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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| Transplant shock in Chestnut Oak in Waukesha WI September 13, 2009 Bought and had nursery install a 4" diameter, 16' tall chestnut oak. Watered it as instructed-every 2nd or third day-hose stream size of my pinky for 45-60 minutes. It was planted in July. Just l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removing leaves before transplanting from Miami August 27, 2009 What is good idea to remove some leaves before transplanting a plant?? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting azalea sprouts in St Louis MO August 27, 2009 I have an azalea bush that I cut back severely 2 years ago and unwittingly started 3 or 4 new bushes when some limbs grew back along the ground and created their own roots. I'd like to separate them... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting Desert willows in El Paso, TX August 27, 2009 We have some volunteer Desert Willows growing on an empty lot nearby. Can we dig them up and transplant them in the yard? If so, how? They are about 3-4 feet tall View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Leaves falling off live oak tree in Eureka TX August 22, 2009 I have the same question; it is in Navarro County in August. The leaves are falling off my live oak tree, they are brownish yellow, but it is not oak wilt. What might it be? This year I put mulch arou... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yucca elata flowering in Tauranga, NZ. August 20, 2009 I have two huuuuuuge Yucca elatas in my garden. One of them flowered spectacularly last year - a 15ft stalk that grew so quickly you could hear it, and then burst into a cloud of waxy cream flowers. M... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting adventitious shoots of a mountain laurel in San Antonio August 20, 2009 Is it possible to transplant branches (shoots) growing from a mountain laurel that was chopped down? Some are two years old and several feet tall (but not yet blooming) and some as small as a foot. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting aspens and Colorado blue spruce trees August 18, 2009 Please help me with info on transplanting aspen and blue spruce trees in Colorado. I live at 8600ft and have tons of deer. thx View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trimming prairie coneflower for lower height when blooming in Hampshire IL August 16, 2009 Can the prairie coneflower, Ratibida Columnifera, be cut by half or some amount before setting flower buds to force the plant to bloom at a shorter height? If not, when is the best time to dig and tra... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yellowing leaves on non-native weeping birch in Brick NJ August 16, 2009 I have a young weeping birch-planted in spring-we water regularly, it gets good sun-and rain has been perfect--the leaves get yellow--and now they are a lot! Whats the matter? I love my little tree.I ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting Sideroxylon lanuginosum in Austin August 12, 2009 I have a tall (30-40 ft) Sideroxylon lanuginosum in my backyard. Last fall hundreds of saplings popped up in my yard following runners from the tall tree. I would like to keep a few of these sapling... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Disappearance of leaves on desert willow in Tucson AZ August 08, 2009 We have a Lois Adams Desert Willow (Tucson, Az). The leaves will pump out and then a day or so later, all of the leaves are gone. The only bugs we've seen on it are very, very small ants. Could this ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Coreopsis failing to bloom in Sonora CA August 04, 2009 My Coreopsis buds form and then die. Very few open. The plants are two and three years old, in a clay type soil. Is it possible they're getting too much water, and that is whats making the buds die ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ensuring survival of wax myrtle in Wilmington, NC July 29, 2009 I just transplanted some wax myrtle bushes. What do I need to do to insure they live? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Looking for a source of bracken fern seed. July 27, 2009 I`m looking to buy "bracken fern"seed. Or can it be transplanted from the wild? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Moving wildflowers into a pollinator garden in Webster NY July 27, 2009 I live in the Western New York area and would like to utilize unwanted wildflowers near our roadside and woodland area into a large pollinator garden I am creating. What is a safe way to move an enti... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Transplant shock in my Nuttall Oak tree in Moore, OK. July 23, 2009 I had a Nutall oak tree planted; it is 5 inches in diameter and about 24 feet tall. It was planted in March of this year, leafed out ok; now since June 20th I have had a large quantity of the leaves t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Can I Divide Rudbeckia in July in NC. July 22, 2009 How do I transplant Blackeyed Susans so I can add them to other parts of the bed. I started with one and it is crowding out other plants, so I would like to transplant to other parts of the yard. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting or seeding Indian paintbrush in Bend OR July 21, 2009 I would like to know whether I can transplant native Indian paintbrush plants into my landscaping, or do I need to try and grow them from seed? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Separate pups on Manfreda variegata in Tucson July 20, 2009 Can you tell me the best way to separate pups on a Manfreda variegata? The first ones we tried were very close to the main plant. Your help is appreciated. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Propagation of redbuds from shoots in St. Louis MO July 17, 2009 I have a beautiful, healthy old redbud tree that I love. Every year, I find baby redbud trees rooted all over my yard, Since they are deep, I can't seem to dig them out so I simply cut them down to... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting Agave havardiana in Stella NC July 10, 2009 We have a havard century plant in a large pot outside that has a couple of "baby" plants starting to emerge on the outer perimeter of the plant. Can we sucessfully transplant these babies elsewhere ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Transplanting butterfly weed in Hamden OH July 10, 2009 I have tried transplanting butterfly weed from it's native location to my yard and each time the plant wilts and dies. Any suggestions? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplant time for Virginia Beach, VA July 08, 2009 I have a friend who is not a gardener but lives on a piece of property that has a gorgeous back yard with lots of plants, shrubs and trees that are becoming overgrown. I have her permission to dig up... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting sparkleberry trees in Southport NC July 07, 2009 I am interested in transplanting some sparkleberry trees to my yard. It is on the Cape Fear River and it would have full sun for a large part of the day. When would be a good time to transplant the ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dividing blackeyed susans in Lake Ronkoko NY July 06, 2009 How are you supposed to divide blackeyed susan's? And when is the best time to do this? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting a magnolia tree in Avon IN July 04, 2009 We moved in our house a couple of years ago,We have a small Magnolia tree, well, looks like a bush right in front of our porch. We want to move it but do not know the best time to move. Can you tell m... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How to care for newly transplanted Live Oak. July 02, 2009 I planted 3 B & B, 6" caliper live oaks in February and they lost most of their leaves during the normal time but when the new leaves grew back the amount of leaves were quite a bit less. I have th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Brown leaves on possumhaw holly in Grandview TX July 02, 2009 What would be likely causes for brown leaves on possumhaw holly? We have 2, one was planted in spring 2008, and a slightly larger one planted late winter/early spring this year. Most of the leaves a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Planting from pots in summer in Austin July 01, 2009 It's the last week in June and temperatures are going to be at 100 or more all week. I've some plants that I'm wondering about transplanting to an exposed site in this heat: muhlenbergeria lindheim... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| My newly planted Redbuds are not doing well. June 24, 2009 I ordered and received 2 Red Bud trees from one of the popular ordering houses. They explained that they were dormant and not dead, and gave us instructions on how to plant them, which we followed. Th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dividing and planting Yucca and pups in New Mexico June 23, 2009 I bought a Yucca plant and had 7 plants in one planter 1 large and 6 small. We wanted to split up the plants so we carefully separated them and planted them. My soil is very sandy (Rio Rancho) but I... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanted crabapple tree problems in Alberta June 18, 2009 We transplanted a crabapple tree a couple of weeks ago. There was an abundance of clay in the soil where it was re-planted and even with all the watering, it isn't doing well. Any suggestions on how ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Field of Dreams June 07, 2009 I planted a field of sunflowers in April. I transplanted some of the crowded plants to different rows in mid-May - no problems. I have tried to transplant some of the plants this first week of June ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care for Blackfoot daisy? June 05, 2009 Hi, I have two blackfoot daisies and one has died. I've planted them in full sun on a well drained slope. Do these ususally die after blooming? Should I cut the other one back? Thanks. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| What is the best time of year to transplant a young pecan tree? May 29, 2009 What is the best time of year to transplant a young pecan tree? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure to thrive of Cherokee sedge in Spicewood, TX May 18, 2009 I have several Cherokee sedges, just planted in March. Three of them are doing fine, but the rest look like they're dying. Some are right next to one that is doing great. Any ideas? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Desert willows not doing well in Navarro County, TX May 16, 2009 Planted 3 new desert willows , 3-4 ft.in February. Live in East Navarro County and soil is clay with slight slope to Richland Chambers lake area. Had a wet spring. These plantings appear not doing we... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting Trillium in Quebec. May 13, 2009 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I live in the Laurentiens of Quebec where they are putting a HWY in my back yard. I have a lot of white trillium that I am wanting to transplant before they start the excava... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Height of tree to block sun on deck in Arlington MA May 12, 2009 I am trying to figure out how tall a tree I should buy in order to make sure to block out the sun on my deck View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Bluebonnets in pots in New Caney, TX April 25, 2009 My mother in New Caney (Texas), would like to plant Bluebonnets in some lovely terra cotta containers on her porch (and will hopefully mail me some dried pressings of my beloved state flower). Other t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Twisted hibiscus tree in Plainfield, IN April 24, 2009 I have just bought 4 twisted hibiscus trees and repotted them immediately then brought them into my screened in porch until I was certain the weather would be safe to keep them outside (I live in Cent... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting honeysuckle bush in Illinois April 18, 2009 Want to transplant 3 honeysuckle shrubs 10 to 12' tall this month, although not the best time. Please advise. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting birdwing passionflower in Canyon, TX April 17, 2009 First, thank you for all your help! Second, I have two bird-wing passionflowers that are growing next to the house. I'd like to move them because this is the area where I want to put in some raise... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Should I transplant my bluebonnets from the planter they came into soil in Austin? April 10, 2009 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Since moving to Austin two years ago I have fallen in love with bluebonnets. Last year I purchased seedlings from the Wildflower Center but a taste-first-evaluate-later inquis... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Rotating a non-native cypress in its hole in Annapolis, MD April 02, 2009 I have a follow up question to a Cypress transplant question from December 28, 2008. We trimmed our 5 1/2 foot Dwarf Hinoki Cypress back too far, and now the side facing the street has some bare spot... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting redbud from field in Edmond, OK March 30, 2009 I want to transplant a small redbud from a field to my yard. The trunk diam is about 1.5" and the tree is about 4' tall. What is the best way to do this? Should I plant it in a pot first? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Planting a Texas Persimmon in rocky soil in Krum TX March 27, 2009 I have recently purchased a 10 gallon Texas Persimmon plant that I want to put as a highlight plant in my yard. According to the nursery, it has been in the pot for 2 years. I have been "blessed(or... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| My newly planted Mountain Laurel isn\'t doing well. March 13, 2009 My mountain laurel was planted from a container in Dec. It is in part sun, clay soil, and its leaves are turning yellow. should I move it or will that kill it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-blooming of an apparent yucca in Ohio March 09, 2009 I have what looks like a yucca plant in my flower bed. but in the 3 years we have lived here it has never bloomed. It did get a little bigger and has always been green. If it is a yucca, is there any ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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