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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| Native plants for sandy soil and not much water April 14, 2008 I am planning a new garden at home and would like to grow native plants that can handle sandy soil and don't need much water. I do not water my gardens.I would prefer plants that can have more than o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dwarf evergreen shrub for windowboxes in Staten Island , NY April 03, 2008 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Could you recommend a dwarf evergreen shrub, not deciduous that also has pretty flowers that would thrive in a container in the northeast...area would have sun for about 4 -5... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native evergreen trees or shrubs for privacy screen in South Carolina April 02, 2008 Mr. Smarty Plants, we recently lost a grove of eleven 30+ year old white pine trees in a storm this month. They provided a natural 42'x30' screen to the front of our property and home. What type o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native shrubs that can be pruned to shape in Austin, TX March 31, 2008 We have some shrubs in our NE facing front yard in Austin in the Steiner Ranch Area. The shrubs are native, and give good flowers in spring and summer, but are not trimmable and I want something like ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native vine to cover chain link fence in Massachusetts March 21, 2008 I have a chain link fence I don't want to bother taking down, any suggestions on a clinging vine that will rapidly attach itself to the links and eventually cover it with a green "blanket"? thanks View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native, deer-resistant evergreen trees for Rhode Island March 17, 2008 What deer proof evergreens can I plant in RI that may make nice xmas trees in a few years? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plants for birds in Virginia February 17, 2008 Hi there, I would like to plant some bird-friendly shrubs in my backyard, here in the Shenandoah Valley. I have read that birds like winterberries, and I think they are gorgeous. But, this is mid-Fe... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) trees, concern about cultivars February 06, 2008 I would like to place some yaupon in the perimeter areas of my yard. I own other rural property that has an abundance of yaupon and was considering trying to transplant some small bushes. Is yaupon ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trees to replace Ligustrums, and evergreen vines for privacy screen January 21, 2008 We had 3 ligustrum trees growing along a creek bank in our back yard and under the City of Austin power lines. Our backyard is on a terrace about 7 feet above the creek's flood plain. The Ligustrums ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Is Carolina laurel (Prunus caroliniana) a good choice for San Juan Islands, Washington? November 03, 2007 What are the prospects for Carolina laurel here on San Juan Island, mixed in with thin stand of douglas fir, about 50 feet from shore, eastern exposure? Water is available but little sun because of l... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Advice on planting Korean dogwood (Cornus kousa) in Vancouver, BC October 26, 2007 I live in the Vancouver, BC - Pacific Northwest area and the front of our yard faces south to southwest. If I were to plant a tree other than an evergreen, would the Korean Dogwood thrive in this are... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Do I need to plant a male winterberry? yes October 19, 2007 I planted a female winterberry in early July & although I have been watering it regularly the leaves turned brown on the tips in Sept. No berries yet so will I have to plant a male? Thanks, Carol View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Evergreen trees for Long Island, NY September 20, 2007 I live on across from the water on the north shore of Long Island. I would like the names of some hardy trees that are both native to Long Island and also NOT deciduous! I am finding it easy to find... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Control of live oak root sprouts, or suckers, under tree September 19, 2007 Have live oak trees in clusters with circular beds surrounding in frontyard. Have been invaded by some type weed that looks a bit like holly. Woody stem a few inches high with several serrated leave... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Distribution of Non-Native Royal Empress Tree August 23, 2007 I was wondering if you could give me the statistics for the Royal Empress Tree in the Long Island area. I have two and have read numerous articles online regarding them being invasive through the root... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Privacy plantings to replace invasive bamboo June 22, 2007 We are looking for good screening plants for our new house (the houses are very close). We like the way bamboo looks it is tall and narrow for the most part, but we do not want bamboo since it is inv... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of small shrub May 27, 2007 Need an identity of a small bush, probably native . There is only a single limb sticking out of a large dense evergreen holly. It is deciduous, has opposite ovate entire simple leaves, and clusters o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native trees for cemetery plot in Karnes County, TX April 08, 2007 I'm looking for a tree for a cemetery plot in Karnes County at Pana Maria. There will be someone to regularly water it. I understand live oak and pecan are native to the area. I assume these would... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native evergreen trees with highest value for birds April 02, 2007 What native evergreen trees have the highest value for bird seed/fruit (other than Juniperus virginiana)? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native wildflowers for Denver, Colorado area March 17, 2007 I live in the Denver, CO area and would like to plant more native wildflowers. Can you please tell me where I can find a list? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Differentiating between Iles decidua and Ilex vomitoria February 15, 2007 Is there any way to tell a male possum haw holly from a female? I have a possum haw that never lost all of it's leaves and has no berries. Could it be a male? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Alleotrophic effects of caffeine found in Ilex species January 24, 2007 I'm doing research for my biology class on the alleotrophic effects of caffeine. I'm planning to use Ilex vomitoria as the caffeine-producing plant. As the control I want to use another non-c... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Sources for Wax myrtle (Morella cerifera) September 21, 2006 I live in Alvin, Texas. I am looking for a small shade tree, that is easy to care for. I only have a small area for the tree. Alvin, Texas is about 30 miles from Galveston. I saw a wax myrtle tre... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Manor, TX in Blackland Prairie ecoregion June 27, 2006 Hi, I am planning an event for my community in Shadowglen and Manor, TX so my neighbors can learn about using native plants in the landscape to create healthier habitat for wildlife and be more respon... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Hill Country natives for a hedge June 01, 2006 Can you recommend a "hedge type" bush to use in lieu of a fence along the road in the San Antonio region? My whole back yard is planted with Hill Country natives and I would prefer to keep the the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native holly (ilex) for Austin area May 28, 2006 Hi--my brother and his family live in Austin, TX--their german shepard "Holly" just died (she was 13)--I was throwing around the idea of sending them a holly plant of some sort to have in honor of H... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native plants for seasonal poor drainage May 16, 2006 I have an area in my front yard that has a drainage ditch running through it. When it rains, that area stays very wet. What kind of plants available for sale will work in this situation? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Michigan native plants for shady, low traffic area May 10, 2006 Hello, I am looking for a recommendation for a Michigan native groundcover. I live adjacent to the Rouge River watershed and want to buy the right thing. The location is shady, infrequently walked ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Medicinal plants at the Wildflower Center April 19, 2006 What kinds of medicinal plants do you have at the Wildflower Center? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Low maintenance, drought tolerant, native plants for school garden in Round Rock March 30, 2006 Our school is about to plant a memorial garden but need very drought tolerant plants and flowers as the schools water very little during the summer months. What would you suggest? The district does ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Drought-resistant plants for Grand Prairie, TX March 24, 2006 Can you tell me where I may obtain a list of drought-resistant plants for landscaping? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Source of cotton seeds in Georgia March 08, 2006 Where can I buy cotton seeds???? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Deer resistant plants for campground in West Virginia February 24, 2006 We spend the summers at a campground as permanent campers. We fix up our sites to be a pleasure to spend our time smelling and see the wild life come and perch around the area. We would like to know... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Delay in fruiting of Mexican plum (Prunus mexicana) July 20, 2005 Dear experts, My wife and i are members of your fine organization. Several years ago we bought four things at a spring plant sale for an understory spot in our yard. The Possumhaw Holly, American ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Controlling scale insects on hollies July 10, 2005 I have a number of holly shrubs at the side of my house. Recently I noticed that they have tiny white spots on them. I looked at several native Texas gardening books, but can't find what I need to t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on bio-security June 11, 2005 Hello, My friend and I are summer interns at the Bryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve Site in Freeport, Texas. Our jobs as the interns is to find a plant that is friendly to the animals around our... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Smarty Plants on spines April 09, 2005 What do you call part of a plant that is needle-like or has spikes or bristles? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Luring wildlife in Longview March 27, 2005 I live in Longview, Texas and am in the process of trying to restore a natural habitat for wildlife in my area. Could you give me a list of plants that are native specific so that I can lure local bi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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