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.
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.
rate this answer
Friday - April 07, 2006
From: Plano, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Using Native Plants Database to determine flowering time in Austin
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
How can I access your data base to learn what plants are flowering in Austin during the months of October and early November?ANSWER:
In the Native Plants Database there is an option (near the bottom of the page) to do a Combination Search. Click on "Narrow Your Search" and you can do a search using Plant Characteristics (including "Bloom Time"), Growing Conditions and Your State. You can find a list of plants blooming in October and November in Texas. Since Texas has so many different environmental regions, some of the plants listed may not grow in the Austin area.You can do a search on the USDA Plants Database by counties for each state. You select "Advanced Search" from the sidebar menu and under Part A: Plants Core Data and "1. Distribution" pick "Texas:Travis" from the list. You have to scroll down to Part B: Characteristics Data and "3. Reproduction" to pick the "Bloom Period". You don't need to make selections from any other of the categories. They will use default settings. Below is the list I generated from such a search using "Texas:Travis" and "Fall". Please note that the list is definitely not all-inclusive, but reflects only the information contained within the USDA Plants Database. They do not have information for bloom period for all plants within their database.
Disc water-hysop (Bacopa rotundifolia)
Fall sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Yellow indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans)
The Kerrville Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas has a list of Native Plants for Landscaping in the Texas Hill Country that lists bloom periods.
More Wildflowers Questions
Blooms as far as the eye can see
March 06, 2008 - Why are some wildflowers capable of putting on spectacular sweeps of blooms "for as far as the eye can see" such as Indian paintbrush at Vail Pass in Colorado, or bluebonnets in the Texas hill count...
view the full question and answer
Butterfly Garden, non-poisonous to Dogs, in Taylor MI
March 27, 2014 - I have a small fenced yard with a patio that my dogs have free access to. I would like to create a butterfly garden and add other plants that are non toxic to my dachshunds. Any suggestions. I am f...
view the full question and answer
Spring sowing of wildflower seeds in pots
May 11, 2015 - Is it possible to start wildflower seeds in pots in the spring and then transplant them to the yard?
view the full question and answer
More on bluebonnets
January 09, 2007 - My wife has recently contacted and met relatives from Texas (her father was a war baby born in the 1940's). Her new found Aunt Sarah has kindly given me some Bluebonnet seeds to plant "a corner of T...
view the full question and answer
Wildflowers for hill with erosion in San Carlos, CA
September 22, 2012 - What wildflowers would you suggest for our hills that have erosion, low ground cover in San Carlos, California?
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |