Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Your gift keeps resources like this database thriving!

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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

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.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
2 ratings

Friday - April 11, 2008

From: Dallas, GA
Region: Southeast
Topic: Seasonal Tasks, Seeds and Seeding, Wildflowers
Title: Bluebonnets in memorial garden in cemetery
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

When is the peak time to scatter bluebonnet seeds? I have a loved one that recently died, and she requested that her body be cremated. She would like her ashes to be mixed with bluebonnet seeds and then scattered on the our family burial plot. She feels that she will continue living each Spring when the wildflowers bloom. Fortunately, our family plot is located in a rural cemetery, which already has a large bluebonnet population blanketing it each Spring. Could you please advise me as to the best time of year and method of scattering these seeds.

ANSWER:

What a lovely idea. Apparently you live in Georgia, but if the cemetery you are interested in already has bluebonnets in it, obviously there is not going to be a problem with that. Fortunately, people who know a lot more about bluebonnets than we do have written two How-To Articles that will answer your questions: How to Grow Bluebonnets and How to Grow Bluebonnets: Scarification FAQs. We only include the second one for information, it will probably not be practical to scarify all the seeds, but perhaps a few could be prepared. The hard coats on the bluebonnet seed guarantees that there will be more seeds ready to sprout in succeeding years, adding to the natural disperal from the earlier plants. Just a quick answer to your question about the peak time to scatter bluebonnet seeds. It's best in the Fall, just as the natural drop of the dried seed pods is happening. Hopefully, the seeds will then get the benefit of Fall and Winter rains, and many of them will be ready for Spring beauty.

If you need a source for seeds, we can recommend Native American Seeds in Junction, TX. They do mail order, and seeds ordered from them through our website provide the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center with a donation.

 

From the Image Gallery


Texas bluebonnet
Lupinus texensis

Texas bluebonnet
Lupinus texensis

Texas bluebonnet
Lupinus texensis

More Wildflowers Questions

When to plant wildflowers in California
December 10, 2013 - When is the best time to plant wildflowers in California?
view the full question and answer

Smarty Plants on earliest blooming wildflowers
November 19, 2004 - For Spring, what are the earliest blooming wild flowers and when do they typically bloom? I know it's terribly early to be predicting these things, but any idea if the 2005 Bluebonnet crop in Austi...
view the full question and answer

Cutting back annual wildflowers after going to seed
August 16, 2006 - I purchased some wildflower seeds from the center last year, planted them in Nov-Dec and they have done fairly well this year despite our fairly dry winter. My question is now that they are done bloom...
view the full question and answer

Spreading bluebonnets in pasture from Ledbetter TX
April 29, 2013 - I've found a small patch of bluebonnets in my back pasture in Ledbetter, tx. What is the best method of encouraging their spread across the pasture? I've heard that one can pull up the plants and ...
view the full question and answer

Wedding Flowers for Alabama
July 03, 2015 - I am considering planting wildflowers for my wedding in early/middle May of 2016. Could I plant seed this fall and have bloom by late April in time for my May wedding?
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.