This year, Markwardt has some dismal news for Texas wildflower watchers.
“It’s going to be a bad year,” Markwardt said. “This is probably going to be the worst year I have seen since I have been here. It is disheartening, but if you really go out there and look, there are some good areas in the state.”
Bluebonnets made a showing this spring, but their flowers are small. Even green grass is hard to find in some regions of the state.
The ongoing drought, which some climatologists are comparing to the record-setting dry spell of 1918, is to blame for the disappointing spring show. Had traditional autumn rains fallen, more varieties of wildflowers would have germinated, and the lack of rain in the first part of 2009 affected those that germinated, Markwardt said.
Markwardt has been getting complaints from flower fanciers, “where are the wildflowers?”
“I tell them I can’t make it rain,” he said.
The only good news of a bad wildflower season is that native Texas’ bloomers are patient and enduring, meaning if it does rain next fall, they will make a speedy recovery for the 2010 show, Markwardt said.
Paul Unger, Milam County Master Naturalist president, said the bluebonnets are out there, and the areas, which received rain last fall and this winter are very noticeable. North of Minerva on U.S. Highway 77 south of Cameron bluebonnets are very apparent, except where there was a little runoff along the road, Unger said.
Bluebonnet seed is a difficult “nut to crack.” It is nearly impervious to the acids, bacteria and other organisms present in the soil. Many homeowners spread the seed and wonder why the seeds do not come up. Bluebonnets are one plant that would actually benefit from a wet winter, Unger said.
Winter moisture actually retards the sprouting of bluebonnet seeds, Unger said. Dry, freezing winters mechanically scarify (scratch) the seed coating, allowing late winter moisture to enter the seed and promote sprouting.
“Bluebonnets set down deep roots long before we notice the greening of their tops,” Unger said. “February and March rains are critical to a profuse display. Recent showers may not be enough to boost wildflower plants.”
While bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes may not win any blue ribbons for showmanship this spring, there is still hope for some of Central Texas’ fanciest yellow bloomers, including Thelesperma filiform and Engleman daisies, Markwardt said.
In Texas, the best roadside wildflower displays are in Brazos County and in the Navasota area, and northeast Texas promises a good show this spring and summer.
The worst sites for Texas wildflower viewing is along roadways around Austin, Llano and Corpus Christi, Markwardt said.
Bell County flowers are going to be pretty thin, but patches increase eastward, he said.
Markwardt and his four-member team go on spring wildflower patrol from the first of the year to June, and repeat the process in the fall. Markwardt decides when mowers will take down spring and fall roadside vegetation, which is done after wildflowers have seeded.
In some cases, overgrown roadside vegetation is cut down when it poses a safety hazard to motorists. TxDOT has been cultivating roadside wildflowers since 1932, when Jac Gubbels, its first landscape architect, was hired to maintain, preserve and encourage wildflowers. TxDOT buys and sows about 30,000 pounds of wildflower seed each year.
The peak wildflower blooming season draws tourists from all across the nation.
