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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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.
rate this answer
Saturday - May 02, 2015
From: Abilene, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Seasonal Tasks, Problem Plants, Trees
Title: Oak Sucker Reprise
Answered by: Larry Larson
QUESTION:
----Original Question---- SUNDAY - JULY 06, 2014 Title: Live Oak Suckers Reprise, Austin TX QUESTION: Referring to an entry dated March 11, 2011 about Live Oak suckers - what happened to the suckers covered with newspaper and cardboard? ---Followup Question---- Update on the experiment and how did you prepare the area before laying down the newspaper, cardboard, and 4-6" of mulch?ANSWER:
For completeness – This link is to the original question/answer: Live Oak Suckers
This was followed by a “how did it work” question some years later: Live Oak Suckers Reprise, Austin TX
As this was just written last summer, it’s pretty current. I still consider it a success and the touchup this winter/spring seemed easier than before. As planned last summer I refreshed the layers. For the majority of the area under my Oaks, this involved raking up the mulch, strategically adding some more cardboard, and then covering it all with fresh mulch. I had already gone through and removed all the suckers as much as possible 2-3” below ground level.
I also did another 50 square feet for the first time. We had gardening supplies there before. It was a low sucker forest. I had been using the weedwacker and my hedge trimmer on them as appropriate before. The initial preparation was pretty much the same – but there’s more work involved. I went through and pulled & cut on those things until they all were trimmed off 2” below the surface. Then I placed cardboard & mulch as before and hopefully I’ll have a couple years of peace before I need to do much more of the hardcore sucker cleaning!
From the Image Gallery
More Problem Plants Questions
Young huisache trees dying
October 02, 2015 - We have had several young huisache trees suddenly die. These trees are only three or four years old and were apparently healthy when they just died. They are growing by the curb on a city street and w...
view the full question and answer
Update on controlling live oak suckers with newspapers, cardboard and mulch
September 12, 2014 - Can we get an update on the march 2011 topic of live oak suckers? I am wondering if the newspaper/cardboard/mulch layers continued to take care of the problem. Thanks!
view the full question and answer
Getting rid of bermudagrass
July 13, 2010 - How do I get rid of bermuda grass in my San Augustine grass?
view the full question and answer
Controlling KR Bluestem
February 11, 2016 - How can I control KR Bluestem in my 55 acre coastal bermuda hayfield? The field has a Farm Road along one side planted in KR, and now the hayfield is about 25 - 30% KR. Summer burn is fairly dangerous...
view the full question and answer
Low Water Use Plants for a Pond Island
November 06, 2014 - We have a medium sized pond/tank with a small island covered in black willows. The pond loses a lot of water and we were told it was partially due to the willows. We want to remove them and replace ...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |