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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| Dog wallowing in damp area in garden from Great Bend KS March 20, 2013 I Have a wet area in my back yard that is close to my house. and off my patio there is a water hydrant,gas meter, electrical for my hot tub, my sprinkler valves and pump all there. My dog digs throug... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Use of free cedar mulch in Round Rock, TX March 17, 2013 Round Rock provides city residents free mulch to pick up. It is all cedar apparently. I am turning my now dead, mostly clay, very alkaline and rocky thin soil front lawn into a bigger flower bed of mo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Disposal of Ashe juniper from Austin March 07, 2013 I am in western Travis County and we have been clearing our land of some of the Ashe Juniper. When there is not a burn ban, we burn them because there are just too many to shred. I was wondering if ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pros and cons of live oak leaves left on ground in Dripping Springs TX February 20, 2013 What are the pros or cons of leaving live oak leaves on the ground around trees or bushes? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Vine for pergola in Belton TX February 06, 2013 Hello, I would like to know what vine would be best to cover a rather large pergola. It will be in full sun in caliche soil. :( The area has access to a water hose and I would like to have something... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Will recycled tire mulch harm butterfly larvae? December 05, 2012 I discovered orange butterfly larva in the hardwood mulch under my Turk's Cap. Will it harm the larva if I switch over to recycled tire mulch? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dirt at tree base from Austin November 03, 2012 Hello, I recently bought a home in Austin with a live oak tree which is about eight years old. The previous owner did exactly what all the experts say NOT to do, which was to mound dirt right up agai... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ground cover under trees from Austin November 03, 2012 I need ground cover plants that can tolerate leaf litter and grow under oak tree shade. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Suitability of Carolina Cherry Laurel for Bulverde TX October 24, 2012 The local Home Depot is selling Carolina Cherry Laurel Trees. They look beautiful. Is this a good tree for Bulverde TX..20 miles north of San Antonio? Can it survive? Will it be a high maintenance... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Feeding live oak and redbud trees from Fredericksburg TX October 23, 2012 Can you please tell me what to feed my live oak and texas redbud trees that survived the drought? We have granite soil. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Destructive landscape crews in The Woodlands TX October 20, 2012 Hi. We need help. We recently moved to a house where landscape crews have been blowing away the leaf litter from the front yard for many years. The underbrush was also cleared long ago. The result... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Area under live oaks from Austin October 08, 2012 We have many live oaks in our mostly shaded half acre. While I have tried to plant mostly native plants, often beneath them, the plants are showered with leathery leaves, acorns and sap, while oak sp... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Splash-proof plants from Oakton VA October 01, 2012 Hi Mr Smarty Plants, Re: low, evergreen ground cover, Northern Virginia The bare soil around my freshly painted screen porch splashes up onto the white framing when it rains so I am looking for ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Removing St. Augustine for natives in Grapevine TX September 29, 2012 We have St Augustine in our yard and we hate it. It guzzles water, we have to cut it often, and it's thick and hard to work with. Anyway, we want to replace it with a combination of some kind of g... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Varieties of Ceanothus suitable for Illinois September 07, 2012 Ceanothus Velutinus is the smell of western Montana, my home, to me, and I have relocated to Illinois. I miss it so much that whenever I go home I bring back a jar of ceanothis leaves and keep th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Disagreement on amending soil for planting from Austin September 01, 2012 In today's newspaper column, you answered a question about transplanting a redbud. You said to follow the instructions on the WFC web site, except you recommended adding compost to the backfill soil.... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Deer resistant plants from New Braunfels TX August 31, 2012 I have a 1/2 yard covered by a tree, shady. Bermuda grass previous owner planted has all turned brown this summer. I don't have lots of money to work with but would love to landscape that side of fr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Ailing Tecoma stans from Phoenix AZ August 24, 2012 I have several young Tecoma plants in my Phoenix, AZ garden. I planted them in June and have tended to them over the summer. They are watered twice daily. On some of the plants, I've noticed two oddi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Difficulty with Clay Soil from Palm Bay, FL August 22, 2012 I had a very nice little native shady area behind my house for over 40 years, but now it has been cleared except for a 100 foot tall live oak in the center of this raised mound (50' x 80'). I've be... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Bird nest fungus in Central Austin, TX. August 21, 2012 Hi, I live in Central Austin and have different types of ground cover (such as silver pony foot)in my garden and have noticed huge patches of bird's nest fungi in between and under. Every time it ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native, invasive bermudagrass from Memphis TN August 17, 2012 I live in central Memphis and have well-drained clay soil. I have converted much of the front yard from turf grass to beds of native plants, which survive our hot humid without supplemental watering e... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Oak leaf hydrangeas from Edwardsville IL August 13, 2012 Hello, I live in West Central Illinois (across the river from St. Louis) and I am considering planting several Oak leaf Hydrangea's in my yard. The location where I would like to plant them is und... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Will Habiturf thrive in Houston? July 31, 2012 Will Habiturf grow in partial sun? My lawn is surrounded by trees so that there is only about an hour each day with direct overhead sun. The rest of the day there is a light shade. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplant shock in non-native crape myrtle from Wesley Chapel, FL June 12, 2012 I just bought a 12 ft. crape myrtle and planted it, giving it plenty of water I think. After 3 days the leaves are wilting and flowers are falling off. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cardboard or newsprint for mulch from Cedar Park TX June 09, 2012 What is your opinion on using cardboard and/or newspaper for mulch in flower beds or around trees? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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