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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| Care for heritage roses October 07, 2007 Dear Mr. SmartyPlants, I took some cuttings from an antique rose my grandmother had.I had good luck , had some of them grow for me. Some of them have blooms and others are long and lanky stems but n... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Shrubs with berries for birds and growing small red oak tree September 16, 2007 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Recently, I saw a short article about attracting birds to one's yard. The article said to plant "berry-bearing" shrubs, but didn't name any specific shrubs. Could you tell... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Possibility of Amyris madrensis or Amyris texana growing in Dallas September 07, 2007 I live in the central city of Dallas, in the heart of the urban heat island (zone 8b). I am interested in Amyris madrensis and A. texensis. Will they survive winter here? Would they make a good eve... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native landscape in Central Austin September 02, 2007 We live in Central Austin and are landscaping part of yard. We planted a 30 gallon red oak tree, built sizeable beds around it and want to complete the landscaping with native grasses, shrubs, climbin... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cool, wet summer effect on evergreen sumac August 28, 2007 Hi Mr. Smarty Plants, I have 3 evergreen sumac bushes that I planted as a screen between my house and my neighbors two years ago. They are located in a part of our yard that receives a lot of runof... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of eleagnus-like shrub August 21, 2007 There is a plant on our land I can't identify. It has a tree-like smooth light gray "trunk", with leaves similar to an eleagnus (grayish green and rough on top, lighter underneath). I can't find... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of mystery shrub in West Virginia August 13, 2007 Hi, my husband and I purchased some land to build a home. After we dug out the driveway a large shrub or tree started growing in the altered dirt that I have never seen and I don't know what it is. I... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Protection of American beautyberry in Pennsylvania July 30, 2007 I have had a beauty berry 2 years now. I trim it back in early spring and it returns beautifully. ...but no flowers this year and it's almost August. Last year, very few berries. Can you help? I... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Overwatering and fertilization of whiteleaf manzanita July 27, 2007 Hi, I have an Arctostaphylos Dr. Hurd, southern California coast, several years old, 10 feet, that has a few large branches with yellowing and spotted leaves... also dropping many. causes? remedy? sh... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Blue plants or flowers in Baltimore, MD July 27, 2007 I have a taxi company in the city called Bluecab. The headquarters is in an industrial area and the soil is tough and well, industrial. There will be no watering or maintenance done. Looks like a car ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplant shock in Vacccinum corymbosum (highbush blueberry) June 28, 2007 Blueberry plants - We planted Northland and Blue Crop, 2 of each. All 4 plants have some leaves that are turning brown. This starts at the tip of the leaf, eventually encompasses the entire leaf, a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for dry conditions and clay soils in Georgia June 25, 2007 I need a bush or plant that I can plant next to a creek that requires no maintenance to cover exposed roots and underbrush caused by rushing water whenever the creeks rises with large downpours. We b... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Vascular wilt in Rhus virens June 22, 2007 Hi Smarty: Our evergreen sumac grew beautifully this spring (it is about 2 years old -- we got it at the LBJ Wildflower Center plant sale). Then its leaves suddenly drooped last month (May) and turn... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Effective plant cover for utility boxes June 15, 2007 In Connecticut, we have utility boxes for underground electricity and cable located in front of our house. The builder has landscaped around them: first with rhododendrons and then azaleas and both ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Stem canker or leaf fungus in Morella cerifera June 14, 2007 Dear Mr.Smarty Pants: The upper half of our wax myrtle, which we had allowed (with artful pruning) to reach about ten feet suddenly died this spring (it dropped most of its leaves and didn't sprout... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Coexistence of rubus trivialis and American beautyberry May 28, 2007 I'm growing some rubus trivialis in a 1-gal. pot and plan to plant it this fall. Will this dewberry coexist with American beautyberry, or must it have its own space entirely? If it needs its own sp... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of small shrub May 27, 2007 Need an identity of a small bush, probably native . There is only a single limb sticking out of a large dense evergreen holly. It is deciduous, has opposite ovate entire simple leaves, and clusters o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Small native evergreen shrubs for North Carolina May 17, 2007 I live in zone 7 and need miniature shrub to go in flower bed situated in full sun. I love gardenias but afraid the intensity of the sun might be too much. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Recommendations for native plants for Dallas Co., TX May 12, 2007 Looking for a Recommendation: Can you suggest a plant that meets the following requirements? ENVIRONMENT -- - I live in Garland, in Dallas County, TX. - The soil is primarily clay. - Full sun... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | | |
| Acidity of soil for blueberry plants May 11, 2007 We have 8 blueberry plants and we have just taken out several Juniper shrubs. How will this effect the acidity of the soil for the blueberries? Do we need to add more acidity? We heard that the junipe... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Desert or littleleaf sumac (Rhus microphylla) on Texas State Capitol grounds May 07, 2007 I am trying to find out what kinds of plants are planted on the Texas State Capitol Grounds. There is a bush that grows around the Capitol Extension windows area and I don't know what they are. The... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native evergreen shrub for Dallas May 03, 2007 Mr. Smarty Plants, I live in Dallas and I am trying to look for a native evergreen shrub that blooms and works well in full to partial sun. I thought about "lantana" and/or a "firecracker", but... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native plants for heavy clay soil in east Austin May 02, 2007 I live in East Austin and have very thick clay soil on my property. I also have a lot of shade and partial sun/shade. Can you suggest some native plant varieties that are well-adapted to these condi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Reason for decline of Morella cerifera (wax myrtle) in Virginia March 30, 2007 We have Wax Myrtle bushes in our back yard. They were about 2 feet tall when planted 2 years ago and now are about 7-8 feet tall. The leaves have turned brown and are dropping essentially denuding the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Evergreen shrubs native to North Georgia March 26, 2007 I am looking for native plants (shrubs) that will stay green during the winter in North Georgia. We are completing a xeriscape landscape plan as a demonstration site and have many native plants donate... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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