Native Plants
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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 | |
| Control of grasshoppers from Goldthwaite TX July 07, 2012 How long do grasshoppers live. They are eating our flowers, plants and trees. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Texas Ash secreting sap in Lockhart, TX July 05, 2012 I have what I believe is a Texas Ash in my front yard that is secreting a sap with what looks like some wounds on it with some white stuff and with black and red looking ants as well as it has a lot o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Texas Mountain Laurel oozing sap in Spicewood, TX. July 05, 2012 We have a Texas mountain laurel that seems to be sweating. Oozing sap with no apparent signs of any type of bore holes, or holes made from any birds. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Application of sprays to non-native Crape Myrtle from Prosper TX June 29, 2012 Can applying a systemic insecticide/fungicide combo prevent or limit Crape Myrtle blooms? I have 5 large lavender Crapes that are not blooming or budding yet and this is the first time I have used a ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Goat damage to Arizona Cypress from Palmdale CA June 28, 2012 My goats stripped the bottom branches of my Arizona Cypress. Will they come back and how can I prevent future damage? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pests on American Beautyberry from Austin June 25, 2012 Something is eating the leaves of my American Beautyberry shrubs. One is almost stripped of leaves on the upper branches. I have looked and can't see any insects or caterpillars. I have also looke... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with non-native parsley from Brooklyn NY June 17, 2012 Had beautiful flat leaf parsley plants recently turn yellow & die. Found black armadillo like bugs bored throughout the roots. Now they're spreading. How do I kill them without contaminating the pla... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with non-native yellow lantana from Elgin TX June 17, 2012 Why do my yellow lantana buds turn brown and do not open fully? The sprinkler system does not spray onto the lantana. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| White ash trees with bunched up leaves from Nevada TX June 09, 2012 I have very young white ash trees (3' tall planted this winter) The leaves are crippled not opening up bunched up together and have a white powder. Is this aphids mites or what. Only on one tree. Th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Something eating holes in Texas Betony from Austin June 06, 2012 What pest is eating holes in the leaves of my Texas Betonys? They look healthy but almost all leaves have various sizes of round holes in them. What is the best cure for this? Thanks View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Dandelions in bluebonnets in Bastrop TX May 31, 2012 I have a 20'x60' front yard area where I planted bluebonnets. It has become horrifically inundated with dandelions. How do I eradicate the dandelions while preserving the bluebonnets ? Thanks ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Spots on leaves of Esperanza from Dallas May 30, 2012 Have a new 1 foot high Esperanza. It is flowering OK (so far) but it has small rust colored spots about the size of a B-B all over most of the leaves. On the top side of the leaf the spot is depress... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Reaction to something in the garden from Dowling MI May 25, 2012 In late March I was working in my yard raking etc. The next morning I had three black spots between my knee and shin that were swelling and feverish. Two days later the areas became bigger and began... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Unknown pest of Texas Mountain Laurel from Round Rock TX May 24, 2012 I have a Texas Mountain Laurel that is being denuded from the top down by something unseen. It's not the Genista moth larvae, as there are no worms and no webbing visible. The only clue that it might... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Which plants are resistant to dog urine in Ashmore, IL?? May 21, 2012 Which native plants are resistant to dogs urinating on them? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problem with leaves of Texas Ash in Austin May 21, 2012 We purchased a 3' to 4' Texas Ash in March 2012. The past few days I noticed new leaves at the top are curled under, have a milky substance on them, and more than a few ladybugs on them. What is thi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Caterpillars eating passion vines from Austin May 17, 2012 My question concerns Yellow passion flower, purple passion vine & butterflies. I have had my passion vines for 3-4 years, each spring they start growing beautifully, then in 1-2 days are almost compl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Cultivar of Cercis Canadensis from Haskell OK May 16, 2012 We have a Hearts of Gold Redbud that first had dark edges to many of its leaves (about 2 weeks after planting). It now has multiple leaves w/ medium-dark brown spots on them. Are we looking at some ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Spots on bark of Mountain Ash from Engadine MI April 30, 2012 I have a mountain ash that is about 5 years old & have just noticed white, patchy, scaly looking spots on the bark. Is this something to be concerned about??? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Mountain laurels with insect problems in Bandera, TX.. April 30, 2012 I have 3 mountain laurels about 8 yrs old. Suddenly about 3 yrs ago worms started decimating them. This yr I got dipel dust which works great but only for two weeks. I now have small red flies and ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with blueberries from Kernersville NC April 29, 2012 My blueberry plants have no leaves or scrawny ones. I have 13 plants, 5 of them are like this. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning live oak in Austin April 28, 2012 Hi, We recently purchased a house in South Austin and there is a huge Live Oak Tree about 6 feet from the back door (so so so love it!) The only real issues I have so far are: 1. Needing to trim a ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What is hollowing out my rosebuds in Austin, TX? April 28, 2012 I recently noticed some of my rose buds had been hollowed out from the inside. I have seen no evidence of insect though. What do you think it is and how can I treat the problem? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with Texas Ash from Sun City, AZ April 20, 2012 What might be causing the leaves on my Texas Ash tree to have brown spots and curl up and die? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Lopidea on Texas Mountain Laurel from Austin April 16, 2012 How do I get rid of the Lopidea ALL OVER my Texas Laurels and boring into the seed pods? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Insects on yucca from Ft. Worth TX April 05, 2012 I have a plant labeled Yucca Soft Leaf recurvifolia that I planted about 5 years ago,& was beautiful until last summer when it became infested with thousands of fast, tiny, dark insects. I sprayed wit... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Leaf Galls on Live Oak March 20, 2012 Hi - I have a live oak tree that always seems to have thinner foliage than our other two. Upon closer examination today I found small brown balls all over the mature leaves. The balls look and feel ve... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Moths around Sophora secundiflora from Driftwood TX March 15, 2012 Sophora secundiflora Our Mountain Laurel has a lot of large moths flying around it. Should we be concerned? Will they hurt the tree? thank you View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | | |
