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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| Rust on Blackberry April 17, 2015 I have two new blackberry bushes that I planted fall 2014. Only weeks after I planted the plant began to have rust color balls under the leaves then leaves began to die and fall off. When I returned t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Goldsturm Rudbeckia Stunted and Doesn't Bloom April 16, 2015 I have Goldsturm Rudbeckia that never flowers nor gets taller than 4 inches. Meanwhile, my phlox does fantastic in the same area. This area is sand top dressed with black dirt. Please help! Goldst... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Shrubs for Central Texas that are Verticillium Resistant April 16, 2015 We need a list of at least a few shrubs in the 6'x3'+ size that are Verticillium Wilt resistant. We have taken out the affected Elaeagnus and would like to replace it with a screen of similar densit... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Iris Changing Color? April 03, 2015 I have some iris planted under a very tall tree and they bloom nicely every February. The original bulbs were given to me when I moved here to Arizona 30 years ago. They have always bloomed white. I h... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Leucophyllum Resistant to Verticillium Wilt March 25, 2015 I need to know which large shrubs are resistant to verticillium wilt? I believe that a few of our Elaeagnus have succumbed to this disease, but being over 15 years old, I am not positive. I am thinki... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Mexican Lime Turning Yellow March 25, 2015 What causes moderate yellowing of 40% of the leaves of an 8 year old Mexican Lime Tree that is booming and blooming right now with lots of thick new growth? I used a general garden fertilizer a few ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dealing with live oak suckers in Central Texas March 05, 2015 Hi, I have a couple huge Live Oak trees in my back yard. Trunks are 4' in diameter. These Live Oaks produce a lot of root sprouts/suckers. I had always head that a tree's roots feed on water/oxyg... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Repairing the split trunk of a TX mountain laurel February 28, 2015 I have a fairly large mountain laurel that I just realized has a split down the trunk. Is there anything I can do to save it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Safe Concrete Planters For Plants? February 24, 2015 We are building low concrete walls around a patio (in Washington, DC). Can we create the walls to act as planters or will the lime leaching make the soil too inhospitable for most plants? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Rust on Amelancier Foliage in PA February 03, 2015 I live in Pennsylvania and have been plagued with a rust on my serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) trees over the past few years. I am unable to find very much information on this disease on the we... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Sap oozing from trunks of Cherry Laurels in Austin, TX January 24, 2015 I have several mature compact cherry laurels whose leaves are beginning to turn yellow. They are in raised beds, have been properly fertilized, have compost spread around them, and are properly water... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with Purple Heart in Raleigh, NC December 24, 2014 I was hoping you could help me with an indoor/outdoor houseplant issue. I have a purple heart, that lives outside in the summers and indoors in the winters. I brought it in a few weeks ago and am no... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Migrating Turkey tail fungus in garden in Austin, TX November 25, 2014 I have turkey tail fungus that has migrated from a rotting elm tree stump to a part of my garden that has a healthy wax myrtle tree and other native shrubs, but no rotting tree stumps. Its presence h... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems on Prickly Pear Cactus in Illinois November 19, 2014 I have a fungus on my prickly pear cactus that is not a bug. I tested it and my fingers didn't turn red when I squeezed them. So how do I get rid of this as it is spreading to my other cacti? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Oak Wilt in Georgetown, TX November 17, 2014 We have lost several live oaks to oak wilt. Another couple are dying but still have some green leaves. Is it OK to cut down these trees now or should we wait until they are entirely dead? I've heard ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Texas Redbud Suddenly Died in NM November 06, 2014 We had a Texas redbud, approximately 5 1/2 years old. It had been doing great then all of a sudden after it bloomed this spring, the leaves appeared but then shriveled right away. We noticed the trunk... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Young Bur Oak not Flourishing in Texas November 06, 2014 We have a bur oak in our SW Travis County lawn in Texas, planted about 3 years ago as a 6-7' tree. It is now about 12' but has not "flourished". It has put out virtually no horizontal branches, an... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Is Sabal minor juglone tolerant? October 13, 2014 Is Sabal minor or any other small and shade tolerant palm juglone tolerant? I’d like to plant one in an area near a pecan tree but I am not sure if they will play well together. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Why are my Rock Roses dying? September 22, 2014 I planted several rock roses last fall. This spring they have grown wonderfully, but all of a sudden, one shriveled and died. I took it out and replaced it. Now, another is starting to shrivel. It ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Fuzzy Citrus Fruit on Satsuma and Lemon Trees September 13, 2014 A man asked you about fuzzy little small fruit-like balls that looked like tiny lemons. I have huge numbers of these on both my mature Satsuma and lemon tree this year. I get 100's of really great f... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Weeping Willow Problem in Texas September 04, 2014 Our weeping willow's leaves are turning yellow and falling off. We are also seeing some brown, gnarly looking pods on some of the stems can you tell us what's happening? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with a Cercis (Redbud) August 25, 2014 Half of my redbud tree is pooped out looking. On two places on the bark are areas where a few layers of bark have pulled back. In these areas there are white growths. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Shasta Daisies without Petals August 21, 2014 My shasta daisies do not have the white petals, only the yellow center is in bloom. There are no visible signs of insects. They get a good amount of sun - about 5 hours per day. What could be the prob... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Recovery of water-stressed Agarita August 11, 2014 Hello! I planted a small agarita at the end of May and then left town for six weeks. During that time it was supposed to receive weekly deep irrigations to help it establish, but it seems that som... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Treating splits in a Cottonwood tree trunk August 09, 2014 How to treat slipts in trunk of 4 year old Cottonwood tree. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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