Environment
BY KAMERYN GRIESSER
Bluebonnet season is early this year—what does it mean? Bluebonnet Bloom time: March-May Texas paintbrush Bloom time: March-September
In recent weeks, Austinites traveling on major highways may have noticed a familiar harbinger of spring: seas of bluebonnets ooding the roadsides. While the beloved state wildower is a welcome accomplice of warmer weather, some have noted the blooms are over a month early this year. What’s happening? A typical bluebonnet season begins in early April, but the rst buds arrived to Central Texas toward the end of February, said Andrea DeLong-Amaya, the director of horticulture for the Lady Bird John- son Wildower Center. “The timing of the bluebonnet season has every- thing to do with the warm weather. It’s been a while since we’ve had our last big freeze, and we’ve now had unseasonably warmer weather, which has sped up their growing,” DeLong-Amaya said. DeLong-Amaya said the ower typically blooms until mid-May before they become “toasted,” but hot weather is not necessarily the culprit of their demise. Instead, consistent rainfall is a key deter- miner of bluebonnet mortality. “The seeds start to germinate in the fall, when we get a lot of rain, and then continue to grow in the winter, which is a really critical time,” DeLong- Amaya said. In January, Austin got 6.07 inches of rain, the highest January precipitation the area has seen in over 15 years. Additionally, October’s rainfall was above average, according to data from the National Weather Service. “If it ends up being a really dry spring, [the season] might stop earlier. So we have our n- gers crossed for good, well-spaced rains. And that’s important for other wildowers too,”
Butteryweed Bloom time: May-September
Texas redbud Bloom time: March-April
Pink evening primrose Bloom time: February-October
Texas star hibiscus Bloom time: May-September
SOURCE: LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTERCOMMUNITY IMPACT
DeLong-Amaya said. On top of it all, DeLong-Amaya said last year’s drought killed o many plants, but the robust bluebonnet seed prevails in direct sun and degraded soils. With less competition now, the owers are more likely to dominate open green spaces. What residents should know While it’s not illegal to pick owers from public roadsides, residents should do so in a way that does not pose a hazard to other drivers. Also, there are laws against damaging government property and right-of-ways, so digging up large clumps of owers or driving on public elds is not allowed.
Additionally, picking any plant life in Texas state parks is an oense, and using elds on private property for photo ops is trespassing. While property owners have the freedom to mow down wildowers in their lawn, DeLong-Amaya said they should consider keeping them to avoid disturbing the natural ecosystem. What’s next? DeLong-Amaya said another wildower to look out for next is the pink evening primrose, which she predicts could come in mid- to late March. Paint- brushes and Texas star hibiscuses could follow.
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