Texas Bluebonnet Care
Texas bluebonnet grows best in full sun and dry, well-drained soil. It requires 8 to 10 hours of direct sunlight per day to bloom well, and fast-draining soil is a must. Seeds or plants planted in heavy soil and clay may grow for a few weeks but never fully mature. They will turn yellow and die before they bloom due to the heavy, moist soil. Plant Texas bluebonnet in raised beds or containers if your garden soil is clay. This spring-blooming annual is easy to grow from seed or transplants purchased at a local nursery. Plant transplants in early spring and look forward to plants blooming in April or early May. If starting from seed, sow seeds in August. Water the seeds well after planting and water seedlings a couple of times in fall to encourage strong growth. Expect Texas bluebonnets started from seed to bloom in late March or early April, depending on spring weather conditions. Although Texas bluebonnet is an annual, it will come back year-after-year if planted in an ideal location and allowed to set seed. Several weeks after flowering, bluebonnet plants release seed. They produce a prolific amount of seeds that will lay dormant in the soil until fall when conditions are right for growth. Do not water the bluebonnet plantings in spring or summer; excessive moisture will spur seed to sprout and the resulting plant will not be able to survive the heat of summer.
New Types of Texas Bluebonnet
While most bluebonnets are blue, there are several other shades of pink, purple, and white flowers found in nature. Researchers have cultivated and crossed many of these unique selections to form new colors of Texas bluebonnets.
