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.
Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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.
Search Smarty Plants
| topic | question | |
| Burning sulfur over coals in the home for insect control. July 18, 2008 Is burning sulfur(over hot coals) in your home a safe way of getting rid of ants and insects? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Verticillium wilt in catalpa and maple July 17, 2008 On Monday - July 07, 2008, you answered a question about a catalpa and maple with the same problem--an entire branch died, and then more of the tree died. And both trees came from the same nursery. Th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Corona de Cristo, guest or pest? July 12, 2008 We have had two recent speakers at the Austin Butterfly Forum with differing views as to whether Passiflora foetida is invasive in Texas. One believes that it's well-behaved and a a great butterfly ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Leaf burn on hydrangeas July 11, 2008 What causes my leaves to burn on my healthy hydrangeas? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Rust spots on non-native red tip photinia July 10, 2008 I live in Oklahoma and my red tips have rust spots on leaves and some plants are losing leaves. This is a clay soil; can you give me any info. on how to solve this problem? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Catalpa and maple with dying branches in Wisconsin July 07, 2008 We have a northern catalpa in our front yard. It's been there for about three years now and is probably 25' high. This year it appeared to be doing great. It flowered and then all of sudden last ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Brown spots in St. Augustine grass July 05, 2008 Mr. Smarty Plants, My husband and I are in the Air Force and were recently moved to Cibolo Texas. We built a home and hired a landscaper to finish the yard May 07 (with irrigation system). We laid d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-blooming Tecoma stans in Fredericksburg, TX June 30, 2008 We have an esperanza plant purchased last year from Walmart and planted outside before winter. It flowered excellently last year. Just before winter we cut it back to about a foot. So far this summer ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What about the brown dots on my Silver sage? June 27, 2008 During the past year, the leaves on my silver sage bushes around the perimeter of the front of my house have turned yellow in places and there are tiny brown dots on virtually all of the leaves. If I ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Premature leaf drop on Red Maple in Kentucky June 25, 2008 I have a ten foot Red Maple tree that has been set out for 4 years. Its leaves have slowly turned colors until it currently looks like fall. The leaves are not falling off nor is there yet any s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Peach tree problems in Long Island, NY June 16, 2008 This year my peachtree is bearing fruit for the first time. I live in Long Island NY. I notice a sap on the bark near the soil. Also some leaves are getting disease looking and some peaches are loo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Decline in willow tree in West Virginia June 15, 2008 I planted a willow tree about three years ago and it was progressing just beautifully with full leaves this spring in a nice green color. We staked it back about three weeks so it would grow straight... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Apparent disease in peach tree in Austin June 12, 2008 I have a peach tree that the leaves are "bleeding" out on. The leaves are continuing to get paler and paler. There are no peaches on the tree this year either. What can I do? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Black growth on sotol plants June 08, 2008 My mature sotol plants have a black-like growth on the leaves. Is there any thing I can do to treat what looks like a disease on these plants? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cause of yellowing buffalo grass (Bouteloua dactyloides) June 07, 2008 We are getting large yellow areas in our buffalo grass lawn and think this is probably due to grub worms. Are grub worms the likely culprit and if so, what is the best way to get rid of them? We don... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Brown flakes on prickly pear in Los Angeles June 03, 2008 I live in Los Angeles CA. I have desert type plants in my landscape. I have prickly pear cactus that have developed some light brown, almost golden flakes on the skin of the pads. I believe it is call... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mice eating seeds put out for birds June 02, 2008 I love feeding the wild birds and put out seed in our backyard. Now, I have a family of mice eating the seed and they are living in the trunk of our elm tree! How can I get rid of them without killi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with non-native Cleyera and Red-tip photinia June 01, 2008 I planted a row of Cleyera in a bed that receives sunlight for about 3 hours during the middle of the day. My problem is that a number of the plants are dying. It begins with the leaves on one small... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Possible mildew on standing cypress May 29, 2008 My mother-in-law took some standing cypress seeds from Texas to Virginia several years ago. They have always done very well, but this year they are growing very tall, but the bottom half of the stalk... 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 | ||
| Evergreen groundcover under pine tree in NY May 23, 2008 Hello! I live in upstate NY. I'm trying to find an evergreen ground cover to plant under a pine tree. I believe it's a white spruce (but I'm not postive). I've read conflicting information reg... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Leaf cutter ants in potted Mexican lime tree May 21, 2008 Hi, I'd like to add a question to the recent post about leaf-cutter ants. I have a potted mexican lime tree that has been inhabited by an ant colony for several months. They are chewing holes in th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Chlorosis in tropical milkweed and asclepias tuberosa May 18, 2008 I planted both tropical milkweed and asclepias tuberosa. Both are chlorotic and the native milkweed has brown upturned leaves. Could it possibly be too much water? Or what? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yellowing of palm tree leaves May 14, 2008 I want to know about palm trees. The leaves are turning yellow. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Natural lifespan of wild plum trees May 12, 2008 We have a small border of Wild Plum Trees in our yard. Every year it seem that one or two of the biggest trees die. Do they have a specific life span? We transplanted the trees/bushes from the panh... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| topic | question | |