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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| topic | question | |
| Palm trees turning orange in Miami May 24, 2010 Why are my palm trees turning orange? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What kind of beetles are attacking cedar trees on Cape Cod, MA. May 17, 2010 I live on Cape Cod, MA and my cedar trees are being attacked by some kind of beetle & killing them. I would appreciate knowing what this could be and how to treat this. Thank you View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Orange patches circling cedar branches May 15, 2010 We have dry rusty orange patches that circle several of our Cedar branches. There are a few orange blobs on different limbs, but they do not look like the pictures of Cedar Rust (no horns). The foli... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Red-backed bugs on mountain laurel (Sophoro secundiflora) May 12, 2010 I found red-backed bugs (in fact two end-to-end like the east Texas love bugs) on my mountain laurel which has been losing leaves. Are these bugs the culprit? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Picture of fungus on winecups in Taylor TX May 10, 2010 My error! I rated your answer to my question as 3 stars. I did not know how the rating worked and I accidentally chose 3. Your response was great. I would like to send you a picture of the spores/f... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with winecups in Taylor, TX May 09, 2010 I live in Taylor in Williamson County, Tx,. I have wine cups growing. They are lush and blooming, but I am now noticing what looks like spores forming under the leaves and the plants seem to be suffer... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Discouraging rabbit snacking in the garden in Pearland TX May 07, 2010 I planted winecups and pink evening primrose in my new landscape beds amongst other native grasses and shrubs. Rabbits have been eating these wildflowers down to the ground. I want to attract wildli... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need help diagnosing a problem with Bur Oak in Plano, TX April 28, 2010 I planted a bur oak 8 or 9 years ago. It has grown beautifully until this year. When opening, the leaves are very small (a couple inches) and there are lots of seeds (catkins?). I would hate to los... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yellowing of Leyland Cypress in Roswell, GA April 27, 2010 We paid for 12 foot naylor blue leyland's to be planted behind our home. This is their first season in the ground here - they came from a tree farm - there is yellowing on some of the branches and w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Juniper-apple rust galls April 24, 2010 I have Red Cedar trees in my yard. I have just noticed something that looks like a reddish brown squid-like bloom about the size of a small orange. Is this normal or is it a fungus? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure to bud out of Shumard oaks in Floresville TX April 16, 2010 Question: I have a Shumard red oak (9-10ft tall) that I planted last October as its leaves were turning a brilliant red color. However, it's the only tree that did not bud this spring. I scraped t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Laurel oak tree not leafing out in Pasadena TX April 13, 2010 Hurricane Ike blew down our red bud in the backyard. Had a large 25' laurel oak planted early March 2010. When it was put in the ground, the leaves were on it, but they were all brown and dried. T... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Can Live Oak suckers be mowed during Oak Wilt spread season in Austin? April 12, 2010 I live in South Austin, not too far from the Wildflower Center. I have a Live Oak in my yard with a substantial amount of sucker growth from the roots. Can I mow them freely throughout the year, or ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Why isn't my recently planted Mexican Redbud growing in Georgetown, TX? April 11, 2010 I planted a container-grown Mexican Redbud in early March. As of April 5th, it is showing no signs of buds or leaves. Other redbuds in the area (possibly Texas redbuds) have been blooming for severa... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with Fantex ash in Pahrump NV April 08, 2010 We planted a Fantex Ash tree over 3 years ago and it was thriving until recently. This year when the temperature began to warm up, it blossomed and then suddenly stopped growing. All the other trees... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Arizona Ash dropping seed pods and waste in Houston April 08, 2010 My Arizona Ash tree is dropping seed pods and other waste on my deck and walkway. It has never done this before in the 14 years we have had it. We did get it cut back last winter. Could this be the re... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Peeling bark on red oak in Plano, TX April 08, 2010 I have a red oak that was planted 2 years ago. The trunk is approx. 5 in around. The bark around the bottom of the trunk is peeling off. At first we thought it was rabbits so we put some rabbit gua... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Spots on just-emerging Zexmenia in Austin April 02, 2010 My zexmenia is just coming up from the ground after a cold winter in Austin. The leaves are all spotted with tiny holes as if something is munching on them before they even leave the ground or just as... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Why are my lemon Cyprees trees turning Black? April 01, 2010 I have 3 lemon Cypress plants - all are about 6 feet tall. One of them has started turning black on one side - like it's been burnt. The inside of the plant is also turning black. I assume something ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need help with canker in willows in Flagstaff, AZ. March 18, 2010 We've got a lot of willows in high altitude desert conditions, irrigated. They've got canker and I want to know if there's anything I can paint on the pruning wounds when I go around trying to remo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with dogwood tree in Jacksonville FL February 28, 2010 Sir, I believe I have a Cornus drummondii, a stiff dogwood tree on my lawn which a few years ago was big, lush and full of branches and leaves. In the last 2 years I have noticed about 80% of it drop... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Should I use wound paint when pruning my live oak tree? February 04, 2010 When trimming live oak branches, is it best to coat the wound on the tree? I have been doing this but have recently heard that it can actually be bad for the tree. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Fungus on spineless prickly pear in Hico TX January 03, 2010 Is there anything I can do to save my spineless prickly pear planted 3 yrs ago in rock garden. Pods had grayish-white fungus? on the pods and I noticed a few green colored bugs on them. Bugs are gone-... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Freeze damage to Mexican olive in Austin December 13, 2009 I have a Mexican Olive tree/bush. It is young - about 8 ft. tall. This last freeze in Austin made many of its leaves turn black. I got this from your database: "Its native range extends no farther... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Esperanza with rust spots in Corpus Christi, TX November 30, 2009 I have a young esperanza plant and the leaves have what looks like rust spots all over them. What is the cause of this and what can I do for it? My other larger and older esperanza does not have this.... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Treating cuts in tree trunks November 21, 2009 We have two young trees that deer made bad cuts in the trunks. What can we put on cuts to keep bugs and disease from getting in them.? Thank you. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Red maple a casualty of Hurricane Ike in Houston November 21, 2009 We have a 3 year old Drummond Red Maple, between the sidewalk and the street in front of our house, that fell during Hurricane Ike. We replanted it. I recently noticed that the bark is severely cracke... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Brown dead spots on arborvitae in Hillsboro OR October 12, 2009 Hello. I live in Hillsboro, OR and have several mature arborvitae as a privacy screen in my backyard. They are on our side of a black chainlink fence separating our yard from a drainage area maintaine... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure to thrive of pecan trees in Las Vegas NV October 11, 2009 In April this year I purchased two 8-foot tall pecan trees in 3-foot square boxes from a local nursery and planted them here in Southern Nevada. I'm sure I dug a large enough hole to provide plenty ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What is the sticky stuff coming out of the trees in Austin? October 06, 2009 Hello - I live in Austin TX, and in the past half month or so, have been noticing much sticky, sweet sap being exuded from trees. In a normal year I only notice the crepe myrtles doing this, but this... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dying Pine Trees in Texas October 05, 2009 I live on the water front street in Kemah, Texas. We took water in the entire neighborhood during Hurricane Ike. That's been a year ago and now I have noticed our pines trees are starting to die. I s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Growth on miniature palm in Los Gatos. CA October 01, 2009 I think that my miniature palm is infested with some sort of bug or fungus. Last night it looked fine but this morning there was a large bright yellow fuzzy looking growth on the trunk. Any input wo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Damage from feral hogs September 30, 2009 Hello. What extent of damage can be expected when planting wildflower seeds in an area regularly visited by feral hogs? In some cases do the hogs actually help plant the seed as they root around? ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Diseased Mexican plum tree in Austin September 27, 2009 I have a grove of 5 year old Mexican plum trees one of which is oozing sap from its trunk and a branch appears to have died. Is there anything that I can do to help the tree besides removing the dead... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plants resistant to Verticillium wilt in Norco CA September 24, 2009 I'm looking for small trees, flowering shrubs & vines that are resistant to verticillium wilt. Fragrance would be a plus. Thank you so much! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Declining wax myrtles in Katy, TX August 24, 2009 My wax myrtle bushes were thick and green except for a few on the NE side 6 months ago when we bought the house. Now they are thin, leggy, and dropping leaves like crazy. They seem to be dying one bra... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure to thrive of trees in Savage MN August 23, 2009 I have a 20+ year old weeping willow. The last few years it is the last tree to get its leaves and the first to lose them. The few leaves that are still on the tree are covered with brown/black spots.... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Growth on underside of squash plant leaves August 22, 2009 I have a mold in my garden that is oval in shape and has spikes growing out of it, the color is yellow. This mold (yup it's not a bug I checked) is all over the underside of my squash plants. Any hel... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with wax myrtle in Roanoke, VA August 20, 2009 Our Wax Myrtle bushes tend to lose all their foliage during the Winter months and each year seem to flesh out their leaves less with each passing Spring. One bush never returned and save for one branc... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native red-tip photinias dying in San Antonio August 20, 2009 A 17 year old Red tip Photinia in a hedge shows signs of dying. The main stalks are quite large and offshoots from two of the stalks have brittle, drooping leaves. The center of the plant looks norm... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Webs on tree trunk, probably bark lice August 19, 2009 webs on tree trunk and creeping up. See no spiders or worms. what could be. very fine, thick web View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Wilting stems on beautyberry in Georgetown, TX August 16, 2009 Last summer I discovered that a 4-year old beautyberry had one (of many) stems that died. Leaves on this single stem wilted and dried up. This year the same happened to two or three stems. The rest of... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Coreopsis failing to bloom in Sonora CA August 04, 2009 My Coreopsis buds form and then die. Very few open. The plants are two and three years old, in a clay type soil. Is it possible they're getting too much water, and that is whats making the buds die ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Palm plant with lower inches browning in Alexandria VA July 21, 2009 Palm plant 10 years old, about 5' tall, single trunk approximately 1" diameter, reddish green leaves about 12 to 14 inches long, original owner. All leaves on the lower 2 inches of plant leaves are ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Fungal root rot in non-native Shasta daisies in Channahon IL July 21, 2009 HELP! My Shasta daisies have fungal root rot. Is there any way to save them? I've been removing the browned stems. I'm so sad. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yellow bands around edges of leaves in Whitney TX July 20, 2009 How can you tell whether esperanzas are getting too much water or not enough - ours have a small yellow band around the edges of the leaves - crape myrtles - same question View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native firebush dying in Sun City Center FL July 17, 2009 I have a native firebush, it is suddenly dying branch by branch, from the inside out, I have noticed odd things look like wasps but with speckled wings on it. What could be killing it. The inside bra... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yaupon in bonsai failing to thrive in Lufkin TX July 16, 2009 Hi,I have a yaupon that I've turned into a bonsai. It's been producing new vegetation until about a month ago. Then all of a sudden the branches started drooping and the leaf tips started turning bl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yellow-orange fungus on Ash tree in Ohio July 14, 2009 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have a large ash tree which started growing some yellowish orange fungus around the base this spring. With this fungus there are also black bugs with a orange marking near i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Wisteria with root rot in Flower Mound, TX July 11, 2009 I have a wisteria that is showing rot root from an exposed wound on the side of the base. Would like to save the tree. What can I do to fix the problem. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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