Native Plants
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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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Thursday - March 18, 2010
From: Angleton, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Weed killer and bluebonnets in Angleton, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Is there a way to weed my yard with weed killer and not harm my bluebonnets?ANSWER:
No. There are herbicides out there for broad-leaf plants or dicots (which includes bluebonnets), for monocots, or grasses and the broad spectrum, kill-everything herbicides that will melt your sidewalk. Many of your weeds will probably be native grasses, but spraying with a spray for monocots just threatens other monocots, like your lawn grass. Spraying with an herbicide for dicots will kill the broad leaf plants and the bluebonnets, and can also drift around to kill a shrub or two, because they are also dicots. And, finally, all herbicides and pesticides can become residual runoff material, as rain or watering causes them to run off into our water supply and subsequently into your water glass. Identify the plants you want to keep, monocot or dicot, and pull out the others that you consider weeds. Getting them out before they have a chance to go to seed will help, although the wind and helpful birds will continue to provide you with fresh stock.More Wildflowers Questions
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January 07, 2006 - Newton County borders Louisiana in SE Texas. Can we plant wildflowers now-mid January? The park has recently been graded and many trees blown down by Rita which will make it more sunny. The Garden ...
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Is Fern-like Plant with White Flower Poison Hemlock?
May 06, 2014 - I have a fern-like plant which produces white flowers that uncurl from the stem as the plant starts to grow. Is this poison hemlock?
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Survival of wildflowers after Hurricane Irene in Perkasie PA
September 03, 2011 - Mr. Smarty Plants,
We have (had) a beautiful row of wildflowers and sunflowers along the one side of our house. Now that Hurricane Irene has passed, most of the flowers are matted down from the wind...
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Flowering annuals for Dallas TX
March 26, 2009 - 1. What Non-wildflower flowers (flowers that WILL bloom first year/within first 2-3 months after plant seeds)are recommended for Dallas, TX area that could tolerate part-shade, part-sun area?
2. What...
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Adding Wildflowers to Corpus Christi
May 20, 2012 - I have a dry sandy yard, full sun in Corpus Christi with lot's of stickers mostly, want to transform to wildflowers. When should I plant, how should I prepare soil, should I dig out stickers? Which w...
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