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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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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Advantages of using native plants March 28, 2015 Hello. My question is not about a specific plant but a more general question about natives. I am writing a research paper and am interested in finding seminal research that explains why we should us... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Learning to garden from Hartford CT May 04, 2014 Hello, I just recently found an interest in gardening, and have discovered "cultivars." I am having trouble finding what exactly a cultivar is, and if they are bad or not. Can culltivars ever occur ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Plant identification of tree on Kent State University in Ohio August 09, 2011 Hello. I am fond of a very large (wide) tree on a university campus in Ohio. I have tried many plant ID search engines to try to figure out what it is. It is at least 12 feet tall and at least that ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Smell barrier around chicken pen in Austin April 23, 2011 What are some shade to part-shade loving, aromatic plants (akin to Lavender or Jasmine) that will do well in Central TX? I'm trying to plant things around my chicken pen that'll create a smell barri... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Gardening advice for Ontario, Canada April 20, 2011 HI there. I see most of the readers are in CA, I am in Ontario Canada. I am in need of some advice on a nice flowering all year round garden for both sun/partial sun/shade garden. Some for direct sun ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Using Bumelia for Firewood February 25, 2011 I have 2 trees in my yard that I think are Gum Bullies. They're tall (25 feet) and straight, thorny, leaves look like live oak, but they're deciduous. I need to remove them and wondered if I could... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
More than you want to know about planting a pond in Austin Texas December 10, 2010 Winterizing Water Garden QA from Nov 27 Austin American-Statesman: Would the garden (60-gal aluminum) with those plants (papyrus, horsetail, water lily) be placed in the sun, shade, part shade or ? I ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Growing Native Plants in Juniper litter from Wimberley, TX October 04, 2010 Junipers create an environment under their canopy that prohibits growth of other plants. I have a virgin lot that has been cleared of many juniper but has remaining heavy natural leaf mold containing... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Grave plants in Indiana in 1914 July 30, 2010 I'm doing research on the landscape surrounding an elaborate family cemetery constructed in NW Indiana in 1914. Previous research noted that "grave plants" were planted along the short retaining w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Burn the wetlands June 02, 2010 Can the wetlands of Louisiana that have been soaked in oil be burned? I am a native plant gardener in the midwest. Burning is a natural process in the prairie. Southerners are not used to this and ma... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Bees knees squeezing May 28, 2010 Barbara, Do the knees of bees help them squeeze if they please their wobbly, bobbly, knobbly balls of pollen? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
How and when to harvest bluebonnets. April 30, 2010 A previous answer mentioned harvesting bluebonnet seeds by pulling up the whole plant when the seed pods turn brown. Two clarifications - when do the seed pods turn brown as these plants are hard to ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Pot on a pillar in a pond in Pflugerville April 26, 2010 No question: Just a thanks to Barbara. You can't imagine how hard I laughed when I read the interpretation that I was going to plant Maximilians in a pot on a pedestal in the middle of a pond!!! S... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Will shoes pick up American Beautyberry fruit and stain carpets? March 21, 2010 Do the berries from American Beautyberry fall on the ground so your shoes pick up the berries to stain the carpet in my house? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Need bug repelling plants in Arlington, VA February 08, 2010 What kind of plants are best bug repellents, and need little or no maintenance. I'm a city girl and don't like bugs (spiders) View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Is there an automated image download function for the NPIN Image Gallery? November 03, 2009 Hi, I have a database/web technical question. Do you provide an interface to retrieve photos from your website programatically? Thanks! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Is common yarrow a Texas native? October 16, 2009 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Is common yarrow Achillea millefolium a Texas native? Please enlighten me. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Disappearing sunlight in Phoenix, AZ September 29, 2009 I live in a condo in Phoenix, AZ with a north facing patio that goes out about 10 feet and is 20 feet wide. During the summer months there is a span of 1 foot in the front that goes the 20 foot length... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Why is my Weeping Fig crying leaves? July 27, 2009 I have a weeping fig that I bought Memorial day in Birmingham, Al. It has 8 or 9 trunks growing altogether. It sits on a porch with eastern exposure, only about 2 hours of sun. It has been losing l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Can tulip tree sap be used to make syrup in Bunker Hill IN? July 10, 2009 I was just wondering if tulip tree sap could be used to make syrup. I saw the sticky stuff on the leaves and decided to taste test it and it was very sweet, unfortunately I later found out that I was ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Leaves turning brown in Fredonia KS June 16, 2009 Leaves turning brown. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Transplanting Trillium in Quebec. May 13, 2009 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I live in the Laurentiens of Quebec where they are putting a HWY in my back yard. I have a lot of white trillium that I am wanting to transplant before they start the excava... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Is there a flower that blooms only once in seven years? December 17, 2008 Just wanted to know if there exists a flower that blooms only once in seven years? Thank you! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Information about rainwater collection systems November 25, 2008 I am wanting to design and install a rainwater collection system, and would like recommendations on suppliers, how to operate, detailed info on construction, capacity and pumping. Any info you can pro... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
How to keep persimmons from staining patio August 10, 2008 We have approximately 4 female persimmons bearing fruit around our back patio. Birds are carrying the berries to our patio and eating them which leaves a dark stain on our patio. I'm having to go o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Plants to keep children out of yard April 23, 2008 I WANT TO PLANT SOMETHING ALONG A FENCE LINE TO KEEP CHILDREN OUT OF OUR YARD. NEEDS TO GROW FAST BUT NOT POISONOUS View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
What is wrong with the bluebonnets? April 04, 2008 This doesn't seem to be a very good year for bluebonnets. What's up with that? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
History of the Texas Bluebonnet March 12, 2008 Hi, I'm working on an article for a newspaper and wondered if you could point me in the right direction to find out the history of the bluebonnet. When did it become the state flower? Is it really ill... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Planting trees to use carbon dioxide September 06, 2007 How many trees must we plant to use carbon dioxide produced by the average American in a year? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Native plants that will grow under alleopathic black walnut March 03, 2007 I have a large, beautiful black walnut tree in my yard and have trouble growing the annuals, begonia, impatients, etc., that I have always grown. They don't do well in the ground and I have resorted... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Plants that might absorb moisture from air February 27, 2007 I am searching for a plant that will reduce the relative humidity of a building. I work for a manufacturing company that is experiencing problems with water condensing on ceilings and equipment due t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Definition of what constitutes a native plant January 23, 2007 Hello, I am doing research concerning "native plants" for the Northeast. I am "befuddled" as I am finding conflicting definitions for what constitutes a native plant. Do you have a good definiti... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
True date for Earth Day March 09, 2006 My grandson asked me to verify the correct date for Earth Day 2006. Sites on the internet say (a) Earth Day USA is April 22, 2006. (b) International Earth Day is M... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Mowing Bluebonnets March 20, 2004 When is it safe to mow Bluebonnets? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Help! The deer are eating my landscape. March 14, 2004 Help! The deer are eating my landscape. Is there anything I can plant that they won’t eat? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
Mixture of native grasses as opposed to buffalo grass monoculture November 26, 2003 My husband and I just built our home on Lake Travis. Our lot is very rocky and is on the side of a hill. We would like to plant something on the incline at the front of our home that doesn't need a l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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