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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| Turks cap not blooming in Austin June 03, 2008 Why is my Turks Cap not blooming? It gets about an hour of sun in the morning, then shade for the rest of the day. It gets watered with the sprinkler system that waters our lawn. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplant shock in Liatris spicata May 25, 2008 I bought a liatris spicata start a month ago, and transplanted it into my front yard (full sun, clay soil, moist due to all the rain recently). The plant immediately wilted so I transplanted it in ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplant shock of non-native Bougainvillea May 22, 2008 Well I bought two Bougainvilleas, the first one I transplanted is doing great, the second one not so good when I was taking it out of the original pot the root ball stayed in the pot but the plant wit... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native wildflower garden for Pennsylvania May 21, 2008 Hello, I am interested in making a garden, and I would like to use only or mostly native wildflowers in it. Do you have any good suggestions for wildflowers that I can transplant from places where the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplant shock for non-native Plumbago auriculata May 19, 2008 I planted some full plumbago plants that were in containers, in a partially shaded area, they had beautiful flowers when I purchased them, but have since lost them all and the plant is looking very wi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Hummingbird plants and Indian Hawthorn May 13, 2008 I live in The Woodlands in a new section of homes. I planted some hummingbird plants in full sun and they did ok last year for 4 months, then lost all their leaves and died when the winter came. At ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Brown, dry leaves on weeping willow tree May 01, 2008 We live in central TX and have just planted a weeping willow tree. Our back yard has a retention pond and ravine that parallels our property and we were told that the weeping willow will do perfectly ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure of older branches on Bauhinia lunarioides to thrive April 27, 2008 We planted a sapling of the Anacacho Orchid Tree (Bauhinia lunarioides) winter (Jan, Feb?) and now it has leaves and blooms - but only off of new branches near its trunk, as the old branches haven't ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Growing Sophora gypsophila from seed April 23, 2008 Sophora gypsophila B.L. Turner & Powell Do you have any information on growing this small tree from seed? I have a few seeds and would like to try. What conditions break seed dormancy? I have grown ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care in planting native Shumard oaks April 16, 2008 I am going to plant 3 shumard red oaks on the west side of my property. The land is basically rocky. What should I put in the holes to help the tree grow? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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