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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| Texas persimmon with scorched leaves from Austin July 11, 2013 I planted a Texas Persimmon seedling (five gallon) in my yard in early April. It is in a sunny, well-drained spot, and I have watered it regularly since planting. All was fine until the last weekend i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Spots on persimmon tree leaves from Dripping Springs TX July 10, 2013 We are in rural Hays County Texas off Hamilton Pool Rd Texas. Large persimmon trees are turning yellow, blackish spots on underside of leaves. What do we do? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | | |
| Leaf drop from live oaks in mid-summer July 08, 2013 We have a live oak that is starting to drop a considerable amount of leaves here in early July in Cypress Texas. Its a mature tree with a base diameter of 12-14" and 25-30' tall. We live in a subd... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Old oak tree dropping leaves in Hazlet Township NJ July 08, 2013 I am 84 yrs old and have a 50 year old pin? oak. No more acorns, but the leaves are falling in clumps and are still alive. Every day I fill a huge garden bag with them. I live on a fixed income and... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Chlorotic disease in scrub oak from Katy TX July 04, 2013 Please tell me how to treat my scrub oak as it has chlorotic disease. Parts of the tree are fine and others have yellow leaves. It has not been injured in any way. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Century plant leaves yellowing from Magnolia TX July 04, 2013 The leaves on my large Agave/Century plant are turning yellow. The bottom leaves, touching the ground are dying. Plant is 5.5" tall, 6" across & approx 10 yrs old. Recently we put red mulch around t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with non-native weeping willow from Hazlet NJ July 03, 2013 Leaves turning yellow on weeping willow planted in May. What causes this and how can I fix it? Mother's Day gift after SANDY uprooted huge tree. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Oak roots damaged by ax from Austin July 03, 2013 Hello. I am attempting to create my own tiny copy of the Wildflower Center within my yard. I'm using all native, drought tolerant plants. My front yard is full of live oaks. I used a sod cutter la... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Unknown ailment of Turk's cap in northeast Texas July 01, 2013 I just moved from the Dallas area to Emory in the north east part. I brought two young Turk's cap plants in pots. I had to leave the mother plant behind. The tops have a very curled and shrunken a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Full Sun, Wind-Tolerant Shrubs and Vines for Steep MN Hillside June 26, 2013 My neighbor and I share a very steep, large (in total almost 200 ft. wide) west-facing hillside in Excelsior, MN on Lake Minnetonka. We both have a flat grass area at the bottom so the hillside does n... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Insects attacking Gregg's Blue Mistflower from Comfort TX June 20, 2013 I have a beautiful stand of Gregg's Blue Mist flower that have been attacked by an unknown insect. The new growth is curled and stunted and it is not flowering. I'm not alone..I've seen the Gregg'... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| White specks on unknown houseplant from Ridgeway SC June 20, 2013 I have an unknown houseplant that seems to have some sort of pest or disease on it. It has white snowy specks atop its leaf. I bought this purple fuzzy leafed houseplant from Walmart in Winnsboro, SC ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Changing colors on Mexican Plum trees from Bellaire TX June 20, 2013 The leaves on my Mexican Plum tree have recently started turning yellow/brown and the veins in leaves are red. Is this a watering issue or disease issue? Mites are on the leaves. This has been a ra... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Waxy deposits on Magnolia fuscata from Ethel LA June 18, 2013 I have a 4yr old Magnolia Fascata (aka banana shrub)- I noticed that it has small oval shaped yellow waxy deposits on the branches.. I have also noticed small black ants on the branches. The unknown d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trouble with live oak in McKinney, TX June 13, 2013 We moved into a suburban home with a live oak tree with a trunk diameter of about 50". I noticed recently how yellow the leaves look compared to the other live oak in the yard. There is not a pattern... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Brown rings on grass under live oaks in Austin June 13, 2013 There are brown rings in the grass at the dripline on several Live Oak trees in our neighborhood. What causes this? The trees appear healthy. