Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Forecast for the 2103 bluebonnet season from West Columbia TX

Topic:
Author: Barbara Medford
Date: Wednesday - January 30, 2013
From: West Columbia, TX

QUESTION: What is your current forecast for the 2013 TX bluebonnet season? What would be the best time for people coming from out of state to come to TX to see them? What areas are likely to have the best displays?

ANSWER:

Here is a previous Mr. Smarty Plants question asking the same question. This is probably one of the most frequent questions that comes to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, home of Mr. Smarty Plants. You may notice that the previous question is dated December 9, 2011, asking about the 2012 season. Here are some more:

Sept. 29, 2011

January 31, 2009

The point being, in nature nothing changes and everything changes. We are still in the grips of drought, we will still have bluebonnets but we are already past the critical period of winter, when the rosettes first appear, and it was dry, dry, dry.

This USDA Plant Profile Map shows that while Lupinus texensis (Texas bluebonnet) does not grow natively in Brazoria County, a short distance north and west will bring you to fields full of them.