| Ants in the compost pile from Georgetown TX March 09, 2012 Can you give me any suggestions for ridding my compost pile of ants? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Box elder beetles in Austin TX February 02, 2012 We have an large infestation of box elder beetles. They are crawling all over the yard and sometimes on the outside of the house. When you walk in the yard a cloud of them rises up and fills the air. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| When should cochineal bugs be on prickly pear cactus? January 05, 2012 I am a fibers artist that would like to harvest the cochineal bugs from the prickly pear cactus. I would like to know what time of year should I expect to find the cochineal bugs around the Austin ar... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Desmodium spp. (beggar's lice) in Leander TX November 11, 2011 Our home backs up to a greenbelt on Blockhouse Creek in Williamson County, Texas (FM 1431 and Parmer Lane). The combination of the flood and drought has left our beautiful greenbelt with an abundance... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Cenizos browning in Houston October 01, 2011 After this horrible drought, I am committed to xeriscaping with native Texas plants. The few hibiscus that survived have been transplanted into pots and are thriving. I bid the tiny boxwoods a fond fa... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Swarming insects on non-native willow in Washington PA September 25, 2011 I have had a very large, beautiful pillow willow bush/tree growing next to our garage for about 8 years. Last year at the end of August, it began to attract white-faced hornets and yellow jackets by t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pest damage to Yaupon shrubs in Austin, TX September 18, 2011 I have noticed pest damage in our 4 ft. yaupon. There are circular holes eaten on 90% of the leaf growth. Trunk & branches look untouched and healthy. Could this be leafminers? How can I care for it?... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Worms in non-native snake plant from Hillsborough NC September 17, 2011 I purchased a snake plant this summer for my screened in porch. I did not repot it and left it in the plastic pot in came it. I was about to repot the plant to bring it in and noticed there are worm... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Striped caterpillars on Cornus sericea (redtwig dogwood) September 07, 2011 My red-twig dogwood has white/black striped caterpillars that congregate on the underside of the leaves and they are stripping the leaves. What can I do? They almost look like Monarch butterfly larvae... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Caterpillars devouring Blue Wild Indigo in Jesup GA September 05, 2011 I have a false blue indigo growing in my garden. Every spring it gets defoliated by Genista moth caterpillars. It usually doesn't put out new growth until the next spring. This summer, it has put ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Bugs on Arizona Cypress in Bellwood IL August 27, 2011 I live in Illinois and have an Arizona Cypress that looks like it is dying but I notice today it has bugs inside its cone. Can you tell me why and what can I do? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Grasshopper invasion in Box Elder SD August 22, 2011 I just bought a new home and there is an infestation of grasshoppers throughout the neighborhood. What shrubs and/or flowers could I plant that they may not like to eat? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Oak tree with browning leaves in Brenham TX August 16, 2011 I have a large oak tree in my small back yard. I also have a sprinkler so the tree has been receiving some water. Nevertheless, some of the leaves are turning brown in patches. Would drip watering ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Killing oak sprouts from El Paso TX August 16, 2011 I want to know how to kill oak root sprouts and seedlings. Very dense and out-of-control in huge area of front lawn. I had tree cut down and I still cannot get rid of them. They're only getting wors... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Antelope Resistant Plants for Casper, Wyoming August 12, 2011 What are some drought resistant, full-sun plants for Wyoming that are Antelope resistant - Deer are not much of a problem, but antelope are! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Hibiscus plants being attacked by powdery mildew, or maybe mealy bugs in Austin, TX. August 10, 2011 I have three hibiscus plants planted outside about a foot apart from each other. The one that gets most of the sunlight is the worse off of the three. However, all three of them have white powdery stu... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Varmints disturbing plants in NH August 04, 2011 I planted herbs and perennials, then put paper down and bark. At first an animal just disturbed the paper around the plants, exposing it. Today two plants are dug up and are completely gone. No sig... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ants in outdoor plants in Austin July 30, 2011 Live in Austin. The problem is THIS. Ants have invaded our outside potted plants- mandevilla, begonia , lemon tree and violas. The colonies are devouring the roots it appears. Please give suggestions ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need help with powdery mildew and mites in Bastrop, TX July 26, 2011 I tend to flower beds for the city. I have noticed a powdery mildew in 2 beds. It is on the Pavonia and Turks caps. I now notice mites. What should I do? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Possible freeze damage in Wax Myrtle from last winter in Bastrop, TX July 25, 2011 Our Wax Myrtle is about 7 yrs old and in good shape until this past winter when we had several very hard freezes. Now several of the large branches are dead and more are dying each month. We have not ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trumpet creeper with ants in Belchertown MA July 23, 2011 My Campsis Vine is having one of the maximum blossom years it gets after a good pruning. This year, I have black carpenter ants on the blossoms and the flowers are rotting from the edges down on some... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Tree with brown spots on leaves containing caterpillars July 14, 2011 We have a new little tree we planted in our yard and I went over to admire it and on each leaf there is a brown spot in which little worms are living. They are alive and moving around in the pocket th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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