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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| Can Live Oak suckers be mowed during Oak Wilt spread season in Austin? April 12, 2010 I live in South Austin, not too far from the Wildflower Center. I have a Live Oak in my yard with a substantial amount of sucker growth from the roots. Can I mow them freely throughout the year, or ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Spanish Dagger plant interfering with walkway in Ingram TX April 09, 2010 I have a Spanish Dagger that is now 8 feet tall and about to fall over in a walkway. Due to the danger of these very sharp tips I need to either cut down the plant or try to root in and replant. If ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Removal of yaupon stumps in Midland TX March 31, 2010 How is the best way to remove Yaupon tree stumps? We have 4 of them. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Tidying up Copper Canyon Daisies in San Antonio March 30, 2010 We have a small bed with 4 copper canyon daisies. We cut them back in the fall but have not pruned them during growing season; as a result they become a big tangle by September. Should they be pruned ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Why aren't my Forsythias blooming in Stone Mountain, GA? March 24, 2010 We have a large forsythia stand that has bloomed beautifully for 14 years in a row. Two summers ago I cut them way back in July. For the past two years they have only leafed out, no, or very few bloom... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trimming of Aster ericoides in Philadelphia March 20, 2010 Should I cut back my Aster ericoides, ‘schneegitter’ in the spring? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning the leaves of Sago Palm. March 10, 2010 Is it a cardinal sin to remove all the sago palm branches? This winter they were so badly scorched by the cold that hardly a frond went unaffected. So I cut them all off as I needed to get around the... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cutting back salvia greggii in Birmingham, AL February 23, 2010 When is a good time to cut back salvia gregii and how much can you cut it back. We will probably still have frost. Will it grow in sun and shade? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Eastern redcedar uprooted by snow in Arlington, TX February 14, 2010 During the recent snowstorm one of our juniperus virginiana fell over with the rootball looking intact and with a lot of soil all around it.Should we try to save it? It is approximately 20 feet tall ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Should I use wound paint when pruning my live oak tree? February 04, 2010 When trimming live oak branches, is it best to coat the wound on the tree? I have been doing this but have recently heard that it can actually be bad for the tree. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Should I top my scraggly magnolia tree? No January 27, 2010 Mr.Smarty Plants, I live in Crockett,Tx. My husband and I just bought this house. In the front yard I have a very tall,scraggly magnolia tree due to trees growing up around it. We have cut some of tho... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need help with pruning my Anacacho Orchid tree. January 04, 2010 We have an Anacacho Orchid Tree which has done so well in its location that we will need to prune it back. Please advise how much we can prune it and what time of year to do so. Thank you View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning Bald Cypress in Wylie, TX January 02, 2010 I have a 6 year old bald cypress that sustained damage to the upper portion of its trunk a couple of years ago. Since that time it has grown more outward than upward and developed a rounder shape. I... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Trimming American beautyberry in Austin December 20, 2009 I have recently developed an interest in plants and since I work for a country club taking care of all the House & Grounds Maintenance, the landscaping is certainly a part of my work. I have a questi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Freeze damage on perennials in Austin December 10, 2009 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, The recent hard freeze in Austin really took a toll on the plants I put in the ground in early October. The leaves of my salvia, lantana and esperanza are completely black! ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cutting back woody plants after freeze in Leander TX December 10, 2009 I have several woody shrubs in a prominent location. Now that the leaves have frozen, how far back should I cut them? These are Flame Acanthus, Salvia ballotiflora, and Aloysia macrostachya, but I w... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Freeze damage to esperanza in pot from Brady TX December 10, 2009 My esperanza, currently in a container, has suffered some freeze damage. I have prepared a planting spot for it and am not sure whether to plant now, trim it back if I do plant it, etc. I would appr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Arrows and Hunting Dogs in Kentucky December 09, 2009 Mr. Smarty Plants--Is it normal for our arrowwood viburnum to give off a musky odour in the late fall? The smell reminds me of a wet hunting dog. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Leaf loss on Cenizo in Bertram TX November 17, 2009 I need help with a purple sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) problem. Most of one of my plants started having paler, more greyish leaves, then the leaves began to fall off. It seemed to still look healthy... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trimming of turkscap November 16, 2009 I have a Mexican Turk's cap, it is in its second year of growth and is doing well. However, I feel a need to prune it? do I need to? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning Texas Mountain Laurel November 12, 2009 How much can I prune a 10 year old mountain laurel to re-shape it and when? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Will a cut back yucca grow back in Lockbourne OH? October 28, 2009 I live in Ohio and recently I cut back all my plants to prepare for winter. I am wondering if my Yuccas will grow back. I cut them to ground level so only a little bit of the leaf is showing. I was... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Lifespan and pruning of cedar elm in San Antonio October 03, 2009 How long do cedar elm trees live? How can you estimate the age of one, or tell if it is nearing the end of its normal lifespan? Do you have any recommendations for selecting someone to prune it proper... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Shaping cenizo in Duncanville TX October 02, 2009 Our Silverado Sage, which we expected to be 4' to 5' high and wide based on the label when we purchased it about 10 years ago, is nearly 7' tall and very random in shape (not the evenly rounded sha... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Overwintering Cardinal Flower in Thornwood NY October 01, 2009 I have 6 Cardinal Flower plants in planters. They have mulch on top to keep them moist. Can they stay in the planters all winter? Do I cut the stalks before winter comes or leave as is? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Trimming Texas mountain laurel in Austin August 27, 2009 Is there a specific time to trim established mountain laurels? Should I cut off the dried seed pods since they are weighing down the branches? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Fragrant foundation plants for sunny, dry area in Illinois August 26, 2009 We need suggestions of what to plant on the south side of our house heave sun and rather dry soil. We just took out old dead bushes. Would prefer something that flowers and smells nice that would gr... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trimming live oaks in Mamou LA August 24, 2009 We have 3 large Live Oak trees in our yard. The problem we are having is when we trim a branch off so we can walk under the branch, the whole branch dies back. Is there a certain way to trim the limbs... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| How to prune Opuntia ellisiana in Decatur, GA. August 20, 2009 Hi Mr SP--How do I go about pruning an Opuntia ellisiana? I have saws, newspaper, heavy leather gloves, goggles, etc. But my question is more about what section of the plant to cut. The base has de... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Yellowing leaves on non-native weeping birch in Brick NJ August 16, 2009 I have a young weeping birch-planted in spring-we water regularly, it gets good sun-and rain has been perfect--the leaves get yellow--and now they are a lot! Whats the matter? I love my little tree.I ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Corkscrew willow damage to roof in Detroit, MI. August 13, 2009 I have a corkscrew willow (Detroit, MI) that is huge and whose branches hang on top of the asphalt shingles of my mobile home. It has now been discovered that these shingles, under the branches, are ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Hail damage to Cenizo in Austin August 03, 2009 We have some Texas sage Silverado. After the latest hail, they look very sad. If about the half of plant is OK and the other half looks dried/dead?, should we prune the dried half? Are they ever comin... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Transplant shock in my Nuttall Oak tree in Moore, OK. July 23, 2009 I had a Nutall oak tree planted; it is 5 inches in diameter and about 24 feet tall. It was planted in March of this year, leafed out ok; now since June 20th I have had a large quantity of the leaves t... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trimming dead blooms from turkscap in San Antonio July 10, 2009 Great answer to the Turk's Plant question. But, I can't seem to find an answer to mine. I've had Turk's plants for years and cut them back as you suggest, but have always been confused about wha... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Brown leaves on possumhaw holly in Grandview TX July 02, 2009 What would be likely causes for brown leaves on possumhaw holly? We have 2, one was planted in spring 2008, and a slightly larger one planted late winter/early spring this year. Most of the leaves a... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Will the blooming stalk of my century plant eventually tip over? Yes June 24, 2009 I have a century plant in bloom. Will the stalk eventually tip over? Would appreciate any Internet references on the subject. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care for penstemons in South Jordan, UT June 21, 2009 I have Firecracker Penstemons and they bloomed beautifully this year. How do I trim them and when? Will they continue to bloom throughout the summer? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| How to prune my Linden tree? June 17, 2009 We have a 15 yr old Linden in the backyard. North side of home. It can use some pruning at the lower branches. Which branches do we prune and when? Also we have some river birches back there. Oth... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) June 05, 2009 Thank you for your answer regarding when my tulip tree will flower. I also understand it can/will grow to over 100 feet so should we be pruning it a certain way to keep it contained? thank you View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Center of Yucca filamentosa looking rotten in Howell, NJ May 31, 2009 I live in central NJ. I planted some Adam's Needle Yucca in my garden around 5 years ago. Since then, they kept growing and ended up developing three trunks off of the main trunk. I noticed recentl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning of wax myrtle in St. Augustine FL May 30, 2009 How severely can we prune our wax myrtle? It had grown 10 feet tall and very spindly and we want it to be a border hedge in front of the preserve in back of our yard. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning smoketree in New Jersey May 29, 2009 How far from ground level do I prune a relatively young Smoke tree to get the bush effect? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Perennial summer blooming plant for Livonia, MI May 22, 2009 I want to find a plant that I can cut back in the fall, will come back in the spring, flower throughout the summer, be a medium size plant, no taller than 48", about 36" in diameter. It would get f... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Cleaning up Adams Needle yucca in Vancouver Island BC May 19, 2009 We have Adam's needle yucca's in our the flower bed of our newly purchased home here on Vancouver Island BC. They thrive and produce impressive flowers. How do I clean them up in the spring time ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Problem with crapemyrtle shoots in Victoria, TX May 13, 2009 I have a problem with crepe myrtle shoots coming up in my flowerbed. I had to remove a large crepe myrtle tree (18" diameter stump) and digging out the stump was not possible. I killed the stump wi... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Getting rid of yucca plants in Blanco, TX May 12, 2009 How does a person get rid of Yucca plants? We have four fig trees that do not bear figs, what do we need to do? We live in SE Blanco County, Texas. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Can I trim back my 20 ft Yucca plant? May 11, 2009 I have a yucca tree which is about 20 ft. tall, has four main trunks. I would like to prune it to approx. 10 ft. but wonder if that will kill it or if new shoots will come out up near the cut. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Care of Northern honeysuckle bush April 26, 2009 I have a honeysuckle bush, I have had it for about year to two years. I would like to know if I should cut the brown parts off. There are some vines that do not look good, but some of the branches ha... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Bignonia capreolata with brown leaves in Pennsylvania April 24, 2009 3 year old crossvine leaves brown and dead looking. Will it come back and bud out? Crossvine on fence southern exposure. Crossvine on fence in another area has leaves and are dark green/purple - sa... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Survival of yucca plant mowed down in Oklahoma April 15, 2009 I have a yucca plant that came from a very old plant of my late father, and had transplanted it 6 years ago and it came back every year and bloomed. This morning I went outside and noticed my husband... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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