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Damage to Pine Tree on Cape Cod, MA June 11, 2013 My pine tree on Cape Cod has bark that is perforated with holes covering the entire tree. Bark can be removed by hand. Looks dead. What did this? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Bottlebrush buckeye not leafing out from Newburyport MA June 11, 2013 We have a bottlebrush buckeye bush that has grown and blossomed for 16 years. This spring the bush failed to produce any leaves and there are no buds in anticipation of leaves. There are a few smaller... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| What's causing holes in trunk of white oak tree in SouthBend IN? June 10, 2013 We have a huge White Oak in our backyard that is approx. 130 years old. This evening I became aware that there are several small holes around the trunk that appear to be oozing a dark sappy liquid. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with rock rose in Austin June 10, 2013 Hi Mr Smarty Pants, We have a Texas Rock Rose which is growing next to our gravel path in Austin, with grass growing under it. In the last week, it has stopped blooming suddenly, and all the leaves h... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Damaged leaves on bottlebrush buckeye from Glen Mills PA June 09, 2013 My recently planted bottlebrush buckeye plants' leaves are looking damaged but it doesn't look like insect or fungus damage. They look battered by wind but I don't understand why that would happen... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Treating scarred Gum Bumelia from Lampasas TX June 05, 2013 We have a very old Gum Bumelia with a scarred open tree trunk. In the past concrete was used to fill the scarred trunk. What is the acceptable method of helping the tree. More concrete or using blac... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Western soapberry dropping leaves in San Antonio June 03, 2013 My Western Soapberry tree (China berry?) Suddenly started dropping full, perfectly healthy green, leaf units. Now half the tree is turning yellow. There is a second tree in the yard not far from this ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with non-native Callery Pear tree from Louisville KY June 03, 2013 I have a Cleveland select that has a bark issue. It is on its second season and I just saw this. It looks like the bark is bubbling up kinda and then wants to peel off the main trunk. I have a picture... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Leaves on new water oak turning brown from Matagorda TX May 30, 2013 We had water oaks planted in January when they had no leaves. Leaves came on but are now turning brown. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Desert Willow and Orchid tree with no upper leaves from Kerrville TX May 30, 2013 I have two 5 year old Desert Willows planted in my yard. This year only one has leaved out and blooming. The other is bare but the branches are not dead and it has new growth at the bottom. Do you kno... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with Ashe juniper from Lakeway TX May 25, 2013 Dear Sir/Madam, I have been living for the last three years in Lakeway, Texas approximately 20 miles west of Austin. In my back garden there are several ashe junipers about 15-20ft tall. However... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| White fungus-like growths on plants from Stephenville TX May 25, 2013 What is a white fungus-like growth on plants in a garden? It can be seen on the ground in ball-like shapes similar to puff balls or on plants View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need to identify leaf extensions on the leaves of an elm sapling in Houston, Tx. May 22, 2013 I have an elm sapling which grows strange leave extensions on its leaves. Can I send you a picture? Tree looks healthy View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with a two year old persimmon tree in Fredricksburg, TX. May 22, 2013 Hi Mr/Ms Smarty Plants, We planted a 4-ft Texas Persimmon, Diospyros texana, 2-years ago, with wonderful leaf and fruit production since. We recently had a hail storm (5/9/13) and although mos... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| What are the green round growths on the edges of my oak leaves in Fairfax, OK May 21, 2013 round growths on the edge of oak leaves. ranging in size from a pearl to a lime. ranging in color from pale green to lime green. hollow, small ones appear to contain one small gnat sized seed. the la... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with Gregg's mistflower from Fredericksburg, TX May 19, 2013 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants: Something is wilting the tops of my Gregg's mistflower, Conoclinium greggii. I cannot see bugs on the plant, so I am wondering if it's a disease. The problem is widespread to... