About

Wildflower Hour

Things get a little wild on Saturday mornings at KLBJ News Radio 590. That’s when Wildflower Hour is on the air featuring expert gardening advice with an emphasis on native plants. The format includes Mr. Smarty Plants, the season’s best native plants and occasional experts from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It’s always informative and entertaining--every Saturday morning at 8:00 o'clock on Newsradio 590.

Wildflower Hour Schedule

February 11		Plant Feature with guest Julie Marcus Heart-leaf Skullcap (Scutellaria ovata)
February 18		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Planting at the Right Time: Grasses
February 25		Plant Feature with guest Damon Waitt Tenpetal thimbleweed (Anemone berlandieri )
March 3		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Planting in the Right Place: Sun, Soil, Climate
March 10		Plant Feature with guest Samantha Elkinton Gregg's mistflower (Conoclinium greggii)
March 17		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Planting in the Right Place: Foundations/Roots
March 24		Plant Feature with guest Elias Guerrero White prairie rose (Rosa foliolosa)
March 31		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Planting the Right Plant: Native to the Area

Wildflower Hour Archive

February 4		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Planting at the Right Time: Woody Plants
January 28		Plant Feature with guest Andrea DeLong Amaya Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)
January 21		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Avoiding Transplant Shock
January 14		Plant Feature with guest Elias Guerrero Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa)
January 7		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants A Gardener's New Year's Resolutions
December 31		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Native turf grasses for shade
December 24		On Holiday Have a joyous holiday season!
December 17		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Ground cover on area where dogs run
December 10		Plant Feature with guest Elias Guerrero Lacey oak (Quercus laceyi)
December 3		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Dividing yuccas
November 26		Plant Feature with guest Damon Waitt Lindheimer's globeberry (Ibervillea lindheimeri) Stinking gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima)
November 19		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Non-native bamboo for privacy
November 5		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Replanting in the Bastrop fire area
October 29		Plant Feature with guest Damon Waitt Carnivorous Native Plants Flycatcher (Sarracenia alata) Dwarf sundew (Drosera brevifolia) Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) Yellow butterwort (Pinguicula lutea)
October 22		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Chlorosis in sycamores
October 15		Plant Feature with guest Julie Marcus Fall Plant Sale
October 8		Plant Feature with guest Damon Waitt Fall Plant Sale & Drought Project Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Cenizos browning in Houston
October 1		Plant Feature with guest Neil Schmidt Texas kidneywood (Eysenhardtia texana)
September 24		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Drip Line of Trees
September 17		Plant Feature with guest Phillip Schulze Anacua (Ehretia anacua)
September 10		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Planting fields of wildflowers
September 3		Plant Feature with guest Neil Schmidt False dragonhead (Physotegia sp.)
August 27		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Ants in Outdoor Plants
August 20		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Patio plants burning up in sun
August 13		Plant Feature with guest Elias Guerrero American lotus (Nelumbo lutea)
August 6		Plant Feature with guest Neil Schmidt Passionflower (Passiflora sp.)
July 30		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Want a custom-design plant
July 23		Plant Feature with guest Samantha Elkinton Plateau goldeneye (Viguiera dentata)
July 16		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Evergreen shrubs dying
July 9		Plant Feature with guest Damon Waitt Scarlet clematis (Clematis texensis) and Purple clematis (Clematis pitcheri)
July 2		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Big trees in small spaces
June 25		Plant Feature with guest Elias Guerrero Desert marigold (Baileya multiradiata)
June 18		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants My junipers are turning brown
June 4		Plant Feature with guest Julie Krosley Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea)
May 28		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Oak wilt
May 21		Plant Feature with guest Wendy Redding Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii)
May 14		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Plants over a septic tank on a slope
May 7		Plant Feature with guest Elias Guerrero Giant Coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima
April 30		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Transplant shock
April 23		Trees for utility lines with guest Damon Waitt List of Trees for Utility Lines Arboretum dedication
April 16		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Native grass for shaded lawn Seeding an established buffalograss lawn Three native grasses in grass mix research
April 9		Plant Feature with guest Julie Krosley Spring Plant Sale & Gardening Festival
April 2		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Can plants bought at Plant Sale wait a while?
March 26		Plant Feature with guest Andrea Delong-Amaya Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora) Huisache (Acacia farnesiana)
March 19		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Why aren't the flowering trees blooming?
March 12		Plant Feature with guest Wendy Redding Callirhoe involucrata - Winecup
March 5		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Native grass for caliche soil in Austin
February 26		Plant Feature with guest Elias Guerrero Cercis canadensis var. texensis - Texas redbud
February 19		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants How will winter weather affect bluebonnets this year?
February 12		Plant Feature with guest Julie Krosley Aquilegia canadensis - Wild red columbine
January 29		Wildflower rosettes with guest Andrea Delong-Amaya Learn how to identify the winter form of some of our most popular wildflowers.
January 22		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Oak wilt and oak maintenance
January 15		Texas Oaks with guest Damon Waitt Quercus texana - Texas red oak Quercus fusiformis - Plateau live oak Quercus macrocarpa - Bur oak
January 8		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants How far do I have to go to avoid the pollen of Juniperus Ashei?
December 25 & January 1		On Holiday Smarty Plants will be taking a break on Christmas and New Year's day.
December 18		Plant Feature with guest Damon Waitt Euphorbia cyathophora - Wild Poinsettia
December 11		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants What fruiting trees/shrubs are good to attract native birds?
December 4		Big Grasses with guest Damon Waitt Andropogon gerardii - Big bluestem Andropogon glomeratus - Bushy bluestem Muhlenbergia lindheimeri - Big muhly
November 27		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants Do you have any suggestions for what to do about deer?
November 20		Ask Mr. Smarty Plants What is the optimum time for planting perennials and trees?

About the Host

Tom Spencer, the host of Wildflower Hour, is one of Austin’s celebrated media personalities and an inspired gardener. Spencer, who also hosts Central Texas Gardener on KLRU, is an award-winning documentary producer who excels in introducing new gardening topics.