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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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
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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Saturday - February 14, 2015
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Planting, Soils, Trees
Title: Need fast growing deciduous trees for Austin, TX
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
We'd like to plant several fast growing deciduous trees in a full sun yard with a hard alkaline soil in the western edge of Travis Heights in South Austin. I've noted several locations in our neighborhood where Sycamores have grown very rapidly--Jo's Coffee on South Congress is one. Which Sycamore does best in our climate and soil? How wide/deep must the hole be? How must the soil be treated before planting? What is the range of planting season?ANSWER:
Planting a tree is a good thing to do, and this link from TreeFolks suggests that fall is the best time for planting in this part of the country.
Sycamore Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore) is a good choice but the Tree Selector from Texas A&M can provide you with other choices. Be sure to look at the "Tree planting tools" feature.
Here are two links about soil from Bachmans.com:
understanding soil
acidifying soil
The next step is to plant your new tree, and here are three links that can give you some help:
from our step by step guides, How to plant a tree
from mikesbacyardgardening.com includes a video
from treehelp.com
These should provide sufficient guidance to get you on you way.
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