It’s an overcast day in November, and Amy Medley, a lead horticulturalist at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, stands on what appears to be a bare patch of decomposed granite at the center’s 300-acre property in South Austin. Medley’s work at the center varies daily but focuses on taking care of gardens and educating guests about native plants. Raised in a town near New Orleans, she received her degree in horticulture at Louisiana State University and has worked at the center for five years. She loves that her job has “purpose and meaning,” she says. “It’s centered around something very important: native plants. I love that I get to show how beautiful and resilient they are.”
While explaining why wildflowers grow so well in poor (non-nutrient-rich) soils, her eyes narrow in on little green leaves poking through the ground. “Look! Here you can see the seed leaves,” she says, crouching down to inspect the first leaves to appear in a plant’s life cycle. “The second thing that grows are the true leaves, which are more of what we know a bluebonnet leaf looks like. It’s cool to see that transition now.”
Come spring, this bare patch will be covered in the official State Flower of Texas, the result of natural seeding from previous bluebonnet seasons and additional seeding done by hand this month. While seeding for perennial wildflowers, such as Gregg’s mistflower and blanket flower, can take place in the spring and fall, seeding for annual wildflowers like the bluebonnet happens in the fall because cold temps and autumn rains help start the germination process.
After throwing bluebonnet seeds on this patch, Medley walks over them, making sure they have contact with the ground but aren’t buried. “The seed has a little root that’s going to pull itself into the soil,” she says. To increase their rate of success, horticulturalists at the center put seeds in the freezer overnight and then soak them in warm water for five minutes before throwing them on soil. It’s a treatment anyone can do, Medley says. Then they moisten the soil by turning on the sprinklers for 15 minutes a day or every other day, if needed.
After true leaves come the rosettes, which Medley describes as looking like small cabbage plants low to the ground. They remain through winter, persisting in frigid temps, ice, and snow while establishing their roots and growing hardier. Depending on how warm temps get in early spring, blooms should start appearing in late March or early April.
Like other native plants, wildflowers have adapted to the extremes of Texas’ climate for centuries, surviving the harshest heat and driest summers. (Many have even built up a bit of folklore about them.) Pretty to look at along highways, they serve an important role. “Native plants evolved alongside our native pollinators, and so they have specialized relationships between each other that we might not even know about,” Medley says. For example, a wildflower may produce a toxin in its leaves that stops livestock from grazing on it, but the toxin may also be used by a queen butterfly to coat her eggs and make them less palatable to other wildlife.
They also require less water and fertilizers, she says, making them a more sustainable option while supporting local wildlife and pollinators.
To successfully grow wildflowers, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, as already mentioned, wildflowers thrive in poor soil because it gives them more space to grow. So, no need to add nutrients or fertilizers. Second, they need drainage: avoid letting the seeds sit in water. Third, they don’t require a lot of work. “People get really worried about doing the exact right thing,” Medley says, “but if you think about nature, the plants are throwing all their seeds out. You can always do a little extra overseeding and not worry too much.”
How to Plant Wildflowers
Step 1: Get some seeds
Choose the right seeds for your location. For instance, the Lupinus texensis bluebonnet grows well in the limestone soil of Central Texas, while the Lupinia subcarnosus bluebonnet thrives in sandier soil like in the Bastrop area. Some wildflowers, including the blanket flower, grow well all over Texas. A retailer that offers native plants can help you find the right seeds, as can the Wildflower Center’s plant database and the USDA’s database.
Have a packet of old seeds? Go ahead and throw them on your garden. Germination rates may decrease over time, so some seeds may not be viable, but others might still grow. “There’s no harm in trying. It may or may not work,” Medley says. Seeds stored in a cool place are usually viable up to four years.
Step 2: Throw the seeds
Pick a spot—a garden bed, a field, a pot with a hole in it—and sprinkle the seeds by hand. For a big yard or field, use a seed spreader to distribute the seeds over a larger area.
Step 3: Press the seeds in
Don’t bury the seeds. Instead, walk on them. “In general, you don’t want to bury your seeds more than two times their diameter,” Medley says. “For a teeny-little seed, you basically want that pressed on the surface of the soil.” If you have a garden with mulch or compost, you can lightly rake the area, but don’t let seeds drop down too far.
Step 4: Water the area
With any kind of seeding, Medley advises doing it around rain. “You’ll see the plants respond a lot better to rain than regular water,” she says. This being Texas though, a shower may not come for a while, so give the soil about an inch of water a week to keep the surface moist. “You want it to be able to dry out, but not get super dry,” she says.
Step 5: Enjoy your wildflowers
When they’re in bloom, keep an eye on the plants. “If you see wilting in the morning, that is a big sign they need more water,” Medley says. Wildflowers tend to start going to seed in May, but different species continually bloom into June and sometimes July, depending on how much rain we get. To build up your wildflower garden, allow the plants to fully drop their own seeds before mowing or cutting back the dead plants. “Then year after year,” Medley says, “it will get a really nice seed bank going where’s it going more on its own.”
