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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| Problems with non-native artichoke from El Paso, TX May 25, 2014 I have a five year old artichoke plant in the ground that gets sun and some shade, has plenty of fertilizer and compost. Gets enough water. It has been beautiful in years past and last year had 10 a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Small tan balls on oak from Pipe Creek TX May 21, 2014 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, our spanish oak is growing tan colored lumpy balls about the size and weight of a marshmallow..sometimes just one at the end of a short stem and sometimes 2-3 clumped together.... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Trimming of Escarpment Oak from Austin May 18, 2014 We have a 2-year-old quercus fusiformis in our front yard and have been advised by some people that we need to remove the bottom branches and trim the ends of the branches that are hanging far down. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Problems with transplanted Texas Madrones from Junction TX May 13, 2014 We planted 3 little Texas madrones last year 9 - 12 inches high. 2 of them seem to have some kind of black blight along the edges of the leaves that I don't think was the result of our late freezes. ... 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 | ||
| Live oak leaves not dropping from Austin April 29, 2014 We had a 65 gallon live oak planted last October. We watered it regularly and it was green all through the winter. In March the leaves started to turn brown but never dropped, as they should have. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Blossom end rot on non-native tomatoes from Newport RI April 25, 2014 Can epsom salt or eggshells end blossom end rot on tomatoes? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-native invasive carrot wood tree losing leaves in Alpine CA April 22, 2014 My carrot wood tree is losing all of its leaves. The tree is about 15foot high & 13 years old. Could it be gophers? The tree was trimmed 1 year ago. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dying foliage on non-native Otto Luyken Laurel from Georgetown KY April 09, 2014 I have 5 luken laurel scrubs planted around foundation. They have done very well until this last winter..the foilage is now brown and crispy. Will they come back? Do I need to prune back the damage... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant mistakes from Cedar Park, TX April 09, 2014 At our "Wilts End" in Cedar Park, TX. and are looking for a tall shrub/tree that will hide a 6-ft tall concrete wall and muffle the noise from a busy street. The wall forms a very wide-angled V shap... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
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