Native Plants
![](../_images/smarty_plants.gif)
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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
![](../_images/mr_smarty_plants_logo_web_200w.jpg)
rate this answer
![](../_images/star_00.gif)
Wednesday - May 09, 2012
From: Pflugerville, TX
Region: Select Region
Topic: Diseases and Disorders, Shrubs
Title: Replacement Yaupon holly doing poorly in Pflugerville, TX
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
I had to replace quite a few shrubs after the drought last year. I live in Austin, TX. I have planted 3 dwarf yaupon holly bushes in the exact same place where the previous three same type of shrubs lived for over 20 years. After a couple of months. These dwarf yaupon holly bushes have some green leaves, but most medium brown and dark brown leaves. Is there anything I can do to keep them from dying? Does this indicate not enough water, or too much water? Thanks!ANSWER:
Since dwarf yaupons grew in the bed for 20 years, you would expect that new yaupons would grow in the same conditions. This assumes that the previous plants succumbed to drought and not some sort of disease. Mr. Smarty Plants is thinking that your new plants may be suffering from transplant shock.
I’m going to refer you to several sites that discuss this problem and suggest remedies. There is some overlap in the information, but the difference in approach is interesting.
Purdue University
northscaping.com TS-0011
northscaping.com TS-0012
gardeningknowhow.com
University of Kentucky
More Diseases and Disorders Questions
Cool, wet summer effect on evergreen sumac
August 28, 2007 - Hi Mr. Smarty Plants,
I have 3 evergreen sumac bushes that I planted as a screen between my house and my neighbors two years ago. They are located in a part of our yard that receives a lot of runof...
view the full question and answer
Ash tree dying back to lower sprouts in Kempner TX
June 19, 2010 - My 2 year old ash tree leaves dropped, appears dead, branches dying. New growth near base of tree. Do I cut upper trunk or remove entire tree? My other ash is doing well.
view the full question and answer
Diagnosis of problems with Texas ash
June 07, 2006 - Our 15 year old Texas ash has less leaf production this year. It also has a small amount of algae on the trunk, and some of the branches have small white spots on it. Also, a few of the branches close...
view the full question and answer
Problems with red tip photinia in San Antonio
March 29, 2009 - I have a red tip photinia that's about 20 years old and about 20 feet high--it is big! I noticed last summer the highest leaves looked droopy all the time even with deep watering and now that portion...
view the full question and answer
Recovery of water-stressed Agarita
August 11, 2014 - Hello! I planted a small agarita at the end of May and then
left town for six weeks. During that time it was supposed to receive weekly deep irrigations to help it establish, but it seems that som...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |