Native Plants
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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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Tuesday - March 05, 2013
From: Keithville, LA
Region: Southeast
Topic: Groundcovers, Shade Tolerant, Trees
Title: Plants for under Oak Trees in LA.
Answered by: Brigid & Larry Larson
QUESTION:
What type of plants and grass can be planted under and around oak treesANSWER:
In an effort to not be too redundant – Mr. Smarty Plants has some really good answers to this in the archives. Here is the link to a good one focussed around Austin, TX, and the links to further answers are contained in both. The first sentence is a pretty good Executive Summary!
“Finding something decent to grow under a Live Oak is one of those eternal challenges for the Austin area. As such, these three question/answer pairs from the Mr Smarty Archives contain a pretty good selection of advice towards native plants that will cope with the shade, alleleopathy and dense roots under a live Oak.”
Ground Cover under Oaks in Austin
Good One: Ground Cover under Live Oaks
2-4 Ft Shrub for Oak Shaded bed
I checked the plants recommended in the above links and all of them are shown as natives in Lousiana in addition to Texas, so even though the messages refer to Austin, the answers should work for Keithville. If you'd like to investigate the recommended species for Louisiana, this link leads to that list.
From the Image Gallery
More Trees Questions
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February 17, 2009 - Mr. Smarty Plants,
I live in the Pacific Northwest and noticed an oak tree growing near the road that was evergreen (unusual for here). I was so curious that that last time that I passed the tree,...
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Yellowing leaves on Mexican Plum in Salado, TX.
July 24, 2013 - I do live in Cental Texas (Salado) and I have the same problem with my Mexican Plum as the lady in Bellaire, TX. Mine was planted in June in a raised bed and receives sun all day long. Within the la...
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June 21, 2015 - I am looking to plant Crataegus viridis (species or cultivar "Winter King") at a location in full sun in Houston. Many places I've found online say that it is hearty through Zone 9, but others have...
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May 11, 2008 - Each spring, my Texas Mountain Laurel seems to put new leaves only on selected branches (actually trunks), and put on seed pods on other trunks. It seems to be mutually exclusive: trunks with new seed...
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Are Black Olive trees safe to have in pastures in Florida
May 06, 2009 - I am trying to find out if Black Olive trees will be safe to have in our yard and/or pastures. We raise cattle, goats and horses. We need to find some good shade trees that are safe for our animals ...
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