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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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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
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Tuesday - October 20, 2015

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives, Diseases and Disorders, Trees
Title: Is my Crimson queen maple dying?
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

Is my Crimson queen maple dying if it's leaves are turning brown?

ANSWER:

The mission of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is to increase the sustainable use and conservation of native wildflowers, plants and landscapes. The Crimson Queen Maple (Acer palmatum var. ) is a cultivar of a maple that is native to Japan and Korea., and is outside our area of expertice at the Ladybird Johnson WIldflower Center.

You can do the “scratch test” (also know as the thumbnail test”)t to see if it is still alive. Select a branch and remove some of the bark with your thumbnail. You are looking for green tissue beneath the bark. If you find none at the first site, continue testing further down the stem. If you get to the bottom of the plant without finding any green tissue, the tree is probably dead.

Here is a link that tells you more about the Crimson Queen Maple.
 

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April 27, 2010 - Hi Mr Smarty Pants, First off, I want to commend you on your promotion of native plants. I am passionately anti-invasive plants (in fact, it was the subject of my master's thesis). That being said...
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Survival of non-native Cape Plumbago in Delaware
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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 ...
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