Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers Nan Hampton, Jimmy Mills and Barbara Medford to be the culpable and capable parties. Yet, others think staff members Damon Waitt, Joe Marcus and Philip Hawkins might 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.
Questions From Near You
Humble, TX
Native grass mix suitable for Houston
Do you have a native grass mix that is appropriate to the Houston area- or will the one you have developed to this point work as well here as it does in Central Texas? If not, when will you begin to ...
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Humble, TX
Wild native trees with orange blooms
What is the wild native tree that is blooming orange blooms - as you drive down the road thru Chappel Hill, and Brenham area. I've never seen these before when we went viewing bluebonnets - however,...
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Humble, TX
Perennials for flower bed in Humble TX
I have a 10 foot by 10 foot flower bed that needs to be replanted and I am located in Houston, TX so what would be some good perennials to plant that are good to grow in this heat? I have been told L...
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Humble, TX
Need advice for growing Texas Mountain Laurel from seed in Humble, TX
We live in Humble, Texas 77396 and would like to grow some Texas Mountain Laurel trees from seed. I recently read that they may not grow well in this area because they prefer the Texas Hill country a...
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Kingwood, TX
Native plants to replace non-native Pentas plant in butterfly garden
Can you suggest a Native alternative to Pentas? a freeze killed mine and if a native plant can fill that nectar/color void in my garden I'd appreciate it.
thanks for all that y'all do.
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Kingwood, TX
Pine bark on non-native St. Augustine grass in Kingwood TX
I had two large Pine trees cut down. In the process of cutting the trees down there is a lot of pine bark from the tree on my St Augustine grass. Will this affect the growth of my grass?
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Kingwood, TX
Snails in my flower beds
I live in Kingwood, Texas (north of Houston). I have been inundated with snails in my flower beds in my front & backyard. I really didn't want to use a pesticide, but they were eating all of my flo...
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Kingwood, TX
Source of seeds for Penstemon murrayanus
Is it possible to obtain seeds of Penstemon murrayanus? I'd like to contribute to the propagation of this threatened species.
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Kingwood, TX
Best preparation time for wildflower garden for summer
Is it too late in late Fall to prepare a wildflower garden for next spring/summer?
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Porter, TX
What variations of non-native Lavender will grow in Montgomery County TX
I live in East Montgomery County, Texas. What varieties of Lavender grow best in my area? I had some success with Providence variety and Spanish variety. I would like to grow more varieties if possi...
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Porter, TX
Evergreen shrub for hedge in Porter, Texas
We are trying to decide on what would be good privacy hedges (at least 6 ft. tall) to run down our long backyard chainlink fences. I'm allergic to Ligustrums and we have 2 dogs and a cat which I hear...
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Porter, TX
Slow development in Shumard Oak from Porter TX
We had two Shumard Oaks Planted in Sept of last year (2012). About a month later, they started browning and dropping their leaves (no color change). Now I noticed on one of the trees the buds have sta...
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Spring, TX
Replacement for pygmy date palms in Spring, TX
We live in Spring, Texas and the front door of our house faces East. Last winter we lost both of our beautiful pigmy date palms! We are trying to find "unique" accent plants for our front entry. D...
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Spring, TX
Shade trees for Spring TX
Dear Mr.Pants, our west-facing backyard in Spring, Tx, is unbearable in this Summer's heat. Neither us nor the neighbors has any backyard trees established yet, as the subdivision is pretty new. C...
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Spring, TX
Drought resistant flowering plants for Spring, TX
Hi Mr. Smarty Pants. I live in Spring Tx. and wanted to plant a garden in my front yard. I'm looking for flowering plants that are colorful, easy to manage, and drought resistant but so far can't fi...
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Spring, TX
Is blue porterweed native to North America from Spring TX
I recently purchased a blue porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) plant from the native plant section of one of our local nurseries. I was surprised when I didn't find it on your list of native pla...
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Spring, TX
Eucalyptus tree for Spring, Texas
I've heard eucalyptus trees do not lose their leaves in the winter and grow considerably tall. I want to replace a decaying pine tree with a eucalyptus tree. Do you recommend that for the Spring, T...
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Spring, TX
Bald cypress causing problems in Spring TX
There is a 50+ ft Bald Cypress growing near my property line. While the tree has grown substantial knees along the driveway and some as far as 35 ft from the tree in my flower beds, I do not see any d...
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Spring, TX
Accurate bloom time for Mistflower from Spring TX
Regarding Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum): Your site lists July to November as blooming time, while Wildflowers of Texas (Agilvsgi, Shearer Publishing, 2003) and Native Texas Plants (Wasowski, Lo...
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Spring, TX
Potted Plumbago, struggling with the heat, in Spring Texas
Why do some of the leaves of my plumbagos that are grown in large, well-draining planters turn brown? The brown starts on the tips, then extends to the whole leaf. They get several hours of west aft...
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Spring, TX
Need a recommendation for a tree to replace an oak tree in Spring, TX.
I recently had an oak tree removed from my yard and want to replace it with a nice tolerant shade tree. My yard measures 65x35. What are the best non-invasive shade trees to plant in my area?
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