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
Friday - December 03, 2010
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Protecting live oaks when removing jasmine in Austin
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Thank you for your answer to my question of eliminating a 25-year-old bed of Asian Jasmine. I have another question. There is a stand of live oak trees in this bed and as we are digging out the jasmine, there are lots of roots from the trees. I know that disturbing those roots causes little oak sprouts to pop up in the bed yet we need to dig down to rid the bed of the jasmine roots. Any suggestions on how to prevent the oak sprouts from popping up?ANSWER:
About the same as the advice on digging out the jasmine roots, clip them off as they appear. We were unaware there were live oaks in the bed with the jasmine. You will have to be very careful not to damage those tree roots as you go after the jasmine. And finish up anything you are doing around those roots before the end of January. Any kind of open wound or cut on a live oak is going to make your trees susceptible to attack by the nitidulid beetle, and ultimately at risk for Oak Wilt. We suggest you read this article from the Texas Oak Wilt Information Partnership, in which the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a partner.
More Trees Questions
Flowering problems with Mexican Plum and Mimosa in Austin, TX
March 18, 2010 - Greetings,
My Prunus mexicana (Mexican Plum) did not produce flowers before its leaves. Can you tell me why? I was hoping to have some fruit this year.
Also, as of this morning March 13. My...
view the full question and answer
Citrus trees for Austin
May 21, 2008 - I am looking for citrus that grows in the Austin,Tx area.
Could you offer any suggestions please?
view the full question and answer
My newly planted Redbuds are not doing well.
June 24, 2009 - I ordered and received 2 Red Bud trees from one of the popular ordering houses. They explained that they were dormant and not dead, and gave us instructions on how to plant them, which we followed. Th...
view the full question and answer
Privacy Tree for Austin, TX
February 10, 2013 - Can you recommend a tall privacy plant similar to the Thuya Green Giant that is suitable to the Austin environment?
view the full question and answer
Cedar elm with brown leaves
August 12, 2011 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, We feel we may have limited time to save our beautiful Ceder Elm. We have many trees in our yard (Post Oaks and Cedar Elms) and have been told they are all between 50 - 75 year...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |