees about 40' tall but the nuts are very small, only about 1 1/2". What can I do to get larger nuts? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| A Bounty of Edibles for New Braunfels Texas October 25, 2013 I was hoping you could suggest a few plants that would serve several purposes. I live in New Braunfels, TX and would like to incorporate as many drought tolerant plants which would support birds, but... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Looking for a List of Edible Wild Plants for Ohio September 06, 2013 What are some edible wild plants in Ohio? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Making Tea from Croton monanthogynus August 13, 2013 Do you have any other information on the value of croton monanthogynus as a tea? Nutritive value? Possible adverse reactions? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of shrub/small tree with small purple fruit July 31, 2013 Hi! I have a tree/bush that has come up on its own in the backyard. This year it set what looks like small purple plums. Is there any chance that they might be poisonous? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Edible native plants in New York July 29, 2013 In your plant database- which is great by the way- it does not say whether or not the plant is edible. Do you have any way to search for edible plants? Or do you have a separate database? Thanks! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Controlling Cnidoscolus texanus (Texas bullnettle) July 18, 2013 Hello,I need your help to control some nasty weeds in my yard/pasture. I am an old timer and do not have a picture to include—haven't figured out that part of the camera/phone yet. This weed is a pri... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Grafting Pecan Trees July 05, 2013 I have planted two pecan nuts and now they are about 4 feet tall trees, they have not been grafted but can I graft one of the trees to the other and vice versa and expect pecans from then, they are he... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Leaves of Chile pequin consumed overnight from San Marcus TX June 23, 2013 Something ate all the leaves of my Chile petin overnight. There is a ton of frass under the plants but no sign of a critter to be found. These plants have been in the same area for years and this is t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Can poisonous seed of wild plum be safely removed after steaming from Seymour IA June 20, 2013 I read on a related questions that you said the pit/seeds of all wild plums are poisonous. My question is this, can I juice the entire fruit for making jelly without removing the pit first? I have a s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Fruit crops to grow in Tennessee mountains May 27, 2013 My property has a lot of rock formations throughout it and has hundreds of cedars where it is not pasture. I am wanting to grow fruit trees and berry bushes but don't know what can grow in this e... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Non-fruiting Willamette raspberry plant in Wateford CA May 23, 2013 I have a 2 year old Willamette Raspberry plant that has many blooms, bees, great growing conditions, very healthy but has never set one fruit. I know about pruning. Any suggestions? It has been bloomi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Are berries of coral honeysuckle edible from Lufkin TX May 21, 2013 Are the berries of coral honeysuckle edible? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Affect of poisonous plant roots in soils for vegetables from Rusk TX May 11, 2013 I have a huge old flowerbed in front of my house that I want to plant veggies in, but I'm afraid to. It has a catalpa tree there, which I sell the worms from, but the entire tree (bark, leaves, flowe... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Effects of Hedysarum mackenzii from Pflugerville TX May 08, 2013 What are the effects of Hedysarum mackenzii? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Can bluebonnets be made into jelly from Ennis TX May 07, 2013 Are Texas bluebonnet flowers okay for human consumption? I have seen recipes for wild violet jelly,so was wondering about making bluebonnet jelly from the bluebonnet blossoms if they are not poisonous... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Wild plum tree failing to bloom from Simonton TX May 04, 2013 I have a wild plum tree that has been in the ground for 3 or 4 years and it has not ever flowered. Why? I don't know what kind it is. I dug it up from a friends yard. Her wild plum trees have flowere... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Black chokeberry edible from Huntsville ON May 04, 2013 Can the fruit of the black chokeberry be eaten?? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Can bastard cabbage be eaten from Austin May 02, 2013 On a local cooking show they were talking about cooking local foods and mentioned bastard cabbage but never showed how to cook it or if it was in fact edible. Would be a way to help get rid of it if ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Growing non-native grapefruit from seeds from Austin April 30, 2013 Can you grow ruby red grapefruit trees from seeds? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native invasive henbit from Round Rock TX April 27, 2013 I've read in this book "Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants" that Henbit is an invasive plant in Texas. I've also read that it provides an early source of nectar to bees and butterflies when li... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| List of edible weeds from El Paso TX April 27, 2013 Where can I find a list of edible weeds that grow in El Paso, TX. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native Edible Plants of Pennsylvania Books April 25, 2013 What is the best book that you know of for finding wild plant edibles in Pennsylvania? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Huckleberries and blueberries from Vancouver WA April 14, 2013 Can you plant a blueberry next to a huckleberry? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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