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.

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

Not Yet Rated

Tuesday - June 10, 2008

From: Nashville, TN
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Wildflowers blooming in Austin in October
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Does the Austin area have any flowers that grow/bloom in October? I'm getting married in Austin in October and want the entire event to be as earth-friendly as possible..hence native flowers.

ANSWER:

You can find a list of plants blooming in Central Texas by going to our Recommended Species page and selecting the Central Texas area from the map. This will bring up a list of commercially available native plants that are suitable for landscapes in Central Texas. You can narrow that list to find the ones blooming in October by selecting the Narrow Your Search option and choosing "October". You need to realize that although the flowers have been known to bloom during the month of October, climatic conditions sometimes alter the expected bloom periods and plants may not always bloom when they have before.

Here are a few from that list that should be nice for a wedding:

Coreopsis tinctoria var. tinctoria (golden tickseed)

Glandularia bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida (Dakota mock vervain)

Helianthus maximiliani (Maximilian sunflower)

Liatris mucronata (cusp blazing star)

Melampodium leucanthum (plains blackfoot)

Ratibida columnifera (upright prairie coneflower)

Solidago nemoralis (gray goldenrod)

Thelesperma filifolium var. filifolium (stiff greenthread)

Vernonia baldwinii (Baldwin's ironweed)