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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| Will Canada geese eat Asclepias tuberosa from Cape May Court, NJ May 20, 2014 Will Canada geese eat my butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)? I know this plant is deer resistant. I really want to plant some on sandy bank near pond in my back yard, but I fear the geese will ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| How to Control Pests on Plants for Sale May 15, 2014 I am renting a closed spot at a flea market, and am having trouble with several infestations at once, and I am not sure how to control them. I am currently having trouble with aphids, whiteflies, and ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Webs on limbs of evergreen sumac from Austin May 13, 2014 We have a mature Evergreen Sumac (Rhus virens) that has spider webs on the end of some limbs. The end of the those limbs have died although new growth is coming on further up the limb. We live in th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How are NPIN Deer Resistance Ratings Determined? May 06, 2014 If your plant data-base (which is the best thing since sliced bread!) is silent on the degree to which a plant is deer-resistant, does this mean you just don't have enough information to make the cal... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Clicking heard under an Oak in near Bandera, TX May 06, 2014 Hi, I live on a ranch in TX outside of Bandera. We're covered with live oaks, spanish oak and cedar. Last week,as I stood under an oak, I heard a constant fairly loud clicking sound under and around ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Control of invasive sandburs in Austin May 05, 2014 My attempts to control / eradicate Sanbur with pre-emergent corn gluten twice yeary for the last three years have been unsuccessful. My post emergent pulling weeds for 15 years has also been unsucces... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Small green balls falling from oaks in Hunt TX May 03, 2014 Our live oak trees have pin-sized black and green balls falling from them (there are so may that is sounds like rain!) The balls are not associated with or fall with the catkins. Thanks for your ass... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with non-native Banana Shrub from Houston May 01, 2014 My 7' beloved Banana Shrub (magnolia) has white dots on top of the leaves and nasty black stuff covering the backside of the leaves. The plant is dropping leaves. What can I do to save it? I has bee... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Tiny beetles eating a native plant in Austin, TX. April 15, 2014 Help! Found plant devoured in my wildflower garden! Covered with literally thousand of small black bronze beetles. They are on other plants but the other plants (native poppies, coneflower, coreops... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mosquito problem from Mesa AZ April 07, 2014 We have a mosquito problem in our backyard, I think they're grass Mosquitos. I wanted to get lemongrass for a deterrent but both nurseries were out so I opted for rosemary. They're ALL OVER the rose... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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