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 | |
| Mexican oak and red oak not looking healthy August 02, 2014 I purchased a Mexican oak tree and I believe a red oak tree from your center about 1 year ago. Recently I've noticed that they don't look as healthy as they have been, and I just looked at the leave... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Live oaks dropping brown leaves August 02, 2014 We have three live oaks and one of them has been dropping quite a few brown leaves over the past two weeks. I looked at pictures of trees with oak wilt and ours do not look like the pictures. I als... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting Ilex x attenuata (Savannah holly) July 31, 2014 Is it hard to take a savannah holly out of my front yard? Do the roots grow down deep or are they more shallow? I can only take a 36-40 rootball circumference because of surrounding established shru... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Is Viburnum rufidulum monoecious or dioecious? July 28, 2014 Is Viburnum rufidulum monoecious or dioecious? Your database does not address this for most plants. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning Post Oaks July 26, 2014 I live in Houston and have two post oaks. One is right by my house. I'd like to trim them but was told they are sensitive and might die if I trim them. Is this true? What is the right course of ac... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Mountain laurel with fasciation July 24, 2014 My Texas Mountain Laurel bush has developed several "crested branches." What causes this, is it harmful & how do I get rid of them??? Thank you! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Fast-spreading desert-type tree with thorns in yard July 21, 2014 There is a fast spreading tree in my backyard - many multiple almost symmetric flat green oval leaves on either side of the stem (sort of like a moringa tree but this is not that). Grows straight up, ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Controlling live oak suckers in Florida July 20, 2014 How do I kill emerging live oak sprouts coming from mature tree root system View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Controlling Tree Roots in Sewer Lines July 16, 2014 We had a leak with our underground pipes near the meter box - the pipes are at least a foot or more underground. My plumber poured table salt on the pipes to deter roots from a nearby tree from gettin... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Chinkapin Oak Planted Too Deep July 15, 2014 I planted a 15 gallon chinkapin oak last year and it's doing very well. As I didn't know that much about tree planting at that time, I planted it too deep by probably 3 inches. Is this a very seriou... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Trees Planted Over Underground Parking Garage July 13, 2014 I live in an apartment complex. We have trees planted over an underground parking lot. I know the names of all the trees and I want to know how much soil they should be planted in to NOT cause damage ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Controlling a shrub/tree with lots of thorns and flowers similar to beebrush, but lots of thorns July 08, 2014 I live in Horseshoe Bay, Llano County with 1.5 acres of natural habitat. There is a plant that I have always called Cat's Claw but in researching Cat's Claw, I may have misidentified it. It has a fl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Growing pecan and fruit trees near Canyon Lake, Texas July 07, 2014 I just bought a property on the north side of Canyon Lake in the Hill Country of Texas. Most of the trees around are cedar, and a few live oak. I know I have seen beautiful Pecan trees as well as seve... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Live Oak Suckers Reprise, Austin TX July 06, 2014 Referring to an entry dated March 11, 2011 about Live Oak suckers - what happened to the suckers covered with newspaper and cardboard? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Growing a Swamp Oak from Seed July 02, 2014 I have a swamp oak that I started from an acorn. Someone at a nursery stated that after 4 years I should cut it off at ground level and then allow one of the suckers to grow while keep removing the ot... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Apache Pine for Dripping Springs, TX. July 02, 2014 Is the Apache Pine tree a good choice for planting in alkaline soil with excellent drainage? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Northern Catalpa Tree Doing Poorly July 02, 2014 One of our Northern Catalpa trees appears to be dying. It is about 28 feet tall and this year only about 1/3 of it is producing leaves. It is next to our largest Catalpa tree (about 65 feet tall and a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Tan, rough, fan-shaped growth on mountain laurels July 01, 2014 A tan rough fan-shaped "something" is growing at the end of the mountain laurel branch where the flowers would be .. what is it and can it harm the plant? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Watering a Chinquapin Oak in Austin, TX June 22, 2014 I have a question about watering. I planted a Chinquapin Oak about 7 months ago and it's about 8 feet tall and doing well. I water it weekly on a slow drip for about an hour. I expect that my job is ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Why didn't the mountain laurels bloom this year in Georgetown, TX? June 19, 2014 Why are the mountain laurels not blooming this year, I live in Georgetown, TX? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Screening Plants for Cape Cod June 17, 2014 I need to plant some fairly high growing leafy plants/bushes/trees for privacy and as a sound barrier in (the remains of) a pine forest in Cape Cod, MA. The pines grow tall and skinny so that we can s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problem with mesquite tree limbs June 13, 2014 i keep finding some smaller branches of my mesquite tree in the turf area around the tree. when looking at the cut ends, they appear to have a smooth cut around the circumference of the limb about 1/... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eastern Redbud Flowers and Leaves Dried Up June 12, 2014 I have a young Eastern Redbud that started blooming last year. This year blossoms formed and leaves started to come, but now they are all dried up. What might have caused this? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Live oaks exhibiting white foam spots from Round Rock, TX June 08, 2014 We have several native very large Live Oak in our backyard, and this summer we have noticed white foam spots on the branches. We live in Round Rock next to the Williamson County Park. The spots look... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need for smaller tree with less invasive roots from Ft. Worth TX June 07, 2014 The sycamore in the front yard has developed roots larger than the branches. They have decided that the water and sewer lines are perfect to acquire their water from. For this reason it will be coming... