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 02, 2007
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Identification of plants emerging from "wildflower mix" of seeds
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I planted a "wildflower mix" a couple months ago, and now I have a bunch of plants growing that I'm not sure what they are. Some of them are starting to make buds, and I've been looking on the internet to see what blooms this month, but nothing seems to lead anywhere. Do you know what the common seeds are in a Central Texas wildflower mix? Or what wildflowers would probably be blooming right now based on the current climate situation?ANSWER:
Well, since I don't know where you got your wildflower mix, I can't tell you for sure what is in it. However, Native American Seed in Junction sells several wildflower mixes and you can see what they have in their Native Texas Mix, their Plant-in-Spring or Fall - All Perennial Mix, their Native Trail Mix, their Commanche Mix or any of their other wildflower mixes. You will see that several species occur in more than one of the mixes (e.g., Plains Coreopsis, Greenthread, Missouri Primrose, Indian Blanket, Texas Bluebonnet). One of the earliest bloomers in the various lists is Greenthread (Thelosperma filifolium) which often begins blooming in late February in Austin. Depending on the weather conditions, other flowers, such as the Texas Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) and the Pink Evening-Primrose (Oenothera speciosa) can also begin blooming well before their average March or April bloom time.If you would like to send us a digital photograph (see instructions under Plant Identification) of the plants and their buds, it is possible that we could identify your flowers that are about to bloom—or you could wait for the blossoms to appear and be surprised and delighted with your new wildflowers.
More Plant Identification Questions
Information about Rose Twisted-Stalk
July 03, 2012 - Dear Mr.(?) Smarty Plants-
I LOVE your name! I cannot find the plant I'm looking to identify in your collection. I saw it in a wildflower book as: Rose Twisted-Stalk. Sprin...
view the full question and answer
Plant in Las Vegas with fern-like foliage and yellow/orange/red flowers
August 21, 2011 - We were in North Las Vegas and saw a beautiful plant, I would love to find it. It had a fern like foliage at the bottom with long thin stems and a flower clump at the top with yellow/orange/red flower...
view the full question and answer
Thermopsis caroliniana not in database from Philadelphia
September 16, 2009 - Thermopsis caroliniana is not in your plant database. What is the reason for that? Thanks!
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
July 24, 2010 - I was wondering if you could help me identify a plant in the carrot family that has invaded a portion of my property that I fear may be toxic. It looks most like the water hemlock plant (leaf-wise, ...
view the full question and answer
plant identification
June 27, 2010 - I don't know if this plant is native, but it is a volunteer.
It is a spiny , cane producing bramble . It produces tight clusters of inconspicuous fluffy reddish pink flowers about a centimeter acros...
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. |
