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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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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

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topicquestion
Identification of shrub/small tree with small purple fruit
July 31, 2013
Hi! I have a tree/bush that has come up on its own in the backyard. This year it set what looks like small purple plums. Is there any chance that they might be poisonous?
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Edible native plants in New York
July 29, 2013
In your plant database- which is great by the way- it does not say whether or not the plant is edible. Do you have any way to search for edible plants? Or do you have a separate database? Thanks!
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Controlling Cnidoscolus texanus (Texas bullnettle)
July 18, 2013
Hello,I need your help to control some nasty weeds in my yard/pasture. I am an old timer and do not have a picture to include—haven't figured out that part of the camera/phone yet. This weed is a pri...
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Grafting Pecan Trees
July 05, 2013
I have planted two pecan nuts and now they are about 4 feet tall trees, they have not been grafted but can I graft one of the trees to the other and vice versa and expect pecans from then, they are he...
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Leaves of Chile pequin consumed overnight from San Marcus TX
June 23, 2013
Something ate all the leaves of my Chile petin overnight. There is a ton of frass under the plants but no sign of a critter to be found. These plants have been in the same area for years and this is t...
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Can poisonous seed of wild plum be safely removed after steaming from Seymour IA
June 20, 2013
I read on a related questions that you said the pit/seeds of all wild plums are poisonous. My question is this, can I juice the entire fruit for making jelly without removing the pit first? I have a s...
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Fruit crops to grow in Tennessee mountains
May 27, 2013
My property has a lot of rock formations throughout it and has hundreds of cedars where it is not pasture. I am wanting to grow fruit trees and berry bushes but don't know what can grow in this e...
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Non-fruiting Willamette raspberry plant in Wateford CA
May 23, 2013
I have a 2 year old Willamette Raspberry plant that has many blooms, bees, great growing conditions, very healthy but has never set one fruit. I know about pruning. Any suggestions? It has been bloomi...
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Are berries of coral honeysuckle edible from Lufkin TX
May 21, 2013
Are the berries of coral honeysuckle edible?
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Affect of poisonous plant roots in soils for vegetables from Rusk TX
May 11, 2013
I have a huge old flowerbed in front of my house that I want to plant veggies in, but I'm afraid to. It has a catalpa tree there, which I sell the worms from, but the entire tree (bark, leaves, flowe...
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