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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| 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 | ||
| Pecan tree dropping dead leaves August 02, 2014 I have a very old, tall pecan tree in my yard that has been dropping dead leaves for the last three weeks. My back yard looks like it is the Fall season. Do you have any insight on this? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mexican oak and red oak not looking healthy August 02, 2014 I purchased a Mexican oak tree and I believe a red oak tree from your center about 1 year ago. Recently I've noticed that they don't look as healthy as they have been, and I just looked at the leave... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Live oaks dropping brown leaves August 02, 2014 We have three live oaks and one of them has been dropping quite a few brown leaves over the past two weeks. I looked at pictures of trees with oak wilt and ours do not look like the pictures. I als... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mountain laurel with fasciation July 24, 2014 My Texas Mountain Laurel bush has developed several "crested branches." What causes this, is it harmful & how do I get rid of them??? Thank you! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Gaura Plants Dying In PA July 16, 2014 I had six gaura plants. They were beautiful last year. Now I have one that is doing well and the others are dying slowly one at a time. I don't understand this. They are on a slight slope and have ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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