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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| Vine Choices Scarce in Beaverton Oregon June 08, 2012 Hi, I am looking for a hearty vine that we could use to cling to and cover a cement wall that is about 8 feet tall and 30 feet long. It is on the south side of our house but never gets direct sunli... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of plant with orange sap that glows at night June 06, 2012 I was just pulling up a plant and noticed that its sap was a kind of orange then I noticed it glowing orange at night. What kind of plant is this and is it dangerous? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Poverty plant overgrown in Austin June 06, 2012 We have a poverty plant that is too big for its space in our yard. We like it and want to keep it. Can it be transplanted easily? What about pruning it. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Invasive Indian paintbrushes in Grawn MI June 04, 2012 I have lots of Indian paintbrushes crowding my lawn and taking over the grass..what kills it without killing the grass? 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 | ||
| Keeping non-native invasive bermudagrass out of yard in Austin May 30, 2012 My neighbor just sodded a huge lawn with Bermuda Celebration. I don't want it coming into my St. Augustine. From what I've read on your site and others, I need a deep barrier. Has anyone tried pu... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Digging wild buttercup from roadside in Mechanicsville MD May 28, 2012 Mr. Smarty Plants, is it illegal to dig out wild buttercup in Maryland? I see them along the dirt road or just in the ditch. Since buttercup considered weed, I'm wondering what the law say about this... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Growing native vines in pots from Houston May 28, 2012 I am writing in regards to your often mentioned issue of plants not doing as well in pots and in the ground. After last years drought, i moved all the plants I had that were in danger of dying of t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Non-native Purple Hyacinth from Sylvania OH May 21, 2012 I am wondering if I plant a Purple Hyacinth Bean vine seed under a tree and allow it to grow up the tree trunk, will it kill the tree? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Grass for Seattle Arboretum May 20, 2012 I am writing to you on behalf of the Arboretum at South Seattle Community College Arboretum. I am interested in Panicum virgatum Switch Grass as a plant for a very heavy clay garden in our Arboretum a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Adding Wildflowers to Corpus Christi May 20, 2012 I have a dry sandy yard, full sun in Corpus Christi with lot's of stickers mostly, want to transform to wildflowers. When should I plant, how should I prepare soil, should I dig out stickers? Which w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of plant resembling garlic mustard, but with purple flowers May 18, 2012 While searching for the invasive garlic mustard I am finding a very similar looking plant (triangular, alternate, toothed leaves; four petals, same habitat of shaded roadside and interior woods) excep... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eliminating ragweed in Sacramento CA May 16, 2012 Rag weed. How to be rid of it! My wife and lots of others that live in this part of Sacramento suffer greatly. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Invasive plants in native plant area from Austin May 15, 2012 Why do invasive plants grow in native plant territory? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Invasive American Germander from San Antonio May 14, 2012 I brought home some American Germander (Teucruim canadense) - page 259 In Wildflowers of Texas by Geyata Ajilvsgi - from a railroad right-of-way. Since it is a member of the mint family it has becom... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Need care instructions for Cardiosperma halicacabum in Little Rock, AR> May 11, 2012 I'd like to find out how to cultivate & care for a balloon vine/heart seed vine/love in a puff vine which I found growing wild in my yard (in Little Rock, Arkansas). There seems to be very little in... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Skunk cabbage from Amsterdam NY May 02, 2012 Will skunk cabbage grow under a mobile home and cause odor? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| How Can I Tell an Invasive Thistle from a Native May 01, 2012 Mr Smarty Plants, I have some thistles coming up in my yard. I'd like to keep them if they are native, but not if they are invasive or non-native. How can I tell? My yard is a wild area in West Lak... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Eradicating trumpet vine runners in Austin April 29, 2012 How do I eradicate trumpet vine runners from my lawn? Will it kill my pecan tree? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Getting rid of invasive Florida betony from Myrtle Beach SC April 28, 2012 How can I get rid of Florida Betony from my lawn and flower beds/ garden area. Garden area was thoroughly dug up and hand picked of all tubules last year at least a foot deep. They are much worse now.... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Replacement for grass under non-native weeping willow from Yorba Linda CA April 24, 2012 What would be a good replacement for the grass currently growing under a weeping willow? Something requiring low maintenance, the problem is with mowing over and around the roots. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native, invasive Paulownia for San Marcos TX April 24, 2012 Can a Paulownia tree grow in San Marcos? If so were can I get one? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Help with control of small, invasive groundcover April 16, 2012 I have a very invasive ground cover creeping into my yard. I've tried to identify it and it's similar to creeping charlie or garlic mustard. Leaves are triangular with jagged edges, small purple f... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Clover Among the Bluebonnets in Round Mountain, Texas April 13, 2012 I have a beautiful yard of bluebonnets, but mixed in with them are a tall clover that is hiding the flower's beauty and a shorter plant with clover-like leaves that produces burrs. Pulling is not an... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Removing invasive Dichelostemma firecracker plant from Austin April 12, 2012 We have dichelostemma firecracker plant & cannot kill it. We need help in getting rid of this plant. Spent another 3 hours digging up corms this afternoon. It is invading our backyard & want it kil... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ridding property of Dichelostemma Firecracker Plant from Cleburne TX April 11, 2012 How do we get rid of Dichelostemma-Firecracker plant? It has invaded our yard & we hate it! How do we kill it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pictures of Bastard Cabbage from Dallas TX April 07, 2012 HI! Re your March 12 posting: The USDA Plants website pictures two very different looking plants identified as Rapistrum rugosum (bastardcabbage). Would you please post a photo with leaf and bloom ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Replacing non-native invasives with native grasses and wildflowers from Round Rock TX April 04, 2012 I have a small piece of property (1.5 AC) East of Austin, Texas that get's overgrown with weedy vegetation (johnson grass, dandelion, and some tall yellow flowering plant that I see all over the medi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mowing wildflower concerns from Lockhart TX March 30, 2012 I went to the Texas Highway Department (Texas Department of Transportation) web site and sent them a concern or complaint about them or independent contractors shredding the roadsides before the blueb... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native genista racemosa from Leander TX March 28, 2012 Hello, Mr. Smarty Plants. I fear I've made a horrible purchase at a local plant place. Bought a "broom" plant--it's not listed in your database. Latin name: genista racemosa, according to tag. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identity of the mass fields of yellow flowers in North Texas March 23, 2012 Are the mass fields of yellow flowers we are seeing in north Texas now likely to be Indian Mustard (brassica juncea) or Charlock (brassica kaber or sinapis arvensis)? We are teaching a wildflower ide... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identity of rubbery-looking tree with long green thorns March 21, 2012 I am trying to identify a tree that has a green rubbery look with long, sharp, green thorns. This tree is on my property in Conroe, TX and the soil type is Gladwater clay frequently flooded. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Controlling Passionflora Incarnata propagation March 20, 2012 Would a cinderblock raised bed, 8 inches in height, be sufficient to contain the roots of passiflora incarnata and keep them from traveling to places where I don't want the vine? Are the roots deepe... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Bastard cabbage in Austin TX March 17, 2012 Not sure if this is the forum to address this; but is there any effort out there to do something about the bastard cabbage taking over Austin? Especially on MoPac where you can hardly see the bluebon... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Should the herbicide Ornamec 170 be used on unwanted grasses? March 15, 2012 I have a lovely wildflower garden in a field behind my house; unfortunately, the wildflowers are being smothered by grasses. I understand that Ornamec 170 can be used to control grasses in wildflower... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removing non-native plants appearing in Austin in early spring March 14, 2012 In order to know which plants to keep and which to remove, is there a source to look up and identify common non-native plants that are seen in Austin about this time of the year (late winter, early Sp... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Controlling Rapistrum rugosum (annual bastardcabbage) March 09, 2012 The invasive, Rapistrum rugosum, seems to be especially ubiquitous this year. I communicated with Dr. Mark Simmons a few years ago regarding his research, which indicated that over-sowing wit... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Vinegar as a Herbicide March 08, 2012 When can you use vinegar on weeds to get rid of them. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ligustrums planted last summer are doing poorly in Houston, TX. March 06, 2012 I planted large mature ligustrums trees (~ 8 ft) last summer and the leaves are turning yellow and falling off. Can you please tell me what the cause of this might be and what we can do to prevent th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Shade ground cover under honeysuckle from Wichita KS February 21, 2012 Hi! I know this is a bit odd, but I am trying to find a nontoxic, good ground covering plant that can live in the shade while competing with the roots of a whole bunch of honeysuckle. I have a few ide... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Removal of non-native invasive Ligustrum japonica from Austin February 14, 2012 I bought a house that I am slowly turning into a native garden, but as a teacher, I have a really small budget. One entire border of my backyard (30 feet) was planted with evil Ligustrum japonica. I l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Landscaping large area in Webster KY February 10, 2012 We just bought a house that we fell in love with. The land around it . . . well it has GREAT potential but is seriously lacking at the moment. Trying to get the farm up and running leaves very litt... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plants for north side from Dale TX February 10, 2012 What native trees and bushes can I plant on the north side of house? Can I use corn meal( I NEED FIGHT A GRASS) in flowerbed and then plant native wildlife seeds(FLOWERS)? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Edibility of peppervine berries from Madison MS February 09, 2012 I am following up on a question I've posed to many well experienced foragers and naturalists regarding the pepper vine plant or Ampelopsis arbor. There are many conflicting stories regarding the edib... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Reseeding a dead lawn in Wimberley TX February 07, 2012 Our new house had a sodded lawn that now appears dead. There remains a layer of sandy soil as a part of the sodding process. Is there a way to reseed these existing slabs of sod and what process wo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Planting time for non-natives in Irving TX February 07, 2012 Have dwarf nandinas and two lorapetalums that I want to transplant. Can I do it now February 6th 2012? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Invasive, non-native Siberian peashrub for waller TX February 02, 2012 Good Morning Mr. Smarty Plants! I am trying to find out if the Siberian Pea Shrub is a good plant for Southeast Texas or if it is considered an invasive no no. It seems to have many qualities for wild... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trees to replace some non-native invasives in Deltona FL February 02, 2012 I would like to replace 3 large ChinaBerry & 3 large Chinese Tallow trees in my good sized back yard with some local wildlife friendly trees native to the Deltona area(first area.) What do you recomme... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of bushes with red berries in Tennessee January 31, 2012 I was recently traveling thru Clarksville, TN and saw these bushes (at the shopping mall) that had clusters of small red berries on them. They were not a Holly that I know of. The leaves were not th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant ID from Woodcreek TX January 27, 2012 I would like to attach a photo of a weed in my lawn and have you identify it. How do I send a photo? I have been told it may be ground ivy. Please tell me how to kill it without damaging the lawn. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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