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Mark A. Miller
Fabaceae
Lupinus subcarnosus
Bluebonnet, Texas Bluebonnet
This beautiful annual wildflower bears upright candles of delightful blossoms, which are called “bluebonnets.” It is the hallmark of its homeland, the state of Texas, where it is the official state flower. The plants are also naturally distributed in regions of Louisiana and Florida.
Bluebonnets germinate in fall, when temperatures are cooler and there’s more rain, then they overwinter as a clump of foliage. In the spring they bolt with indigo blue spikes of flowers. When they first open, the pea-like blooms are blue with white centers, and as they age the white centers turn purple. Insect pollinators know not to visit the older purple-centered flowers. Individual plants are small, but they self-sow into large sweeps and masses, which blanket the eastern Texas landscape.
Texas bluebonnet requires full sun and prefers slightly alkaline dry prairie soils. Like many plants in the pea family, it is nitrogen fixing, which helps it grow well in poorer soils. Livestock rarely graze this wildflowers ensuring its high numbers in farm and ranch lands.
Bluebonnets are ideal for western gardens with spring moisture, but are best suited as wildflowers in naturalistic plantings.
9 - 1
1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Annual
Full Sun, Partial Sun
10"-12" / 25.4cm - 30.5cm
8"-12" / 20.3cm - 30.5cm
Early Spring, Spring, Late Spring
Texas
Neutral, Alkaline
Well Drained
Loam, Sand
Fast
Drought Tolerant, Average Water
Clump-Forming
Spring
Showy
White, Blue, Purple
Bicolor
Green, Sea Green
Yes
No
Single
Medium
Matte
Mixed Border, Rock Garden / Wall, Wildflower
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