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Murry,
As a matter of fact, most of my bluebonnet "crop" in my backyard planter this spring originated from seedlings that took hold last April ('06) after my first batch went to seed. Mind you, it was rather difficult to keep those seedlings alive throughout the heat of the summer and to avoid drowning them during some of our heavy rains, but I managed to keep them going, and they flowered right on schedule this spring.
I tried to harvest as many of the seeds as I could from last year's BBs, but there were days when some pods would burst before I could get to them, and seeds would inevitably end up back in the planter or out in the yard. Interestingly, some of the naturally-distributed seeds were not 100% mature at the time (although they were "fertile", their outer seed coat was not fully hardened) - so the somewhat soft-hulled seeds that fell into the planter germinated almost immediately.
I would expect the same to be found in nature to a certain degree - there are probably new BB seedlings developing out there as we speak, especially with regular rainfall recently. However, I'd also expect them to perish during the summer, especially when extended periods of hot/dry weather persist. If you were to sow some seeds at this time of year, you should probably anticipate a decent germination rate, but be prepared to provide them lots of extra attention if you want to see them bloom in '08!
- Bill.
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