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From Wildflower Reports:
Summary: W Travis, Burnet, Llano, NW Gillespie counties: virtually no bluebonnets, indian paintbrush
Date Observed: 3/28/2008
Reported By: Visitor
Email:
Display Email?: Yes
Wildflowers Sighted: Bluebonnet; Indian Blanket (Firewheel)
Coverage: Spotty (<10%)
Directions: Hwys 71 to Llano, 16S, 965S, and 29E to Bertam
Comments: With the exception of only a handful of small patches along the roads listed above, I saw virtually no signs of bluebonnets. The Willow City Loop was bare. My favorite wildflower field off of Hwy 29 was bare. What's going on? I don't know. Perhaps Austin got a lot more rain than the hill country. Maybe this week's rains might help. I was very disappointed and depressed about it all.
Editor: Bluebonnets are very dependent on fall rains. Without good fall rain, the bluebonnet plants will not germinate. All of Texas received less than normal rainfall during Sep-Nov 2007. The Hill Country received even less. This left us with few seedlings to start with. The winter rainfall from mid-Feb to end of March is needed to help the seedlings develop into mature healthy plants. The Hill Country received less than normal rainfall during the winter. Any rainfall now will not result in more bluebonnet seedlings, but could help improve the May-June wildflower display. Also, any perennial plants (like paintbrush and showy primrose) will also benefit from recent rainfall. The best areas this year will be Brenham and Ennis...and even those areas might not see an average display of bluebonnets.
RichO
Hunting Texas Wildflowers
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