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.
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.
rate this answer
Tuesday - August 10, 2010
From: Merritt Island, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Bark splitting on non-native Royal Poinciana in tree in Merritt Island FL
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Information on splitting bark along the branches like an overstuffed sausage: A royal Poinciana tree, about 5 years old. The upper branches are doing this, although I'm afraid little splits or tears are starting to appear on the main trunk. It gets watered regularly on a re-use sprinkling system. Thank you,ANSWER:
As we told you in our earlier answer, we probably can't give you much help because the Delonix regia, Royal Poinciana, is native to Madagascar. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center restricts its answers to plants native not only to North America but to the place in which they are being grown. It is a tropical plant which has been cultivated in Florida, so we found an article on the Delonix regia from Floridata. By Googling on "splitting bark on delonix regia" we found some more articles where you might get help. One of the more promising was from the AgroForestry Tree Database. You might look around your area for another tree and try to find out from the owners of that if they know what the problem is. Beyond that, you're back to the Extension Office or a licensed, certified arborist.More Non-Natives Questions
Transplanting of non-native Vitex
April 29, 2006 - I live in El Paso and have a fifteen year old vitex tree planted too close to a mesquite tree in my backyard. As a result of this, the vitex has failed to thrive. My question is this: can I replant ...
view the full question and answer
Research on Native vs. Non-Native Plants
October 22, 2009 - I am doing a research project on comparing and analyzing the effects of non-native plants vs. native plants on the environment and surrounding ecosystems. The end result of my project will be to desi...
view the full question and answer
Irish Strawberry tree care from Sydney Australia
April 15, 2012 - Hi I have an Irish Strawberry tree - AKA Arbutis Enedo.
I have had it for a couple of years now, I have it planted in the ground quite healthy soil, I feed it Dynamic lifter (chicken manuare/pellet f...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
June 12, 2014 - We live in Magnolia TX and have a shrub we can't identify.
It's evergreen and
has waxy leaves with a serrated edge that are about an inch in length.
They have pink flowers and
they grow to ab...
view the full question and answer
Cat eating yucca stalks in England
May 07, 2013 - Is it safe for my cat to eat yucca as she is being sick and its hard to stop her
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |