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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| topic | question | |
| Eradicating non-native pyracantha bushes in California August 26, 2008 We removed several pyracantha bushes but they keep coming up in other parts of the garden. How do we kill the shoots? Thank you for any help View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification August 19, 2008 Hi, I live in South West Michigan and there is this plant I can't figure out. It has oval leaves in a row on each side of its stems, large thorns, and when the plant is grown it has what seems to be... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Are palm leaves poisonous? August 18, 2008 Are palm tree leaves poisionous? Because my dad was doing yard work and was stuck by a palm tree leaf in his calf. His calf has swollen and in he thinks it broke off in his calf. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of shrub with thorns August 07, 2008 I have a plant in my garden that I need to identify. It is a tall shrub (approx. 10 feet) that has very large thorns on its green branches. It is now showing small white flowers. I don't know if i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Tree resembling live oak, but with thorns August 04, 2008 I'm trying to ID a tree in our backyard, most of our trees are Live Oaks and the tree in question has a dark almost black and gray bark that looks just like a Live Oak. The leaves are similar but lig... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning and deadheading rosa rugosa while blooming August 01, 2008 Can you prune the dead flowers and branches of rosa rogosa while it is still blooming? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identity of red raspberry-like berries in Connecticut July 28, 2008 I found some edible berries today in the woods that look like raspberries, are red like raspberries, but don't taste like them at all. They're very shiny red, remove easily from the bush. The flavor... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant with poisonous thorns July 27, 2008 Is there a bush or tree out there that has thorns on it that can make you swell and cause you to feel like you can hardly move you're whole hand. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of prickly vine in north Texas July 07, 2008 While trimming the shrubs around my suburban house I noticed (and my legs were torn up by!) a vine-like plant with small green serrated leaves and millions of small, very sharp thorns. I search Invasi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of thorny plant in Michigan June 16, 2008 i live in southern michigan and have a thorny plant with oval leaves growing in my flower beds. this used to be a grassy area how did it get there. i live on the edge of town. what plants in my area h... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of possible wild plums thickets May 19, 2008 I have several "thickets" of small shrub/bushes on my land that I hunt on. These small trees are usually 5-7 feet tall, always grow in thickets of ten to up to sixty or so bushes. They are always lo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Hummingbird plants and Indian Hawthorn May 13, 2008 I live in The Woodlands in a new section of homes. I planted some hummingbird plants in full sun and they did ok last year for 4 months, then lost all their leaves and died when the winter came. At ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Bloom on non-native Agave attenuata May 13, 2008 I have an Agave Attenuata that has grown a long and unsightly stem.Is there a way to cut the plant portion off and re-root the plant without killing the petal portion? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Fast-growing, deer resistant native plants for Kerrville, TX April 28, 2008 I'm looking for a plant that will spread quickly and thickly on a very steep slope. The area to be covered is 60'long x 5'high and is crumbly limestone with full sun and very dry. We have a large... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eco-friendly trees for parks in Brownsville, TX April 26, 2008 Which are the best eco friendly trees for parks? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of a vine with thorns and blue berries. April 22, 2008 > Hello, > We have acreage in Butler County, PA. I recently discovered a vine that I can't identify. It's has many small spines all over the stem, then very large and stiff thorns. It has dark gr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native shrubs that can be pruned to shape in Austin, TX March 31, 2008 We have some shrubs in our NE facing front yard in Austin in the Steiner Ranch Area. The shrubs are native, and give good flowers in spring and summer, but are not trimmable and I want something like ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Distinguish between Huisache and Goldenball Leadtree March 23, 2008 How do you distinguish between Huisache (Acacia farnesiana) and Goldenball Leadtree (Leucaena retusa)? Thanks! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trees to replace Ligustrums, and evergreen vines for privacy screen January 21, 2008 We had 3 ligustrum trees growing along a creek bank in our back yard and under the City of Austin power lines. Our backyard is on a terrace about 7 feet above the creek's flood plain. The Ligustrums ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plant identification December 24, 2007 I have a question about a plant that looks like a fern that has small red looking flowers and has thorns. Also it is very small (probably 2-3 inches tall). I'm just wondering what it is cause it grow... