Native Plants
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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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| Transplanting hackberry trees in Texas September 17, 2008 I live N of Ft Worth,Tx is there a trick to digging up & transplanting hackberry trees? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning mature cedar elm trees in San Antonio September 14, 2008 When is the right time to prune my several mature cedar elm trees? I'm in San Antonio, and they have never been trimmed in the 55 years we have lived in this home. I have several that are at least 7... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Relocating native oak trees in compacted soil September 14, 2008 Can you replant and relocate small oak trees in compacted soil and will they grow or go into shock? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Rhododendrons for afternoon sun September 10, 2008 Thanks for your suggestion that I plant rhodedenrons in my Brooklyn garden. In fact, the only bushes I've planted in the past that have survived are rhodedenrons so your definitely right! Here's my... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Evergreen for privacy in Pennsylvania September 10, 2008 I would like to plant a tall, thin evergreen in my yard (the taller and thinner the better). Privacy is a goal, so we're looking for dense branches. The area gets full sun, and the soil in this area ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Ornamental plants for under live oaks September 08, 2008 What ornamental plant will do well under Live Oak trees? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| When is the appropriate time to prune pecan trees in Hewitt? September 07, 2008 Labor Day Weekend my husband decided to trim all the low branches on a big pecan tree in our back yard which I thought should had been done at the first of the year, our temprature is in the mid 90's... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Bur oak defoliation September 05, 2008 I have a bur oak that was planted in 1993. In 2000, I had mortared stone edging (approx 5 inches deep) installed around the trunk from 4 to 6 feet away. In the last 3 years, the tree seems to be decli... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| How fast do trees grow? September 03, 2008 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants I would like to know how to tell how much a tree will grow if the average of the trees are growing at the rate of approximately 3 to 3.5% annually. And how do they come up wi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Fast-growing, tall taproot tree for El Paso September 01, 2008 I live in El Paso Texas and would like to know what would be a good shade tree to plant. I would like this tree to grow fast and tall. I would also like the roots to go straight down. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Protecting a new patio from oak roots September 01, 2008 Hello, I have just formed up for a new patio. I have a Live Oak tree about 2' away from the patio. It has a trunk diameter of about 10", I believe 20-25 years old. Problem: I have 2 large roots in ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Washingtonia palms need to be skirted? August 31, 2008 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have five Washingtonia palms on my property that have never been skirted and look rather shabby. The interesting thing is that they have thrived (20-30 ft) here to begin with... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yellow, pale green leaves on Cedar Elms in Texas August 30, 2008 I have had several cedar elms of various sizes planted in our yard over the last 10 years. Only the largest has dark green, healthy looking leaves. All the others have yellowish, pale green leaves. Th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pecan tree transplant in Elgin, TX August 26, 2008 Hello, Mr. Smarty Plants, I have a question about how to encourage a very young pecan sapling to grow, and whether I should use mulch to do so. I live in Elgin (Bastrop County) and the soil is extr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Hedge for steep slope by sidewalk in Wisconsin August 25, 2008 I have a fairly steep slope from the sidewalk to my yard. The space is about 48" high, 30" deep and 120' long. I was thinking that a boxwood hedge would fill that space nicely but no one else aroun... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Tree with tap root for small area August 24, 2008 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants: I'm looking for a tree with a tap root to plant for shade on the side of my patio. i have about a 4 foot area to plant in and it's 8 feet to my neighbors house. ..maybe somet... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Wilting of Mountain Ash in Wisconsin August 21, 2008 What type of disease would cause a Mountain Ash to entirely wilt? The bark on bottom of tree is opening up and is spongy feeling. No sign of any disease until last month and it quickly wilted with b... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Damage to native elm in Texas August 20, 2008 We had a major landscape renovation done over the winter. One of the trees, an elm about 10 yrs old, remained in the bed although plants around it were removed. The tree has suddenly started turning... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Avoiding cedar elm because of allergens August 18, 2008 Hi. Cedar elm, Ulmus crassifolia, seems like a wonderful, tough, drought tolerant native tree. I'd like to plant several to shade buildings. I'm being discouraged from doing so because Cedar elm ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Leaf fall from Cedar Elm planted in clay August 17, 2008 I saw the answer to leaves falling off a cedar elm planted in clay. However I planted a Cedar Elm in my back yard. I dug a hole in the grass then planted and put grass back on top. I water every other... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Japanese maple in New York August 15, 2008 I have a few questions: Do you know what zone Brooklyn, NY. is in? If I plant a Japanese Maple in my backyard, do you think it can tolerate almost full shade (1-2 hours of sun per day)? Also, is it... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Leaf drop from maple tree in Minnesota August 15, 2008 I have about a 30 ft maple tree in my yard, last fall I trimmed it pretty good because the branches were getting low where you could not walk under it or get grass to grow. This is the 2nd time in abo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Proper watering of cedar elm trees in Sachse, TX August 15, 2008 I've just planted two Cedar elm trees in clay soil, each about four inches in diameter, and I want to water them correctly. I'm aware that too much water can be bad as well as too little water. I ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Privacy hedge for South Dakota August 08, 2008 Hi, I'm looking for something to use as a hedge. 8 foot or so tall offering semi privacy all year. I like dogwoods but loss of leaves in the winter makes me skeptical. Boxwood would be interesting... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Possible webbing bark lice on oak tree August 08, 2008 We live near the Center and have a large live oak tree in our yard. Recently the lower trunk has been covered with thin, white weblike material (not sure if spider web). What could this be and is it d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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