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Saturday - June 08, 2013

From: Wichita Falls, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Lists, Wildflowers
Title: Summer-blooming Wildflowers for Wichita Falls, TX
Answered by: Brigid & Larry Larson

QUESTION:

Can you give me a list of some summer-blooming (June, July, August, maybe September) wildflowers that I can plant in my flower beds in Wichita Falls, TX and tell me when the best time is to sow the seeds? I'm looking for some that can withstand our current drought conditions, dry soil and high heat. I currently have Delphinium consolida, which are now starting to drop seed but were beautiful while they lasted; coreopsis tinctoria, which are still blooming; some Mexican Hat; and a couple others. Thanks very much!

ANSWER:

The list is easy! The Wildflower Center has built that capability right into it’s “Recommended Species” page. As you are in Texas, there are special collections that have been created for our ecoregions. Wichita Falls is in the ecoregion called “Rolling Plains”.
Then it is simply a process of limiting the search by “Bloom Time” and considering the wildflowers that show for each summer month; I found so many that I only listed a few and moved through the alphabet with the month! [There are a few listed below that have medium water use rather than low, if this is a strong issue for you, you may want to pay more attention to that comment in the record.]

June: 69 different varieties, including Abronia ameliae (Amelia's sand verbena), Achillea millefolium (Common yarrow), Coreopsis tinctoria (Plains coreopsis), and Gaillardia pulchella (Firewheel)

July: 61 different varieties, many of the same – includes Helianthus petiolaris (Prairie sunflower), Linum rigidum (Stiffstem flax), Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower), and Melampodium leucanthum (Blackfoot daisy)

August: 59 different varieties - includes Ratibida columnifera (Mexican hat), Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed susan), and Ruellia nudiflora (Violet ruellia).

September: 56 different varieties – includes Solidago nemoralis (Gray goldenrod), Sphaeralcea angustifolia (Copper globemallow), Tetraneuris scaposa (Four-nerve daisy), Vernonia baldwinii (Baldwin's ironweed) and Xanthisma texanum ssp. drummondii (Drummond's sleepydaisy)

As you see, you’ve got a lot of choices. As per when is the best time to sow the seeds – There the story is not so easy. You are already pretty late for this year. If you think about it, when the flowers drop their seeds is the time they are attuned to the best yield. For these summer-blooming plants they will be dropping their seeds in the fall for next years summer blooms. This is also the best time to plant! I guess there is no time like the present. You can always plant some right away and if you get lucky some will come up late, and at the worst the seeds will be already present for next years crop!