The Great Bluebonnet Project

[ronjhall]

We are heading East. Hope to stop at Jim,s place and get a picture with our motor home setting in the middle of them Bluebonnets. :thumbsup:

 

[jinman]

We are heading East. Hope to stop at Jim,s place and get a picture with our motor home setting in the middle of them Bluebonnets. :thumbsup:

Well Ron, there's a small patch of bluebonnets right beside where you will park, but I've been disappointed with the size of the plants. I think I let my excitement over seeing so many plants cloud my judgement a bit. The fellow at the LBJ Wildflower Center mentioned that my great germination rate might be related to the fact that there were not many other plants competing because the soil was pretty lousy. I thought that was a good thing for bluebonnets, but it seems that allows them to germinate, but limits their growth. I should have supplemented them with a light application of fertilizer. Now, I have a lot of little plants with small blooms. It's not the showy display I had hoped for, but darn nice for a first year project. Next year, I'll do the fertilizer and see if I can get them to grow bigger. I haven't taken any pictures because they are not quite at their peak. Hopefully, they will be there just as you arrive on Monday or Tuesday. What I have done is string out 300+ feet of hose with a sprinkler I move around all day to keep them watered. We haven't had any significant rain in a month and the ground is starting to dry and crack.

Bird: That's sure a nice display of bluebonnets at that house. I wonder if they reseed each year or let them go until they dry out and the seeds fall? To do that, they would have to not mow that area until about June. Most HOAs and city ordinances won't let folks let their lawns go that long without mowing.

 

[Bird]

Jim, I've never met the folks that live there, but Margaret has and says they're about our age and real nice folks. I don't know whether he does any seeding or not, but do know that he doesn't mow that area until the bluebonnets are gone; at least for the 4 years we've been here. Then the rest of the year, he keeps it neatly mowed. And I'm guessing that he does some seeding, because it seems to me that they cover a larger area than usual.

Of course we don't have any HOA here (or I would never have bought in this area), but in 2007 some people challenged the city ordinance because they said they were using "native" plants for landscaping, that they shouldn't be mowed, and that they used less water, etc. So the ordinance got changed. So we have a xeriscape ordinance. I don't think anyone would dare challenge the guy since bluebonnets are the state flower and since I think that home was there before this city was incorporated. The "normal" height limit for grass is 6", but "ornamental" grasses can be up to 36".

 

[jinman]

Okay ya'll, the bluebonnets are up and makin' me proud. I'm too much of a perfectionist to be completely happy with my results, but in reality, I should be thrilled with my first year results. Here are some pictures taken a couple of days ago.

 

[jinman]

What may be the most amazing part of all of this is the results of respreading the seeds where I scraped off the bluebonnets for my transplant. Here are serveral pictures of the area where the bluebonnets came from. If I didn't know I'd taken the soil, I would not be able to tell.

 

[The Dougster]

Beautiful photos Jinman.. As always in Central Texas, the wildflowers are putting on quite a show... this is a good thing and a bad thing. My yard looks awful 'cuz Da warden won't let me mow because of the Bluebonnets <sigh>
Last week at the ranch in Lampasas County, I ran over a few with my 'Bota and you'd have thought I'd insulted the Pope... Oh well.... lol

 

[Bird]

in reality, I should be thrilled with my first year results

Yes, I would say so. I certainly would be.

 

[ronjhall]

Okay ya'll, the bluebonnets are up and makin' me proud. I'm too much of a perfectionist to be completely happy with my results, but in reality, I should be thrilled with my first year results. Here are some pictures taken a couple of days ago.

I just do not understand why we did not see any KITTIES in the Bluebonnets when we where at your place.

 

[jinman]

I just do not understand why we did not see any KITTIES in the Bluebonnets when we where at your place.

With a "vicious" animal like that, who can blame them for staying hidden?

 

[jimmyj]

Beautiful flowers. I love native wildflowers. I have to get to Texas some time to see Bluebonnets in person. How long do they bloom for?

 

[jinman]

Beautiful flowers. I love native wildflowers. I have to get to Texas some time to see Bluebonnets in person. How long do they bloom for?

Jim, it all depends on where in Texas you are. I'd say that in the central and southeastern sectors, the first part of April is best. In my part of the state and northwest, it's probably the latest part of April. My bluebonnets will be going to seed by the end of the month and they'll be replaced by lots of other native wildflowers like foxglove, greenthread, rudbekia, coreopsis, purple horsemint, beebalm, fleabane, etc.... My native wild yuccas are just putting up their bloom pods. They'll be blooming within a week, I think.

 

[ronjhall]

You did not mention Indian Paintbrush in your list. Are then not native to your area? On our way to Joplin we saw whole fields of them. Wish I had taken pictures of them.

 

[Bird]

Ron, it always seemed to me that we saw the Indian Paintbrush along with, or close to the bluebonnets. I've seen a few this year, but Margaret and I had talked about the fact that we've seen fewer this year than I can ever remember.

 

[ronjhall]

There were several patches of them south of Jim's place. More than we have seen in previous years.

 

[Bird]

Ron, maybe I spoke too soon:laughing:, or maybe the Indian Paintbrush blooms a short time AFTER the bluebonnets. Margaret wanted to go out for a ride this afternoon and noticed the Indian Paintbrush along the east side of I-35E about a mile north of us. Then, after stopping at a flea market on U.S. 380 east of Denton, we drove south down a country road and saw a couple of big fields full of them. But I didn't see any bluebonnets over there.:laughing:

 

[bindian]

Ron, maybe I spoke too soon:laughing:, or maybe the Indian Paintbrush blooms a short time AFTER the bluebonnets. Margaret wanted to go out for a ride this afternoon and noticed the Indian Paintbrush along the east side of I-35E about a mile north of us. Then, after stopping at a flea market on U.S. 380 east of Denton, we drove south down a country road and saw a couple of big fields full of them. But I didn't see any bluebonnets over there.:laughing:

I saw some Indian Paintbrush on my way to and from Austin a couple of weeks ago.
hugs, Brandi

 

[jinman]

You did not mention Indian Paintbrush in your list. Are then not native to your area? On our way to Joplin we saw whole fields of them. Wish I had taken pictures of them.

Ron: I mentioned paintbrush in another thread and didn't do it here. Yes, we have a spectacular display of paintbrush on and off Hwy 287 between Decatur and Bowie. Just south of me, there are two or three fields of 8 to 10 acres just covered in a blanket of indian paintbrush. I have not seen much crimson clover nor indian blankets yet.

Bird: It's funny that you should mention going out on Hwy 380 yesterday. Yesterday, we wanted to visit my mother's gravesite in Denton because we will be travelling out west on May 9th. I also wanted to go see my brother in Whitesboro and take him some veggie soup, blackeyed peas, and smoked ribs I've been promising to bring to him. We headed south on Hwy 287 from our house and then took Hwy 380 east to Denton. We were by the fleamarket about 12:30 pm and noticed it was pretty crowded. From Denton we proceeded east on 380 to Hwy 377 north to Whitesboro and then back west on Hwy 82 through Gainesville, Muenster (Germanfest weekend) and Saint Jo to Hwy 59 that returned us to Bowie. Whew! It was quite a day trip.:thumbsup: We saw lots of indian paintbrush fields, on Hwy 377 going to Whitesboro, but they seemed spotty at best. Anywhere there is a horse ranch (and there are LOTS of them on 377) there were paintbrushes only outside the fences. They must be good to eat.

Anyhow, we saw lots of bluebonnets and lots of paintbrush, but not one single indian blanket. I'm thinking it needs to be hotter and a little dryer before the indian blanket (gallardia) appears. Kathy is going to Norman, Oklahoma today to visit our youngest son and will surely have a wildflower report from I35 between here and Okla. City.

 

[Bird]

We were by the fleamarket about 12:30 pm and noticed it was pretty crowded.

You went by about an hour before we got there. Actually, I'd forgotten about that flea market being there and had never stopped there before, so this time when we saw what a crowd was there, I turned around and went back and we walked the whole place. We saw a few interesting things, but didn't buy anything. We then went on east on 380 and south on Naylor was where we saw the fields of Indian Paintbrush.