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.
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Smarty Plants Question Topics
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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| Crape myrtle in Austin August 01, 2012 Please don't bother to answer my question about how to treat a crepe myrtle with sticky stuff falling from it. I just found the answer on your site. Good site, by the way. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Sticky stuff dripping from non-native crape myrtle in Austin August 01, 2012 There is sticky sap-like stuff dropping from the very large crepe myrtle in my yard. The tree has quit blooming. This didn't happen last year when it was so dry; it started after we had all the rain ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Demise of Flameleaf Sumac in Austin, TX. July 31, 2012 My Flameleaf Sumac suddenly died. Beetles came out around the trunk when I cut it down. How can I prevent this on the other sumac? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Something dripping from red oak in Austin July 30, 2012 There is a large red oak outside my apartment. The leaves are shiny and covered with what appears to be oil. The ground underneath is coated with this also. When I parked under the tree my car beca... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ticks on native grasses in Katy, TX. July 23, 2012 Are there native grasses that are less susceptible to tick infestation than others? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Getting rid of Aphids on Asclepias plants in Brea, CA. July 23, 2012 I grow asclepsias or MILKWEED for the benefit of Monarchs. At times I have aphids consuming the leaves. How can I destroy the aphids without harming the Monarch eggs? Thank you very much. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Sticky material dripping from tree in Austin July 22, 2012 The tree in my backyard is dripping what I surmise is sap - a thick,fdrake1@ sticky substance in July. What kind of tree is it and is there anything one can do prevent this from happening? Thank you... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Aphids in pecan tree from Austin July 14, 2012 Last year at this time (midsummer) everything under the canopy of our 60+ year old pecan tree was covered with a sticky substance--plants, lawn furniture, concrete pool deck..Since we had never seen t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Something eating cannas in Austin July 14, 2012 What is eating my cannas? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Dealing with aphids on milkweed plants in Alloway, NJ. July 11, 2012 I planted milk weed for the Monarch butterfly. Every year it gets orange aphids that seem to suck out the juices and eventually kill the plant sooner than I like. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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