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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| When is the appropriate time to prune pecan trees in Hewitt? September 07, 2008 Labor Day Weekend my husband decided to trim all the low branches on a big pecan tree in our back yard which I thought should had been done at the first of the year, our temprature is in the mid 90's... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Washingtonia palms need to be skirted? August 31, 2008 Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have five Washingtonia palms on my property that have never been skirted and look rather shabby. The interesting thing is that they have thrived (20-30 ft) here to begin with... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning of Grape Kool Aid Plant in California August 03, 2008 I have a Grape Kool Aid plant and was told it would grow to 6 or 7 feet tall, but it is well over that and I need to know if I can prune it and if so how? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure to bloom of Tecoma stans in Austin August 02, 2008 We Planted a Yellow Esperanza shrub 2 years ago that was blooming when we purchased it. It bloomed very little last year and not at all this year. It looks very healthy and each year gets about 10 f... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Pruning and deadheading rosa rugosa while blooming August 01, 2008 Can you prune the dead flowers and branches of rosa rogosa while it is still blooming? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Eradication of mahonia repens July 27, 2008 What is the best way to kill and/or remove mahonia repens? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Controlling pumpkin vine in British Columbia July 15, 2008 I have never grown pumpkins before but decided to try one plant this year. It seems to be taking over my small garden space. Can I prune it back? I only want one or two pumpkins for my grandchildre... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Deadheading a petunia and why July 13, 2008 Can you please tell me the correct way to de-head a petunia and why? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Mystic Spires salvia in transplant shock July 04, 2008 Hello. I live in Taylor, Tx. Just outside Austin, Texas. I recently planted mystic spires. One gallons and will receive the hot afternoon sun. All the research says they can tolerate this location. Th... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Non-blooming Tecoma stans in Fredericksburg, TX June 30, 2008 We have an esperanza plant purchased last year from Walmart and planted outside before winter. It flowered excellently last year. Just before winter we cut it back to about a foot. So far this summer ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What about the brown dots on my Silver sage? June 27, 2008 During the past year, the leaves on my silver sage bushes around the perimeter of the front of my house have turned yellow in places and there are tiny brown dots on virtually all of the leaves. If I ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Non-branching mimosa tree June 26, 2008 I have a Mimosa Tree, just about 2 years old, grown from seed. The problem with it is that it has not branched out, it looks like one long branch growing out of the ground, about 5 feet if stood strai... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Premature leaf drop on Red Maple in Kentucky June 25, 2008 I have a ten foot Red Maple tree that has been set out for 4 years. Its leaves have slowly turned colors until it currently looks like fall. The leaves are not falling off nor is there yet any s... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Buffaloberry from Grandma June 25, 2008 I have a "BUFFALO BERRY" that my Grandma brought back from South Dakota.It is approx.8yrs.old.All was well until this spring.It was budding out when we had a very hard freeze and got 3" of snow.Now... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Safe time to trim live oak trees June 20, 2008 Our live oak trees need a little trimming, as some of the branches are hanging too low, almost to the ground. We planted them about 5 years ago, so they are well established, healthy trees. My husband... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| What to do with bloom stalk on yucca June 08, 2008 Six years ago, I dug up two small narrow-leaf yuccas from a deer lease outside of Junction, Texas. I planted them in a raised bed in my yard and the smaller of the two survived and grew. To my surpris... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trimming back Agave havardiana June 05, 2008 Hi.. thanks for all the great information on Agaves. We have a number of Agave Havardiana (blue) that love where we planted them. Several have gotten HUGE. So much so that they are starting to ge... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pruning of Bauhinia lunarioides May 29, 2008 I have a Bauhinia variegata..when is the best time to prune it? it tends to grow horizontally..where do you clip off the limbs? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Repairing damage to Anacacho Orchid Tree in Austin April 30, 2008 Hi You Guys!! We have an understory Anacacho Orchid Tree in the front and my sweetie was trimming the big oak and dropped a branch down, splitting one of the large branches off the Anacacho. The wou... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure of older branches on Bauhinia lunarioides to thrive April 27, 2008 We planted a sapling of the Anacacho Orchid Tree (Bauhinia lunarioides) winter (Jan, Feb?) and now it has leaves and blooms - but only off of new branches near its trunk, as the old branches haven't ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Clipping of beans from newly planted Tecoma stans April 22, 2008 I purchased a Esperanza Plant in a pot from a nursery in April of 2008. We planted it and it is doing fine, but came with blooms and beans. Do I need to do clip or prune the beans at this stage of g... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Browning of leaf tops on Iris plants April 22, 2008 My Iris plants bloomed beautifully, now some of the leaves are turning brown from the top down, about half way. Is this normal? What can I do about it and should I cut off the brown leaves? Also, what... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure to bloom of Texas Mountain Laurel April 15, 2008 My +/- 4 yr old Tx. Mountain Laurel, has never bloomed. It is in full sun. I sometimes (minimal) fertilize it. I've pretty much planted it and let it grow. Its been pruned back last year when som... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Trimming bloom stalks of iris April 15, 2008 Mr. Smarty: I live in Nevada, and have some very beautiful Iris plants. They have all blossomed and now I am left with stems. Is there any way I can cut them back so they blossom again? If so how shou... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Failure of Bald Cypress to fully leaf out April 14, 2008 My family just moved to a house in Burnet County, about 7 miles south of Bertram, close to the Balcones Canyonlands NWR, with very rocky limestone soil. We bought several trees last fall, including a ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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