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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| topic | question | |
| Cutting back Pampas grass. March 27, 2009 When and how much should I cut back Pampas grass in the Hill Country of Texas. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Violets becoming invasive in Prince Edward Island, Canada March 18, 2009 Last Spring I planted several violets and by the end of the Summer they have become an invasion in my garden. I'm afraid that they will get into my lawn and cause a real problem. Any way of getting r... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Elimination of Whitemouth dayflower in Dothan AL March 18, 2009 I am infested with Widow's Tears in my yard. I would like to get rid of them. Can you tell me how? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Getting rid of sandburs in horse pasture in Minnesota March 17, 2009 How do I get rid of sandburs in my horse pasture? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Controlling Pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata) in British Columbia March 10, 2009 Hello, I am emailing from the west coast of Canada, Vancouver, and I have a plant question regarding a species you have listed on your website. We have recently discovered Pontederia cordata L. Pi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Reply on Carolina Jasmine from San Antonio March 06, 2009 Thank you for your prompt reply to my question from San Antonio about removal of Carolina Jasmine. Just one note. In the "rate this answer" section my cursor dropped. I meant to give you four stars.... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Top soil dressing for bermudagrass February 25, 2009 Need to apply top soil dressing to bermudagrass. Can you suggest any type? This area is heavy clay soil and need to even out the lawn as well as feed the grass. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Winter weeds in Flower Mound TX February 19, 2009 My lawn is being overrun by winter weeds. How can I get rid of them? Should I wait until March when I put down weed and feed fertilizer? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Walnut tree root coming through basement floor in Portland, OR February 10, 2009 I have a walnut tree root coming through my basement floor. I need advice as to what will it do to tree when I remove the root, like another root though a different part of my home. It is a large tree... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eradicating sumac in Burnet, TX February 05, 2009 I have several varieties of sumac on my property. I need to know how to get rid of it. When I cut it down it seems to come back in force. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Getting rid of Japanese bindweed in Massachusetts February 04, 2009 How do you get rid of Japanese Bindweed (mile-a-minute)? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removing St. Augustine from flower beds January 25, 2009 We just had new landscaping put in at our house. We had planting beds prepped and mulched and had Zoysia sod installed outside the beds. The yard before had small areas of St. Augustine growing and no... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Are Bradford pear fruits poisonous to dogs? January 25, 2009 Are Bradford pear fruits poisonous to dogs? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removal, spread of native mistletoe January 24, 2009 My neighbor has a lot of mistletoe growing in a tree in her front yard. I have a tree in my yard that has mistletoe in it. Each winter I have the plant removed so birds won't spread it around. Do you... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| The invasiveness of Lupinus arboreus January 23, 2009 Hi, Researching Lupinus arboreus, I found that it is considered a serious invasive in Northern California coastal areas, especially Humbolt Bay. Scotch broom, of course, is an awful pest on the coast... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Absence of grass around a willow tree in Georgia December 22, 2008 In the past three years my Willow tree has grown from a stick to a lovely tree. Unfortunately, the grass under and around the tree is gone. Nothing left but dirt. Is there a remedy? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ways of eliminating smilax bona-nox December 16, 2008 How can I get rid of "smilax bona" or green briar vines besides digging them up one by one? I have been told by Harris County Ext. Office to just mow them.. Ha Ha Good luck with that. Is there a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Legality of using Chinese tallow seeds for Christmas decorations December 07, 2008 If tallow trees are on the noxious list, is it illegal to use the white berries for Christmas decorations? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Invasive introduced sandburs in Maui, Hawaii November 12, 2008 I live in Maui, Hawaii & I have a serious problem with Cenchrus spinifex and/or Coastal sandbur grass (weed!) it is everywhere, in my flower beds, in my gravel yardscape. Every time I pull it out it d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eucalyptus tree for Spring, Texas October 31, 2008 I've heard eucalyptus trees do not lose their leaves in the winter and grow considerably tall. I want to replace a decaying pine tree with a eucalyptus tree. Do you recommend that for the Spring, T... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Invasive iceplant in Hawaii October 29, 2008 Last time I checked Hawaii was in North America. Invasive or not, iceplant continues to be a much used ground cover etc for golf courses, sides of the freeway and many many City and County projects pr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care for iceplant in Hawaii October 25, 2008 Good morning Mr. Smarty Plants( I love the name) I live in Hawaii and have iceplant on the hill behind my house. Its established pretty well.I weed it often. How much water do I need and how can I get... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Getting rid of giant ragweed in Austin October 25, 2008 How can I get rid of a large field of giant ragweed? Part of the site is a steep slope, which is difficult to mow. I want to encourage native grasses but they are crowded out by the ragweed. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eliminating wisteria invading from neighboring yard October 12, 2008 How can I get rid of Wisteria vine? It originates in my neighbor's yard. Have tried everything; gets in my Oak tree and has almost killed it. Thanks. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care for a Campsis radicans in Yakima, WA October 08, 2008 I have a Campsis radicans it is in a 7" pot and the plant is 20" tall. It was a clipping given to me by a lady that is now out of town. My question is: I live in zone 6a so do I leave it in the p... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Is the mimosa tree poisonous? September 23, 2008 Is the mimosa tree poisonous ? If you burn the trimmed limbs is the smoke noxious ? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Information about invasive Paulownia tree September 22, 2008 What genus and species and family is this Royal Paulownia tree I hear about? Is it Elm? Linden? Dogwood? Is it a weed? thank you View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Poverty Weed in Wimberley, Texas September 20, 2008 I have seen differing reports about the native plant, Baccharis neglecta or Poverty Weed. Some reports say it is invasive and others consider it an acceptable native plant. I have quite a few Povert... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| East Texas grasses for holding soils September 17, 2008 Hi Mr. Smarty Plants, I have a question about the East Texas area: Specifically, which natvie grasses can be planted to hold the soil/new roads through the winter? Here is the situation: (Against... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Nutgrass September 12, 2008 Hey Hi Barbara, I just read the information you gave about nut grass. I had wished for other options. Back to digging them out. Thanks for the information What about substituting cud zoo. S... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How to combat weeds growing in mulch September 12, 2008 Trying to decide on either ground cover plants, or some type of gravel. We have a new house where the builder has planted small shrubs in the full sun flower bed next to house. The bed has mulch at th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Comparisons of King Ranch Bluestem and Kleberg Bluestem grasses September 03, 2008 Regarding your answer to a question from Wimberly Tx on November 17 2007 about KR Bluestem: Many people confuse King Ranch Bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum) with Kleberg Bluestem (Dichanthium annulatu... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Transplanting Virginia creeper September 02, 2008 I have a large Virginia creeper plant approximately 15 feet in length. Is it possible to transplant the whole thing without killing it? If so how do I care for it after it has been moved? Thank yo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| My plants are choking. September 01, 2008 I have a trailing weed that is choking the other plants in my garden. It grows super fast and it has small white flowers. The flower looks a bit like a mini morning glory. I have tried pulling it as m... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Something to grow under a chinaberry tree August 29, 2008 I have a huge Chinaberry on the west side of the house. We enjoy the shade it provides and have it limbed up pretty high, but it's located between two 2-story houses and of course drops buckets of it... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eradiacation of johnsongrass along roadways August 19, 2008 What does latest research show on eradication of Johnsongrass along roadways? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| List of North American plants grown in other countries August 17, 2008 I am working on a childrens story and would like to let the teachers who read this book know where some of the native plants in my book grow throughout the world, or if they grow outside of the USA. p... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Getting rid of King Ranch bluestem August 13, 2008 I have recently moved to South Texas Coastal town of Portland, Texas. My St. Augestine turf grass has been invaded by - what the neighbors tell me - King Ranch Blue Stem grass. I am having a terribl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Introduction of King Ranch bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemem) August 04, 2008 Hello, I am a graduate student from TAMUK and I'm writing my thesis concerning natives vs. Old World Bluestems. I was wondering if you could help me find a source that states: King Ranch (or KR) Blu... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning of Grape Kool Aid Plant in California August 03, 2008 I have a Grape Kool Aid plant and was told it would grow to 6 or 7 feet tall, but it is well over that and I need to know if I can prune it and if so how? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Controlling sedge in vegetable garden in Mississippi August 03, 2008 I have a veg. garden surrounded by Purple Sedge. The nut grass has been contained/eliminated by replacing all dirt 1' down. Now the surrounding sedge is beginning to creep inward infesting the gard... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Wild mustard growing in disturbed ground in Montana August 01, 2008 I have recently planted "plugs" of wildflowers in beds throughout my yard. Because the soil was disturbed, I now not only have some beautiful wildflowers growing, but also mustard plants growing in ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Getting rid of Polygonum punctatum (dotted smartweed) July 28, 2008 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, After much online research, my property has been invaded by what I believe to be Persicaria polygonum punctata, more commonly known as dotted smartweed. I have tried hortic... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How to get rid of Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) July 28, 2008 We have an enormous stand of japanese polygonum that we are trying to get rid of. What soil type is the most inhospitable to this aggressive and highly invasive species? Were thinking of planting so... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How to get rid of plants spreading fluffy seeds July 27, 2008 I live in Blaine, MN next to a Lake. The "buffer zones" next to the lake are filled with native grasses, weeds & wildflowers. We are trying to identify a plant that blooms July with lavender flowe... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Control of white clover (Trifolium repens) July 18, 2008 our yard was remediated by ARCO in Rico Colorado. they brought in soil that must have been from clover fields. the soil produces tense low growing and fast growing clover with white flowers. it is inv... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-flowering mimosas in Texas July 08, 2008 I have two mimosa trees, about 3 years old. Both were grown from volunteer seedlings. Neither have flowers nor have they produced seed pods. Are they too young or do they need a source of pollenation... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Controlling Phragmites australis, common reed July 04, 2008 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I volunteer at Cedar Ridge Preserve in Dallas. We are currently chopping down an invasive called Phragmites australis around the pond. The belief is that by continuously cho... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native vs. Invasive Experiment July 01, 2008 I asked you earlier about my group's experiment on native vs. invasive plants in Valdosta. Here are what we chose to work with..native: spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) and invasive: wild taro (Col... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native vs. invasive photosynthesis and CO2 exchange. June 27, 2008 My group is conducting an experiment on invasive and native plants in Valdosta, Georgia. Are invasive plant species better adapted to live in Valdosta than native plant species? How do invasive specie... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| topic | question | |