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 is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Thursday - May 12, 2005
From: Beaumont, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Seeds and Seeding, Wildflowers
Title: More on bluebonnets
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
My bluebonnet plants have seed pods (I guess they are, they look like pods of snap peas). Can I collect these or do I just leave them alone and hope they multiply? If I can collect them, what is the process?ANSWER:
Bluebonnets do a good job of reseeding themselves. The seed pods are mature when they turn yellow or brown and start to dry. You can simply let the mature seeds fall to the ground, or you can mow them at this point to help spread them a bit. You will learn from that collecting, storing and resowing the seeds is a lot more work than letting the plants reseed themselves. If you do however decide to gather the seeds, you can read about the proper process on the Native Plant Library page in another PDF-formatted article called "Guidelines for Seed Collecting".
From the Image Gallery
More Wildflowers Questions
Transplanting native bluebells in Texas
July 02, 2008 - Hello Smarty, Italy TX here again! Your advice on crape myrtles has inspired me to try harder, but now I have a question about a TRUE native wildflower,the Texas Bluebell, growing in my pasture. I ca...
view the full question and answer
Bluebonnets and paintbrush for Fredericksburg VA
April 10, 2011 - Can I broadcast Texas bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush seeds, in Virginia, during early Spring and get germination; or, do I need to winterize and plant next spring.
view the full question and answer
Deadheadidng of gaillardia
July 10, 2005 - How do I maintain gaillardias? Specially, do I deadhead them?
view the full question and answer
More on bluebonnets
March 22, 2004 - My Bluebonnets have taken over my flowerbed. Are there plants that can be planted along with Bluebonnets in a flowerbed?
view the full question and answer
Wildflower seeds that may be planted in late spring
April 21, 2007 - Monday April 09, 2007
Is it too late to plant wildflowers? I know nothing of the planting season of wildflowers however we are doing a residential ranch development and I would love to throw some see...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |