Rent Shop Volunteer Join

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?

Share

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
1 rating

Monday - February 13, 2006

From: Dallas, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Pruning, Vines
Title: Pruning time for Smoke Tree (Cotinus obovatus)
Answered by: Joe Marcus and Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Gentlemen: I have a Texas Smoke Tree (Cotinus obovatus). It's doing very well & I wish to prune it before its leaves come out. I understand there are a few trees you don't prune, among them birch. I pruned a limb on my smoke tree last year & it bled & bled & bled. The limb I want to remove is near 3" across. Can I remove it?

ANSWER:

You need to wait until summer or early fall to prune your Smoke Tree (Cotinus obovatus. Now (mid-February) is an especially bad time to prune because the sap is just starting to run and the wound is likely to bleed profusely. You should wait at least until after the tree flowers to remove the limb. Michigan State University has an excellent article on pruning trees.
 

More Vines Questions

Identify red-flowering vine in E. Texas
April 03, 2009 - Beside a well on an old homestead in Deep East Texas, there is a delicate vine. The leaves are heart shaped with points all the way around. The flower is a bright red trumpet shaped. I saw an angel ...
view the full question and answer

Duplicate request for information from Austin
August 30, 2012 - I am considering planting cross vine on a wrought iron fence. Will it cause any damage to the wrought iron or stucco posts?
view the full question and answer

Identification of prickly vine in north Texas
July 07, 2008 - While trimming the shrubs around my suburban house I noticed (and my legs were torn up by!) a vine-like plant with small green serrated leaves and millions of small, very sharp thorns. I search Invasi...
view the full question and answer

Locating yellow crossvine
April 20, 2006 - I am attempting to find a yellow crossvine. I am not having much luck. I thought I saw some growing in the Taylor area, but I cannot locate it now. In my memory, the flowers had brown dots on them.
view the full question and answer

Identification of vine from Las Vegas NV
July 11, 2012 - I'm interested in identifying the vine shown by the leaf in this photo: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zR3R4JSPYcCI4ESczNXWM4h8z33Cq5cyZNqSSYf9hx0?feat=directlink My mother-in-law got one o...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.