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 is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Friday - April 30, 2010
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Best of Smarty, Propagation, Seeds and Seeding, Wildflowers
Title: How and when to harvest bluebonnets.
Answered by: Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
A previous answer mentioned harvesting bluebonnet seeds by pulling up the whole plant when the seed pods turn brown. Two clarifications - when do the seed pods turn brown as these plants are hard to find with no flowers so need to know how long I have to remember where they are before being able to harvest. Also, do I need to pull the whole plant as suggested or can just the pods be harvested. Thanks!ANSWER:
Lupinus texensis (Texas bluebonnet) seeds ripen in Central Texas between mid-May and mid-June.
It's usually pretty hard to miss seeing bluebonnets that are going to seed since the most often rise above most of the surrounding vegetation and they make the area where they're growing rather messy-looking and unkempt. In some cases, later-flowering plants like Coreopsis and Indian Blanket can obscure them.
Many people pull their bluebonnet plants as they are yellowing or turning brown and hang them upside down to dry in a place where the falling seeds (ejected, actually) can be gathered. When the seedpods are fully mature and dry, they split open along a suture and the small, hard seeds are ejected quite some distance - a clever natural strategy for spreading the seed to new areas.
You can pick only the seed pod of your bluebonnets, but you'll want to wait until they are dry before doing so. By waiting, you run the risk of the seedpods already being empty by the time you're ready to harvest.
If you simply wish to have another bluebonnet display in the same location next year, just let your plants go to seed naturally and mow or otherwise remove the dead plants afterward. Since bluebonnets form nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots, leaving the roots intact will improve the soil. Alternatively, you can pull the plants to collect the seeds and later compost the plants to help create a really rich soil amendment.
From the Image Gallery
More Best of Smarty Questions
Is there an automated image download function for the NPIN Image Gallery?
November 03, 2009 - Hi, I have a database/web technical question. Do you provide an interface to retrieve photos from your website programatically?
Thanks!
view the full question and answer
Grave plants in Indiana in 1914
July 30, 2010 - I'm doing research on the landscape surrounding an elaborate family cemetery constructed in NW Indiana in 1914. Previous research noted that "grave plants" were planted along the short retaining w...
view the full question and answer
Burn the wetlands
June 02, 2010 - Can the wetlands of Louisiana that have been soaked in oil be burned? I am a native plant gardener in the midwest. Burning is a natural process in the prairie.
Southerners are not used to this and ma...
view the full question and answer
Is there a flower that blooms only once in seven years?
December 17, 2008 - Just wanted to know if there exists a flower that blooms only once in seven years? Thank you!
view the full question and answer
Native plants that will grow under alleopathic black walnut
March 03, 2007 - I have a large, beautiful black walnut tree in my yard and have trouble growing the annuals, begonia, impatients, etc., that I have always grown. They don't do well in the ground and I have resorted...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |