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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Wednesday - July 25, 2007
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Diseases and Disorders
Title: Oak diseases as a result of wet, cool weather
Answered by: Damon Waitt
QUESTION:
The mature live oak trees in our back yard have been dropping leaves just like they do in March, but this is July! Small to medium spots on the leaves turn brown before they drop. The veins of the leaves are still green. The trees are growing on a well-drained slope in shallow soil over limestone here in the hill country just west of Austin. Asiatic jasmine grows under some, but not all, of the trees. This has never happened in the past 13 years. Does it have to do with the heavy rainfall? Will they survive? Do we need an arborist consult?ANSWER:
It is our good fortune that James Houser, the Texas Forest Service Oak Wilt Technical Coordinator, recently addressed this question on the texasoakwilt.org website. You can click here to view a pdf version of his article with images.More Diseases and Disorders Questions
Cotton root rot in Purple Sage, Leucophyllus frutescens
November 09, 2005 - We had three Purple Sage shrubs in our front yard. They did very well for about three years and then this past year they just died. From what I have read they are pretty hardy so we are really stum...
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Problems with rock rose in Austin
June 10, 2013 - Hi Mr Smarty Pants,
We have a Texas Rock Rose which is growing next to our gravel path in Austin, with grass growing under it. In the last week, it has stopped blooming suddenly, and all the leaves h...
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Problems with non-native Chinaberry tree from Tucson AZ
September 05, 2013 - I have a 30+ year old Chinaberry tree and this year the branches are much sparser with leaves and there are a lot of small dead branches. Should I fertilize and what should I use? Thank you
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Diseased Mexican plum tree in Austin
September 27, 2009 - I have a grove of 5 year old Mexican plum trees one of which is oozing sap from its trunk and a branch appears to have died. Is there anything that I can do to help the tree besides removing the dead...
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Insect infestation of plants, dog and home
September 14, 2008 - I have plants that some kind of bug is killing them, my fan plam, ficus tree and other plants. The leaves are drying up and falling off. Apparently, they also are infestion my apartment. I feel them c...
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