Texas Bluebonnets

I see them growing wild in my town and am very tempted to pull over my car and really check them out!
Does anyone know about getting the seed from them and when??
Thanks for the help! Tricia

You can probably find some now, they've been blooming a while. They look like pea gravel.
Go for it Tricia!

I got sent some in a trade,, i ws sowed them and i have about 5 little plants (something ate most of them).
You are right the seed looks like biege pea gravel! Very pretty with dots and swirls.
If mine ever flower and set seed i'll send you some ..... that could be a year or more though.

good luck

Mike

You can get seed here
https://www.wildseedfarms.com/bloom/
and a tour of the grounds is a great experience/.

Yuska

I think I will pull my car over one day and start picking.
Seed saving and harvesting is such a blast to me!
Tricia

I started thinking it may be illegal and found this. I know you can buy the seeds everywhere, I've even seen them at Lowe's.

http://www.staugustine.com/stories/050698/wildflowers.shtml

Oops, scratch that Tricia..it's for Florida. Here's what I found for Texas and it looks like it might be okay to pick them.

Maybe post on the Texas forum and see what the others think :)

http://www.texastwisted.com/reports/bluebonnets/

That is too funny! I just remembered when I was a little girl my parents told me it was illegal to pick bluebonnets but we picked them anyway LOL
I forgot about that old saying until now.

Trish, one of the things I miss the most since leaving Tx is the bluebonnets!
I wonder if they would grow here...I sure would like to try.
Michelle:)

I think they would you have the same climate. Try some and "Pick Them":)))
Ps...I have a brother that lived in Clearwater many years .

Hey they grow funny. Mine is like a big fat watery lupin now. Normal lupins over here don't look anywhere near as fresh and healthy! Must like our climate.

Mike

I bought several 6 packs of bluebonnets this year to mix in with other plants in containers. I've really enjoyed them a lot. They've been producing seeds like crazy now. I've plucked the seed pods off and need to know what to do with them now. I know I'll need to open the pods. Will I need to let the seeds dry before planting them?

Another thing.... Should I plant them now? Will they grow and bloom this year? Or should I save the seeds for next year?

Just FYI.... I'm in Southeast Texas. It's extremely hot and humid here.

Janet

well if it was me i'd leave them on the plant untill they start to dry there. But open the pods and look.
Not sure about your climate but i'd sow them now over here!

Mike

Man oh Man did I blow it then!!! I've already taken the pods from the plants. I just cut one of them open and found little green seeds. SIGH I will know better next time. I may still try and plant a few of these and see what happens. The bluebonnets still have a bit of bloom left to them. Maybe more seeds will come out if I'm lucky.

Thanks Mike for your help.

Janet

Hey it depends how little and imature the seed is.

Seeds are just like people... they have to be physicaly mature enough before they can fend for themselves.

Its still worth letting them dry and then sowing them. You might find some have made it into adulthood.

Mike

Thanks so much Mike for making me feel better about a dumb mistake. This is the first year that I've even considered saving seeds from my back yard. I should have done some research BEFORE I plucked them all off the plants. You can bet I'll do that before I go plucking anything else off of the plants.

I won't just toss them out and since I cannot put them back on the plant, I'll open them up and let them dry without their "womb".

Womb lol

Yeah never throw them. Sometimes needs must as you see a plant you want but its not ready.. so i have done it before. Trial and error thats the key.

Mike

I've had pretty good luck planting seeds this year. Those seeds either came from other folks here at Dave's, or in packages from stores.

Thanks again for your help and encouragement. I really appreciate it.

Janet

I winter sowed Texas Blue bonnets and they are already in full bloom. Just goreous to me. I did think they were a tall plant though. Still cute little short plants. Will they grow any taller?

I've never seen tall bluebonnets. About a month ago, my sister and I went to San Antonio. The wildflowers were all in bloom along the highway. We stopped to get some photos. There's nothing quite like a sea of bluebonnets!

Last year was the first time I'd ever seen any bluebonnets that were NOT blue. They were maroon in color. This year I bought a package of mixed lupines. There were quite a few colors on the front of the package. I just planted those the other day, so haven't seen any "results" yet.

I'm still quite disgusted with myself for pulling the seed pods too early. I did notice that there are still some out there though on the plants, so I'll leave those, as is the right thing to do.

Janet