I recently aquired nearly a pound of fresh seed I hulled from BB pods just as they were bursting and I know the little seed needs to be scarafied but little else. Any information would be helpfull as to helping them to grow. Don’t know the time frame to do this.
Thanks in advance
al_brown39@peoplepc.com
Texas Bluebonnets
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From what I have read bluebonnets have a survival mechanism which causes the seeds to sprout over a period of several seasons. This is insures that when there is a crop failure due to drought all the seeds have not tried to sprout and died. Man oh man is this year a good example of that with this horrific drought we are suffering. The bluebonnet crop has been much reduced over much of Texas. So next spring there will still be viable seeds laying around for a beautiful bloom.
This is why your seeds need to be scarified – so a higher percentage will germinate at the same time.
As far as planting we need to look to nature. Bluebonnets actually plant their seed in late spring and they lay around all summer baking in the sun, getting wet, then baking again. The little plants actually come up in the fall and then hunker down and wait for spring. So most instructions say to plant your scarified seed in the fall and water them occasionally to keep them alive until spring. DO NOT put nitrogen fertilizer on them as it may kill them. Bluebonnets take nitrogen from the air and grow best in nitrogen poor soil. Also do not bury them too deep. With scarified seed you MAY be able to plant in early Spring instead of Fall. Just remember that Bluebonnets are early season flowers and are somewhat cold tolerant.
If you live in an area that has brutally cold and long winters a Spring planting might be better but I have no knowledge with that.
Good luck!!
Beverley
I am considering mixing the seed and masonry sand I have and mixing them in a large broadcaster I have and walk around for a little while before broadcasting them onto my future house site edges.
The site is red clay with masonry sand tilled into it, about 60×75 ft. Orentied North and South directions. The Sun is on it about 8/9 hours a day in the summertime.
I have 11acres in deep East Texas with a fair rainfall, you can guess that because the place is covered with very large trees mostly Pin Oak,Pine, Water Oak, Dogwood and Ceders.
When a dry spell hits I water a lot.
Anyone think this might work?
AB
I bought a Bluebonnet plant from Home Depot 3 years ago, and it has done really well. Because of all the seed the plant drops, the Bluebonnets double their size each season. Right now, I have a 3′ x 6′ bed full of them. I just let them go to seed in late Spring/early Summer, and they usually come up in July. (After the plants have dropped most of their seed, you will need to chop them down to the ground to ensure that the new plants get enough water and sunlight.) In fact, a few seeds have already sprouted. I give them a light amount of fertilizer once the seedlings have 3 to 4 sets of leaves. I usually fertilize them one more time, around Thanksgiving, and again in early February. By fertilizing them in early February, it helps them get blooming in April. Besides the occasional light to moderate amount of fertilizer, I do not really give them much attention. They seem to like being left alone. I am surprised more people do not plant them since they are easy to grow.
-I think they will grow well where you are planning to plant them. You will just need to give them some water every now and then during the usual Texas dry spells.