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Management of xeriscape garden and rock mulch December 09, 2007 I have a large xeriscape garden; unfortunately, it is located near some pear trees which drop tons of leaves each fall/winter. The garden is difficult to clean of leaves until I cut back the plants. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How to get rid of devils club (Oplopanax horridus) November 22, 2007 please tell me how to get rid of devils club!!! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removal of mature agaves November 20, 2007 Hello- we live in Austin, TX and have a bed of different varieties of agave. They are near the walkway to our house, and are so out of control they pose a hazard to our guests walking up to the house... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Shaping of native hawthorns October 21, 2007 I have three young hawthorns that were propagated from a nearby Blackland prairie stand. If I limb them up, will that encourage them to branch more near the top, or will it just ruin the form altoget... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removal of bramble under live oaks and replacing with groundcover September 26, 2007 We have several large live oaks on the front of our 12 acre property in Hockley, Texas. Under and around each oak is an extensive amount of bramble which we would like to remove so that we can enjoy ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Bloom stalks on agave plants September 26, 2007 Hi, We have Agave plants in our garden for years. But in the past few weeks, we noticed a giant asparagus looking thing growing out in the middle of the plants. We don't know what it is, but every d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | | |
| Diagnosis of problem with Parsley hawthorn August 06, 2007 I have a Crataegus marshallii (Parsley hawthorn) that is about 3 years old. It leafed out this spring and flowered lightly. As the summer has progressed, though, the leaves have been dropping premat... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Juniper as host of cedar-apple rust July 17, 2007 Thanks for the helpful advice on the Eastern Red Cedar. I was wondering if you could ease my mind about a potential problem. I have read up on some of the native plants in my area in a very good book ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Control of Smilax bona-nox (saw greenbrier) June 15, 2007 We have some property near Round Mountain, Texas. Under and in the oak trees is a vine that has a heart-shaped, shiny leaf and nasty thorns. I'd like to know the name and how best to try to get rid... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Thorns on non-native orange trees March 04, 2007 I just moved into a new home that has orange trees in the yard. The tree trunks and limbs are thorny. What kind of oranges are they? How should I care for them? Is it ok to cut off the thorns so t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Alternatives for non-native Bradford Pear November 27, 2006 Hi, can you please give me some information about the "bradford flowering pear"? I live in Hutto,Tx. I want to know if this is a good tree to plant. What are the benefits of choosing this tree and... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Toxicity of Peruvian Lilies (Alstroemeria sp) for food decoration September 04, 2006 Hi, I am trying to find out if I can decorate a cake using live alstroemeria laid on top of the icing. I would not want to eat the flower, just lay it on top to look pretty before removing and servi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Inadvisability of importing plants from one region to another March 03, 2006 I wonder if you could help me. I want to send my friends some conifer trees from England to Florida USA. I went on the Department of Agriculture site and they recommended your site for questions. Than... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dumb question about prickly pear December 23, 2005 This is probably a really dumb question but I am interested in picking the prickly pear next year when it is in season, and was wondering the best way to get all of the little stickers off of the pear... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plants to accompany cactus and agave October 09, 2005 What plants would look well with cactus and agave to soften the look of spikiness? Also, a homeowner in our association wants the association to plant a pyracantha at the corner of the street to preve... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on Parkinsonia aculeata June 11, 2005 What is the name of the tall shrub I see growing wild around Austin that is delicate, with thin stems and branches, and lacy, with multiple leaves, and yellow flowers? It looks lovely growing in a ma... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on spines April 09, 2005 What do you call part of a plant that is needle-like or has spikes or bristles? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Source for Bumelia lanuginosa in Austin February 24, 2005 PLEASE HELP! I'm trying to plant several trees called Bumelia lanuginosa (synonym: Sideroxylon langinosum). The common names include but are not limited to: Ironwood, Chittamwood, Gum Elastic, Wooly... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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