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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

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.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

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.

rate this answer

Not Yet Rated

Tuesday - November 24, 2009

From: Malakoff, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Will Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis) grow in northeast Texas?
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Will Texas madrones grow by Cedar Creek Lake and if so, do you know where I could purchase them "sort of" locally?

ANSWER:

Arbutus xalapensis (Texas madrone) is a beautiful and unusual tree but Mr. Smarty Plants thinks it is very unlikely that it would grow by Cedar Creek Lake, Texas. You can see that Henderson or Van Zandt County are well out of its distribution range. The soils and climate where it grows naturally are very different from those in your area. Since it is very temperamental and not easy to grow even in its native range, I would be amazed if it would grow there. Natives of Texas in Kerrville specializes in madrones.