If you want to look out onto a yard full of Texas wildflowers this spring, start sowing wildflower seeds now. Yes, many varieties, such as bluebonnets, need to stay in the ground all winter to bloom in the spring. Depending on the type of flowers you want to grow, you may sow some seeds in the spring, but for the best results, get your garden trowel out now to get your yard spring ready.
Nature
Sowing Wildflower Seeds in the Texas Hill Country
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Bluebonnets
Photo: Pixabay/aprilminjarez
Sowing wildflower seeds, such as bluebonnets means you need a lot of patience. In the wild, the seeds drop in the fall, where they grow underground until the spring when they burst into bright blue blooms. The hardest part is getting a bluebonnet patch started, but after you’ve planted those first bluebonnets, nature takes its course with sowing wildflower seeds naturally each year thereafter. Ideally, plant the seeds before Thanksgiving, and you will need to rub the seeds with sandpaper before sowing them. This breaks down the seed coat, allowing better germination. Scatter the seeds over bare soil and cover lightly with a maximum quarter-inch of soil. Keep the plot well-watered throughout the winter and enjoy your bluebonnets in the spring.
Indian Paintbrushes
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
If you’re sowing wildflower seeds like bluebonnets, go ahead and plant Indian paintbrush seeds, too. Both flower seeds need to germinate in the ground after a winter of cold temperatures, and the Indian paintbrushes rely on the root systems of nearby plants such as bluebonnets for optimum growth.
Indian Blankets
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Indian blankets have a bull’s eye shape with many color bands around a center. Like bluebonnets, their seeds grow in well-drained soils and tolerate a variety of harsh conditions. Just sprinkle the seeds over the ground and cover lightly with topsoil. After a couple of weeks, the root should establish, allowing the plant to survive the winter and flower in the spring.
Winecups
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Dark magenta winecups stand out easily in flower fields. Like many other Texas Hill Country wildflowers, they grow best in well-drained soil. Sowing wildflower seeds such as winecups follow the same procedure as planting bluebonnets. Scatter the seeds over the ground and cover with topsoil. But, don’t expect to see a full crop the following spring. It takes two years before the seeds will produce flowering plants, but it will be worth the wait.
