Explore Plants
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.
Can't find the answer in our existing FAQs, submit a question to Mr. Smarty Plants.
Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.
rate this answer
Tuesday - January 05, 2010
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Texas Bluebonnets: The Peak o' the Season
Answered by: Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
Hi. Question about bluebonnet blooming in the Austin, Texas area. I've read that early April is usually the prime time, but that weather can bump that around. We had a very wet fall. Now we are having a cold winter. Your best guess please on the prime blooming time for bluebonnets. Thanks a bunch.ANSWER:
Early April is very consistently the height of the flowering season for Lupinus texensis (Texas bluebonnet) in Central Texas. Weather conditions can vary the season by just a few days either way, but not enough to really notice. Weather plays a greater role in the development of any year's Bluebonnet crop. In general, good fall rains improve the show for the following season. However, other variables such as germination rate, competing winter grasses, etc, also affect the flower crop.
So far this year (keeping our fingers crossed) the crop for spring of 2010 looks very promising.
More Wildflowers Questions
Information on Texas wildflowers
February 28, 2009 - Does your site (or another site known to you) have a link to provide information on when our Texas wildflowers should emerge this year at various locations in the state, and whether this year is expec...
view the full question and answer
Yellow Indian paintbrush, Castilleja indivisa
May 09, 2005 - Does entireleaf Indian paintbrush, Castilleja indivisa, come in yellow in the wild? I have Indian paintbrush in the front pasture and noticed last weekend that there were 5 or 6 that were light yellow...
view the full question and answer
Digging wild buttercup from roadside in Mechanicsville MD
May 28, 2012 - Mr. Smarty Plants, is it illegal to dig out wild buttercup in Maryland? I see them along the dirt road or just in the ditch. Since buttercup considered weed, I'm wondering what the law say about this...
view the full question and answer
More on bluebonnets
April 19, 2007 - I am a displaced Austinite - As of last week now living in upstate New York (Binghamton). As I was leaving town - a friend presented me with a pound bag of bluebonnet seeds. A thoughtful gift - but I...
view the full question and answer
Planting wildflower seeds in Texas in February
February 04, 2010 - I would like to plant some wildflowers this month - February.
I have planted some bluebonnets and they will "bloom" in March/April.
Would there be any wildflowers that would also bloom in Marc...
view the full question and answer
 |
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. Mr. Smarty Plants wants you to be his Facebook friend. Click the Facebook icon to add yourself to Mr. Smarty Plants list of friends. |
