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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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Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

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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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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

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Monday - March 30, 2015

From: Lockhart, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Privacy Screening, Shrubs, Trees
Title: Screen Tree for Lockhart, TX.
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

What is a good screening tree for a ranch in the Lockhart area that won't get much water.

ANSWER:

You didn’t give Mr. Smarty Plants any details about how much screening you wanted to do, so he looked through  the database and found ten Previously Answered Questions, from people in Texas (mostly Central Texas), that sort of run the gamut  of situations that might require screening plants.

The plants mentioned are natives, and you can learn more about them by clicking on their scientific name which will take you to each one’s page in the NPIN Database. There you will find out about their characteristics,  growth requirements, and in most cases, photos. Utilizing our National Suppliers Directory can help find locations where they are sold.


Many great suggestions in some of the previously answered questions like yours can be found here 1028990918972793374114739650643554938 and  here 2800.

 

More Privacy Screening Questions

Shrubs for privacy in wet area in Ohio
July 13, 2011 - I am looking for flowering shrubs for Ohio that reach 8-10 feet and can handle wet feet. I am trying to avoid building a wall for privacy and would like to use flowering shrubs instead.
view the full question and answer

Evergreens to replace a screening line of pine trees
December 02, 2008 - Dear Mr. Smartyplants, I lost a "screening" line of pines along my back property line to powerline trimmers & a blight. The area is quite damp & the soil full of clay which is now acidic from the...
view the full question and answer

Fast-growing, non-poisonous evergreen vine for California
March 14, 2013 - Hi, I am in the north bay area of California, north of San Francisco, need a quick growing vine to cover a very long section of chain link fence that is not poisonous (back yard backs up to school pla...
view the full question and answer

Neat and tidy, poolside in Austin Texas.
December 01, 2010 - I have a small section between our pool and fence (approx 3 feet wide). I would like to plant something native that obscures the fence but does not create a mess for the pool. The area gets sun most...
view the full question and answer

Covering dead arborvitae with non-native ivy from Niles MI
April 14, 2013 - I have a severely thinning arborvitae hedge. It is probably too shady, but I want the privacy. I'm thinking of planting something like ivy to fill the gaps. I know it will probably kill the hedge, bu...
view the full question and answer

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