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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| topic | question | |
| Getting rid of bermudagrass July 13, 2010 How do I get rid of bermuda grass in my San Augustine grass? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eradication of invasive thistles in Parma OH July 11, 2010 Lawn is full of prickly weeds with very deep roots. May be called Scotch Thistle, although id is not confirmed. They will grow as tall as they can amid other plants, and when mowed in the lawn, they... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Landscaping a new yard in El Paso, TX July 01, 2010 I am starting my back yard, we want to plant some sod grass and shade trees. We were doing some research and came across the Paulownia and the Royal Empress tree. I like them since they grow very fast... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Invasive silverleaf nightshade in Plainwell MI June 27, 2010 Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav. Silverleaf nightshade, Silver-leaf nightshade, White horse nettle. We purchased our land and built here 3 years ago. I have these all over my 30 acres of land including ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What is causing leaf drop on oak in Morgan Hill CA? June 23, 2010 Dear Mr Smarty Plants: We have a large, young Valley Oak (about 20 yrs) which is dropping leaves even now in early summer. I have a feeling that the problem might be an invasive weed that is flourishi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Grassburs in native lawn in Utopia TX June 22, 2010 I recently planted native Texas grass (Buffalograss, blue grama & curly mesquite) at my new house in the hill country. I had to bring in all the top soil. The grass is doing great, but in one area o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Bald cypress causing problems in Spring TX June 22, 2010 There is a 50+ ft Bald Cypress growing near my property line. While the tree has grown substantial knees along the driveway and some as far as 35 ft from the tree in my flower beds, I do not see any d... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eliminating gift plant from flowerbed June 20, 2010 A neighbor gave me cuttings of a lush green plant with a blue flower with a yellow center that is only open in morning. It has become very invasive. I cut it back and dug at least 6-12" deep to get t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Another plant with ice plant as the common name from Corpus Christi June 17, 2010 This is not a question, but your "ice plant" answer to El Cajon did not consider Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, which I believe is the common roadside succulent that ate California. God have mercy ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removing nut grass and wild strawberry in Vienna VA June 13, 2010 Mr. Smarty Pants, How do I get rid of wild strawberry plants and nut grass in my large garden bed? I have rosemary and thyme already there and don't want to use a harmful pesticide (kids and pets... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Controlling switchgrass in Fredericksburg TX June 12, 2010 How do you kill switch grass..too much has grown on our property. Originally planted to stop erosion due to oak wilted trees lost on hill behind house, which worked,but now it is everywhere. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Prairie remnant threatened by non-native Queen Anne's lace in Dallas June 09, 2010 A blackland prairie remnant is being invaded by Queen Ann's Lace. What are the best, least chemical, methods of getting rid of it without damaging the native grasses and wildflowers? Thank you! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eliminating bindweed in Eugene OR June 04, 2010 Any ideas on the best non-chemical way to get rid of bindweed in the Eugene, Oregon area? In addition to any other ideas you can suggest, are there any groundcovers that would do the job and be non-i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Reference for native critical populations from York, PA May 25, 2010 I have recently read a naysayer of native gardening. He states that native garden plants usually do not have the critical population size to be self-perpetuating. He says that one could better help t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Creeping buttercups in juniper in McKeesport PA May 22, 2010 I have creeping buttercups in my juniper ground cover. How do I get rid of them. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need to know about the invasiveness of Datura wrightii. May 17, 2010 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I recently purchased a small Datura wrightii plant for my front garden. I've been researching it, since I know it is quite toxic, and couldn't find a good answer to one quest... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removal of Black Henbane from raised beds from Browning MT May 10, 2010 I am working with youth to create raised beds of native plants. Unfortunately we had a run in with a crop of Black Henbane, last year. They were already flowering by the time we tried to cut, or pull ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eliminating dogbane from transplanted milkweed in Franklin Lakes NJ May 10, 2010 We transplanted milkweed from the wild into our garden. Included in the clump of milkweed was dogbane. We weren't aware of how invasive dogbane is. We've has some success in digging it out but we'... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Controlling poison oak or poison ivy in Iowa April 29, 2010 We recently purchased a property that is VERY wooded and has been vacant for two yrs. with little upkeep previously. We have (we were told) l00 yr old poison oak vines hanging from trees. We hired so... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Japanese honeysuckle invading a backyard habitat in Austin April 29, 2010 It has been a few weeks since we have been to our backyard (it is a place in need of desperate attention, but we have been re-landscaping the front yard first). When we went out today to start plannin... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Could lilacs grow in Georgia? April 27, 2010 Hi Mr Smarty Pants, First off, I want to commend you on your promotion of native plants. I am passionately anti-invasive plants (in fact, it was the subject of my master's thesis). That being said... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Getting rid of skunk cabbage in Hopedale OH April 22, 2010 How can someone get rid of skunk cabbage? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eliminating English Ivy in East Flat Rock NC April 13, 2010 In the woods behind our house our neighbor has an invasion of English Ivy. It creeps over and through the fence into our yard, and we want to fight back! I have read the other articles about cutting... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problems with pink oxalis in Austin April 12, 2010 I have a bed of pink oxalis. The leaves are turning rusty and withering. It is spreading. Can you tell me how to remedy this? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removal of trumpet creeper in Elkview MI April 09, 2010 Thank you for your informative response about the trumpet creeper. As pretty as it is- it will have to go! Trees are more important. Thanks again! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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