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Transplant time for small smoke tree from Battle Ground WA June 01, 2014 When do I transplant a smoke tree that is still young, about a foot high? It is too close to a fence, which I fear will be a problem as it gets big. I live in Battle Ground, WA which is zone 6. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Adjustments to soil level change around tree from Austin May 29, 2014 I am moving in to a new construction home in south Austin, builder has leveled the ground and sodded the front yard, I have a post oak in the front and because of the changes to the landscape the tree... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pfluegerville Screening Hedge May 25, 2014 We live just north of Austin in a subdivision built on farm land so we have relatively flat land with good soil. We just put in a pool and are needing a privacy hedge along our 66 ft back fence. We ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Small tan balls on oak from Pipe Creek TX May 21, 2014 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, our spanish oak is growing tan colored lumpy balls about the size and weight of a marshmallow..sometimes just one at the end of a short stem and sometimes 2-3 clumped together.... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Trimming of Escarpment Oak from Austin May 18, 2014 We have a 2-year-old quercus fusiformis in our front yard and have been advised by some people that we need to remove the bottom branches and trim the ends of the branches that are hanging far down. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | | |
| Privacy Hedge Suggestions for Tampa, Florida May 15, 2014 My back wall is made of stone and is about 6' high. We are very close to a busy road. I need a plant that will reach about 7-8 feet high or a hedge to reduce some of the noise. What plant/hedge would... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Identification of tree with round purple leaves May 14, 2014 What is tne name of the purple leaf tree whose leaves are spherical? Maybe 1 to 2" in diameter? A neighbor who has moved now, had one but cut it down before i could find out or rescue it. It wasnt ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with transplanted Texas Madrones from Junction TX May 13, 2014 We planted 3 little Texas madrones last year 9 - 12 inches high. 2 of them seem to have some kind of black blight along the edges of the leaves that I don't think was the result of our late freezes. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Transplanting non-native crape myrtle in Scottsdale AZ May 11, 2014 When is the best time to transplant dwarf crape myrtle in Scottsdale AZ? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Can Condalia hookeri (Brasil or Bluewood condalia) self-pollinate? May 07, 2014 Good morning Mr. SP, I see from your description of Condalia hookeri that this species has bisexual flowers. Do you know if it is self-incompatible? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Clicking heard under an Oak in near Bandera, TX May 06, 2014 Hi, I live on a ranch in TX outside of Bandera. We're covered with live oaks, spanish oak and cedar. Last week,as I stood under an oak, I heard a constant fairly loud clicking sound under and around ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| A Crabapple for the Austin, TX area. May 06, 2014 I am in search of crab apples. Don't they grow in Austin? I can not seem to be able to locate any here. Any suggestions? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Aging Arizona Ash in Austin May 04, 2014 Mr. Smarty Plants! I live in South Austin and just bought a house with a large, 30-40 year old Arizona Ash in the backyard. When I moved in, most of the lower branches were bare and dead and so I had ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Appropriate use of redbud from Austin May 04, 2014 I am considering purchasing a hearts of gold redbud; I am also xeriscaping my front yard. I live in Austin,TX. Will this tree do ok in full Tx sun (8+ hours) with once a week watering? If this... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Small green balls falling from oaks in Hunt TX May 03, 2014 Our live oak trees have pin-sized black and green balls falling from them (there are so may that is sounds like rain!) The balls are not associated with or fall with the catkins. Thanks for your ass... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Retention of essential oils by Ashe Juniper wood from Austin May 03, 2014 I am looking for information on why local Austin Juniper/Cedar trees are so great at retaining essential oils for aromatherapy. I make pendants for necklaces out of our local fallen cedar trees and ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Late planting plum tree from Lago Vista, TX May 01, 2014 I have two plum trees in plastic containers that I purchased in March. For a lot of reasons, we didn't get them planted. I have kept them alive by watering consistently, but I am now wondering what... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants to grow under elm tree in Amarillo TX May 01, 2014 I have a large elm tree and I can't get seem to get anything to grow under it. I was wondering if there are any shade-loving groundcovers that you would recommend (have tried English Ivy, hostas, an... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Privacy Trees for Pleasanton, CA April 30, 2014 I was looking for some fast growing trees for my backyard that backs up to Valley Ave in Pleasanton, Ca. The city just cut down 4 Redwoods behind me and there is so much noise from the traffic now Ca... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Location of pine trees for a wedding site in Grapevine TX April 30, 2014 Okay, I know this is a long shot. My daughter is getting married in Grapevine, October 18 at sunrise. She REALLY wants to have the ceremony near pine trees. Any suggestions for locations in Grapevine ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Live oak leaves not dropping from Austin April 29, 2014 We had a 65 gallon live oak planted last October. We watered it regularly and it was green all through the winter. In March the leaves started to turn brown but never dropped, as they should have. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Non-native, invasive mimosa trees in Vincennes IN April 29, 2014 I have 3 Mimosa trees here in Vincennes, Indiana and so far none of them are leafing out this spring (4-28-14) Do you think that this past winter could have killed then? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Replacing river birch from Maple Grove MN April 22, 2014 How soon after taking out a river birch clump tree and grinding the stump would we be able to plant a new birch clump? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Non-native invasive carrot wood tree losing leaves in Alpine CA April 22, 2014 My carrot wood tree is losing all of its leaves. The tree is about 15foot high & 13 years old. Could it be gophers? The tree was trimmed 1 year ago. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Deer resistance of non-native Leyland Cypress from Kerrville TX April 19, 2014 Are Leyland cypress deer resistant? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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