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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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
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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Wednesday - January 22, 2014
From: Poth, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Meadow Gardens, Planting, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Wildflower Meadow for Poth, TX
Answered by: Larry Larson
QUESTION:
I recently cleared some underbrush from a virgin pasture, with large oaks and mesquites scattered through it, and was wondering if it was too late to plant wildflowers? If not, what varieties of wildflowers could I plant to achieve a bloom this spring or summer? My ranch is located about 30 miles south of San Antonio. The soil is a red sandy loam. The area is about 3 acres and prepped for seeding.ANSWER:
It’s also quite possible, if you have prepared the area for planting, that dormant seeds present in the exposed soil will germinate and give you a bit of a natural bloom right away.
You are talking about creating what we call a Wildflower Meadow. For some extra information for you - There are some good reads in the “How-to” articles and several other “Mr Smarty Plants” question/answer pairs. Several of these are linked below:
When to plant wildflowers in California [not in TX but still good information]
Wildflower Garden for Driftwood, TX
Preparing for planting wildflower meadow in Austin
Timing for planting wildflower seeds in the Pacific Northwest
Re-vegetation of school site with meadow plants from Austin
From the Image Gallery
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Companion plants for irises
April 22, 2007 - Hello...what do you suggest as a companion plant for irises? I live in the Texas Hill Country.
Thanks.
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Frost damage to native plants in Austin
December 19, 2011 - Hello,
We bought a number of native plants at this fall's WFC sale and planted them. The recent frost seems to have defoliated our pitcher sage, beautyberry, butterflyweed, and flame acanthus plan...
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Sun loving plants for flower bed by the pool in Weatherford Texas
October 03, 2011 - We have a 40' long x 2 1/2' wide flowerbed along our pool. It is in full sun with the pool deck across the front and a 6' privacy fence across back. Also, the level of the bed is 18" below the l...
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