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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Tuesday - August 10, 2010
From: Merritt Island, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Bark splitting on non-native Royal Poinciana in tree in Merritt Island FL
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Information on splitting bark along the branches like an overstuffed sausage: A royal Poinciana tree, about 5 years old. The upper branches are doing this, although I'm afraid little splits or tears are starting to appear on the main trunk. It gets watered regularly on a re-use sprinkling system. Thank you,ANSWER:
As we told you in our earlier answer, we probably can't give you much help because the Delonix regia, Royal Poinciana, is native to Madagascar. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center restricts its answers to plants native not only to North America but to the place in which they are being grown. It is a tropical plant which has been cultivated in Florida, so we found an article on the Delonix regia from Floridata. By Googling on "splitting bark on delonix regia" we found some more articles where you might get help. One of the more promising was from the AgroForestry Tree Database. You might look around your area for another tree and try to find out from the owners of that if they know what the problem is. Beyond that, you're back to the Extension Office or a licensed, certified arborist.More Non-Natives Questions
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Identification of bushes with red berries in Tennessee
January 31, 2012 - I was recently traveling thru Clarksville, TN and saw these bushes (at the shopping mall) that had clusters of small red berries on them. They were not a Holly that I know of. The leaves were not th...
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Planting distance for non-native crepe myrtles in San Antonio
June 23, 2009 - I just purchased 7 katawba crepe myrtles and would like to know how far apart I need to space them. I am placing down on the right side of my front yard. They are in 5 gallon containers and about 5 - ...
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Possibility of contaminants leaching from asphalt driveway to adjacent vegetable garden in Tucson
April 13, 2011 - We have planted a vegetable garden next to a driveway. The driveway has recently (within the last 2 years) been covered with asphalt. My concern is that the oil may leach into my vegetables. Is thi...
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Texas native bamboo vs. non-native for hedge.
August 25, 2008 - Why is Mr. Smarty Plants so against bamboo when there is a native American/Texan bamboo and an active bamboo society in the Austin area?
I live in Central East Austin and I need the cheapest, fas...
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