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On Saturday (5/19/2007), I Took a tour of Llano County and the southern part of San Saba County.
Wildflowers still abound along SH-16 from Fredericksburg to Cherokee. Indian blanket is past peak bloom with about 60% still in bloom and 40% without petals going to seed. The Indian blanket is still putting on a great show. Lots of other wildflowers are filling in here and there.
The biggest surprise were the coreopsis. At first I only saw patches here and there of the coreopsis in bloom, but that all changed once I was on CR-216 (connects from SH-16 just south of Babyhead Mtn).
Coreopsis is the next wave of wildflowers and it going to be awesome. Only about 20-30% of the buds are in bloom and it is already producing huge displays. Entire fields and hillsides are going to be covered in a yellow blanket within the next 7-10 days.
RR-2241, CR-202 and SH-29 are all covered with coreopsis. If you like coreopsis then this is your year for it! I have never seen it cover entire fields like this before.
Some key highlights of my trip...
- SH-71 in about a week is going to have some really large displays of yellow coreopsis. I saw yellow beginning to cover the hillsides on distant hills.
- CR-202 already has some stunning displays of coreopsis and in a week to 10 days it will be incredible.
- CR-216 at RR-2241 at the Lone Oak Community center is covered with coreopsis
- CR-216 also has some areas still in bloom with Indian blanket. There are numerous spots along this road where you can stop and just take it all in.
- SH-16 between CR-216 and Cherokee still has some incredible views of Indian blanket, but the Indian blanket is past peak now so about 40% of the stems are without petals. The displays still look great as the center the flower is still fresh and has a red-orange color.
- A variety of other wildflowers were also in bloom.
- Off all the areas, CR-202 and CR-216 were the most impressive for me as I like the more natural side roads
Coreopsis along one section of RR-501
Firewheels and Engelmann Daisies along SH-16 just north of Babyhead Mtn.
A blanket of coreopsis in Lone Oak at the intersection of CR-216 and RR-2241 northeast of Llano. This is one sample of what much of CR-216, CR-202 and RR-2241 will look like in 7-10 days. There are hundreds of buds per square foot getting ready to bloom. I am not an coreopsis expert, but the buds look like they are about 7 days from blooming. The early blooms are already putting on a grand show.
Coreopsis is spreading across fields replacing the red of firewheels with yellow. This is one field along CR-202 northeast of Llano. Notice the small dots in the photos. These dots are coreopsis buds getting ready to bloom soon.
RichO
Hunting Texas Wildflowers
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