Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Thursday - May 12, 2005
From: Beaumont, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Seeds and Seeding, Wildflowers
Title: More on bluebonnets
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
My bluebonnet plants have seed pods (I guess they are, they look like pods of snap peas). Can I collect these or do I just leave them alone and hope they multiply? If I can collect them, what is the process?ANSWER:
Bluebonnets do a good job of reseeding themselves. The seed pods are mature when they turn yellow or brown and start to dry. You can simply let the mature seeds fall to the ground, or you can mow them at this point to help spread them a bit. You will learn from that collecting, storing and resowing the seeds is a lot more work than letting the plants reseed themselves. If you do however decide to gather the seeds, you can read about the proper process on the Native Plant Library page in another PDF-formatted article called "Guidelines for Seed Collecting".
From the Image Gallery
More Seeds and Seeding Questions
Bluebonnets in memorial garden in cemetery
April 11, 2008 - When is the peak time to scatter bluebonnet seeds? I have a loved one that recently died, and she requested that her body be cremated. She would like her ashes to be mixed with bluebonnet seeds and ...
view the full question and answer
Cold stratification of Rudbeckcia maxima from Birdeye AR
August 08, 2013 - How long do I cold stratify Rudbeckia maxima seeds that I wild harvested? Can I put them in the freezer instead of fridge?
Do I need to make sure they are completely dry before cold strat?
view the full question and answer
Cottonwood trees shedding in Orion MI
June 23, 2010 - How long can I plan on my cottonwood trees (wild) shedding long wide cotton strips? This is a first for my trees. Usually it is fluffy small puffs.
view the full question and answer
Flowering plant for gravesite in Weatherford TX
June 23, 2013 - I want to plant flowering plant of some kind at parent's grave site in Weatherford, TX. The family cemetery is on a limestone hill with no irrigation or ability to water other than nature. Would on...
view the full question and answer
Scarifying seeds of evergreen sumacs from Lockhart TX
May 19, 2013 - Dear Smarty Plants,
We would like to grow our own evergreen sumacs. Consulting Nokes book, How to Grow Native Plants on page 310, it says to scarify fresh uncleaned seeds for 30-45 minutes.
On page...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |