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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| Native trees for small backyard in California May 28, 2008 I have a small backyard and very close to my neighbor. I want to plant trees that grow 15/20 high that can work as a screen although I have to be very careful with invasive roots. Also I have two sma... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Placement of lemon cypress tree in Miami, FL May 25, 2008 Where is the best place to have a lemon cypress tree? indoors or out? Presently in south Miami climate, Scott's potting soil, clay pot, with good drainage. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mountain ash seedlings in Yorkshire, England May 25, 2008 Is there any way I can stop Mountain Ash from seeding in my garden. This year in particular, I am absolutely overrun with the seedlings and once they get a hold they are difficult to remove. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Evergreen groundcover under pine tree in NY May 23, 2008 Hello! I live in upstate NY. I'm trying to find an evergreen ground cover to plant under a pine tree. I believe it's a white spruce (but I'm not postive). I've read conflicting information reg... View Mr. Smarty Plants' 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 Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care of lemon cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) May 17, 2008 How do I grow the lemon cypress in zone 7? I bought one today at Home Depot in Granbury,TX. It had no information. Should I put it in the shade or sun? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Place to purchase Texas Madrone tree May 15, 2008 Where can I purchase a Texas Madrone Tree to plant in my yard? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Small tree to plant with high bush blueberry plants May 13, 2008 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have four wonderful new highbush blueberry plants. I like to plant a native tree nearby to accent them, but cannot find a suitable one. I'd like a tree that is not going ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Natural lifespan of wild plum trees May 12, 2008 We have a small border of Wild Plum Trees in our yard. Every year it seem that one or two of the biggest trees die. Do they have a specific life span? We transplanted the trees/bushes from the panh... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mountain laurel with new leaves or new seed pods 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... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Healthy black walnut trees from volunteer saplings May 07, 2008 We just purchased a piece of property in the Texas Hill Country. There is a stump of a large black walnut tree that has four healthy looking samplings shooting up. Each is about 10 feet high. The o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Tree for New Jersey shore May 02, 2008 I'm looking for a small tree (max. 15 ft. with small spread) that will tolerate salt spray, wind, and full sun at the NJ shore. There is no protection in this location. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trees that are non-toxic for horses May 02, 2008 I live in Ponder, Tx. We have some acreage and horses and wish to plant trees to afford some shade for the horses. Can you tell me what trees are toxic to horses. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Fast-growing native trees that are safe for horses April 30, 2008 What trees can I plant that are fast growing for shade and, most importantly, safe for horses? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Repairing damage to Anacacho Orchid Tree in Austin April 30, 2008 Hi You Guys!! We have an understory Anacacho Orchid Tree in the front and my sweetie was trimming the big oak and dropped a branch down, splitting one of the large branches off the Anacacho. The wou... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Information about FanTex ash. April 29, 2008 I live in central Texas and recenty planted Fan-tex ash trees thinking that they were similar to the native Texas ash. I am beginning to beleive that this tree has more in common with the Arizona ash... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure of older branches on Bauhinia lunarioides to thrive April 27, 2008 We planted a sapling of the Anacacho Orchid Tree (Bauhinia lunarioides) winter (Jan, Feb?) and now it has leaves and blooms - but only off of new branches near its trunk, as the old branches haven't ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eco-friendly trees for parks in Brownsville, TX April 26, 2008 Which are the best eco friendly trees for parks? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mountain Laurel growing in East Texas April 24, 2008 I found a plant that looks like a Texas Mountain Laurel growing wild on a fenceline in east texas, near Canton. It is a small shrub/tree and has flowers like wisteria. It has "hairy" stems, they ar... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Clipping of beans from newly planted Tecoma stans April 22, 2008 I purchased a Esperanza Plant in a pot from a nursery in April of 2008. We planted it and it is doing fine, but came with blooms and beans. Do I need to do clip or prune the beans at this stage of g... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| What can be planted under a pine tree in Detroit, MI? April 22, 2008 What type of plant would you suggest I plant under my big (Blue bruce) pine tree? It's about 25 ft high and the branches are trimmed to about 4 feet up, so it does get some light but mostly shade.I a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Water-loving evergreen for Chicago April 21, 2008 Is there a water loving evergreen that will do well in the Chicago weather? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with sophora secundiflora April 19, 2008 My mountain laurel is looking bad. It has lost of its leaves, especially on the lower part of the tree (it's about 7 feet tall) and many of the remaining ones don't look good - they are curled up an... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Shoots sprouting around base of liveoak tree April 18, 2008 I have a Live Oak that was planted in my yard about 15 years ago. In the last several years, small shoots have been sprouting up around the tree base, are getting more dense and spreading into the gr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Treatment of black mildew on magnolia April 17, 2008 I think my magnolia has black mildew. How do I treat it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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