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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| Plant identification April 04, 2010 There is a wildflower growing in my pasture. It is low growing, triangle leaves, flowers are blue, five petals with what looks like a white flower in the middle. Gods blessings to all there. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification April 04, 2010 There's a wildflower growing on my patio its leaves look like the leaves of a lute leaf sage, it has a flower stalk with yellow flowers. The stalk is about a one foot high. What is the name of it? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification April 04, 2010 Just blooming out here in the Austin metro is a square-budded yellow 'daisy' with puffy center. Very like a Huisache Daisy, but the margins aren't so toothed. It's VERY common in the Austin greens... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification March 28, 2010 Found thorny bush in woods near my home that I need to identify. It is a tall shrub (approx. 10 feet) that has very large thorns on its green branches. I don't see any flowers yet. It doesn't appear... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Is Texas Mountain Laurel what I planted in Magnolia TX? March 21, 2010 I think I planted Texas Mt. Laurels and need to see a pic of early plants. Can you help? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification of tree with white blossoms in Fort Worth March 17, 2010 Live in Fort Worth, TX. Any idea what are trees blooming this week (3/18), with white blossoms and an oval green leaf about the size of a half dollar? The bark looks like an oak. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification and advice about moving it March 10, 2010 I have a plant (a thick stalk about 4 foot tall with yellow flowers on it) that blooms in the morning and the flowers fall off at night. I have searched for info on this plant and have come up short. ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need to identify a strange plant in my flowerbed March 05, 2010 I have a strange plant that I've called a weed in my flowerbed. It doesn't have many leaves but it has round white almost bulbs at the surface of the dirt. The "bulbs" look almost like a small oni... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identifying a plant/weed blooming in Feb. in Texas February 24, 2010 Can you help me identify a flowering plant I have found growing in my yard? It is a tiny green plant most months of the year, with very tiny deep to pastel blue flowers on it in early spring ( it is i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant in North Georgia Mountains with strong fragrance January 20, 2010 I need to ask a question about a plant in the North Georgia Mountains which are part of the Appalachian Mountains.I need help trying to figure out what plant in the North Georgia Mountains and the App... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identification of fleshy green lobes on the ground January 08, 2010 I have been hiking in the Austin area and it is January: Noticing dark green, rubbery, lobe shaped sheets on the ground. Less then 2". Usually near low growing fuzzy moss clumps. There are many of... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mystery plant in New Jersey December 29, 2009 We are trying to find the name of a shrub, growing in Southern New Jersey. with red berries that grow in a group much like lilac or oak leaf hydrangea. It is "feathery", not dense. A neighbor dug u... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification December 17, 2009 For a few weeks now the front of our school has had an on and off smell that to some was like a dead animal. To others it smelled like dirty fish fry oil. Maintenance people came out and found the sou... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification, orange honeysuckle December 14, 2009 I have two potted trees in my yard. They have honeysuckle-shaped, orange flowers that bloom year long and the leaves also resemble those of honeysuckle. There were no identification tags on them whe... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification of tree with strawberry-like fruit December 11, 2009 On my walk home from work i noticed a red berry i had never seen before. It is soft like a strawberry, bumpy all over but the bumps are not individual as a raspberry has. It grows on a tall bush (very... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Bulb identification December 10, 2009 My pinecone ginger (Zingiber zerumbet), my white ginger (Hedychium coronarium) and my cana lilly roots were all accidently put in the same box and now I can't tell which is which. Is there some sort ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identfication December 06, 2009 I found a shrub I like because of the black fruit that birds like to eat but I don't know what it is. It looks similar to a blackhaw but the edges of the leaves are smooth not jagged. The fruit is a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Purple wildflowers near Lake Tahoe November 30, 2009 I have been tasked with a challenge to find the plant that is "dark purple wild flowers at Lake Tahoe and are a magnificent thing to see in the fall. Interestingly, these wild mountain lake flowers w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Identity of tree in Grant AL November 26, 2009 What is the name of the tree in N.E. Alabama that has a big green heart shaped leaf in Nov. with clusters or nuts & blonde small nuts the size of a pea . And deer are eating the small blonde nut in No... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| ID of plant from florist in Moorestown NJ November 21, 2009 I recently purchased a cut stem from the local florist for an autumn flower arrangement. The leaves are very, very small and bamboo-like in looks. They are not oval and are 1/8 inches long. The bra... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What is the weed of Cortez from Shreveport, LA November 13, 2009 I am trying to locate the weed of Cortez. I live in northern Louisiana. Can you please let me know if you have ever heard of this? I was told that is a very rare large red flower that blooms in the sp... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification in Andover MA November 12, 2009 I live in MA. I have found a tree that produces an avocado like fruit with a round grooved pit. There are several of these trees in the fields where I walk and the ground is littered with these fruits... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Tree purchased at LBJWC plant sale from Austin November 10, 2009 I bought a tree at the 2008 LBJ Wildflower plant sale, it is growing great. I would like to plant it in the proper location/soil but lost the name tag and can't identify it. It has very fine leaves... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| ID of plant that looks like a pine cone? October 29, 2009 I have a plant that i was told it was a Pine Cone plant. When it blooms it looks just like a pine cone. but i can't fine anything on it. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Plant identification October 25, 2009 Deer are devastating understory in our woods. We have a highly resistant shrub purchased years ago at the state arboretum plant sale. It is about 5-6' tall, somewhat wider than that, many suckers/o... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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