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with fruit of Mexican Plum from McKinney TX May 19, 2013 MY Mexican plum tree (about 5 years old) has small fruit on it. Some of them are severely deformed, and look rotten almost. They are bumpy and ragged looking. Or they are pasty white,rotten and dried ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Bark splitting in old tulip tree in Red Creek, NY. May 18, 2013 Hello, We have a tulip tree that has some bark splitting I guess I would call it. The tree is older and very tall. On the north side of it starting at the bottom of the trunk to about 8-9 feet up i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Grey Goo Coming from red Oak in Manchaca TX May 13, 2013 I have a large Red Oak in my yard that appears to be weeping some sort of grey goo from parts of the trunk. What is this goo and do I need to treat it and if so how? I'm happy to come by the Wildflow... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Black rot at center of Agave from Clovis CA May 12, 2013 We have some beautiful variegated "Green & Cream" Agave plants in our cactus garden. One in particular has done quite well for several years and is the largest, about 18" tall & across, it has neve... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Native Annual Plant Substitute for Impatiens May 11, 2013 What can be used as an annual flowering plant to substitute for the diseased impatiens? Is Vinca one you would suggest? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Holes in trunk of Monterey Oak in Austin, TX. May 05, 2013 My Monterrey Oak (about 4 in diameter) has a problem. It started budding out and had a few leafs, then just quit. It had what I thought was new buds that would develop, but didn't. Then, the exist... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Oak Bark Loss in Arlington, TX May 04, 2013 I have multiple oak trees in my yard (in north texas) that have begun to lose their bark in small chunks. I'm in the middle of the city so their are no deer and yes it's been a dry 2 years but this... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| When is it time to remove diseased oak trees in Belton, TX? May 03, 2013 When to give up on my live oaks. We lost/mostly several live oaks since 2011 and the drought. One, died from the crown, one large mass at a time, and now resembles a 10' totem pole with scraggly gro... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Is it normal for the bark to fall off an oak tree in Austin, TX May 02, 2013 Is it normal for live oak bark to fall off when touched? I am afraid to get near them? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dying non-native St. Augustine grass from Austin May 02, 2013 Although we all know St. Augustine grass is not a good thing, I am stuck with it and am trying to save areas that appear to have take-all fungus. I have done much reading online and have tried peat m... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Wilting American Smoke Tree in Texas April 21, 2013 I planted a young American smoke tree last fall (mid-November) and it put out a good show of tentative new leaves this spring. Then to keep the tree form I clipped some little shrubby start ups at the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Anacacho orchid not leafing out in Georgetown TX April 18, 2013 February 2012 I planted 2 4-ft anacacho orchids which did well. This spring, they have yet to leaf out or even bud. There is green, however, when I scratch the stems and some suckers at the bottom of ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | | |
| Death of Texas Betony and Blackfoot Daisy from Austin April 18, 2013 I have one small area that there are two plants - Texas Betony and Blackfoot Daisy withered and died eventually. Same kinds of plants are doing fine close by. It is my front yard close to walk way.I w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Mutation in bluebonnets from Elgin TX April 16, 2013 What causes bluebonnets to mutate..grow as if three or four are combined into one flower on one very flat, wide stem. I have these in my yard; they are beautiful! I have taken several pictures. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Century plant leaves falling over from San Antonio April 10, 2013 Have a large century plant about % feet tall. The leaves are falling over. Can you tell me what to do to avoid this. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Growths on Shumard Red Oak leaves from Katy TX April 01, 2013 Our beautiful Shumard Red Oak has developed lots of light green grape like growths on the leaves. Please inform us what this could be and how we should treat it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Is yellow tulip poplar alive from Gilbertsville PA March 30, 2013 How can I tell if my yellow tulip poplar is alive? thank you View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Death of lantana in Bryan TX March 28, 2013 I would like to know what killed several new gold lantana in a single bed that died over the winter. They looked quite healthy last fall. I have several other new gold lantana that survived the wint... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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