Texas traditional anticipates a great crop of bluebonnets each spring, but over the past couple years, some hotspots for such scenery has waned a little. Enter the experts at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin.
The Dallas Morning News interviewed various experts who were able to explain the conditions in which a great crop of bluebonnets would develop. A particularly lush crop can be expected following a summer of heavy rains, a fairly dry fall, and then a relatively cool winter. They also identified that the locations in which bluebonnets are generally predominant tend to vary each year. In effect, a hard freeze, or precipitation that sways from one extreme to the next just prior to the fall seeding can result in drastic changes to their bloom pattern.
Photo: Facebook/Welcome to Texas
For example, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center program coordinator, Joe Marcus, explained to the Morning News that the rain that resulted from Hurricane Harvey back in 2017 came at the perfect time for that year’s biennial blooms. Also, the dry weather which followed the hurricane managed to kill off a considerable amount of other plants which would normally compete with bluebonnet roots, thus assisting them to grow and eventually spread. Traditionally peaking in April and lasting through May, bluebonnet season is always greatly anticipated by both Texans and tourists. Meteorologist David Finfrock noted to the Morning News that we should continue to watch the temperatures and rainfall as both will strongly impact the blooms we see this coming spring. In the meantime, Texas’ own Jason Weingart, professional landscape and weather photographer and freelance writer, has given us some great locales from which he anticipates a great crop of our beloved state flower, including driving tips, the possibility of admission fees, and some excellent backdrops for your own treasured bluebonnet family photos!
