Although bluebonnets and paintbrush are long gone and the dog days of summer are approaching, there are many other Texas wildflowers that are in bloom this time of year. Just this morning while walking the dog I spotted the following in bloom here in Austin: firewheels, bitterweed, purple horsemint, spotted beebalm, clasping leaf coneflower, Texas star, Engelmann's daisy, Texas thistle, basketflower and Mexican hats.

Traveled through the Prairie Hill area headed to Tyler April 29-May 1. Bluebonnets are on the rapid decline going to seed. The prime time for photography has past. Some other wildflowers are showing up, such as firewheels, Engelmann's daisies and greenthread, but not in great numbers. The lack of spring rainfall will limit the late spring/early summer wildflowers this year. Bluebonnet season is largely over for 2014.

Made a trip to the Prairie Hill area east of Waco. Heavy traffic on IH 35 left me little time to explore the area before sunset, but I did get a few pictures with a thunderstorm in the background. Bluebonnets in this area are still looking good.

US 84 east of Bellmeade to Prairie Hill - scattered fields of paintbrush and bluebonnets [Rating 2]

FM 339 north of Prairie Hill - several fields of bluebonnets along this road with light to moderate coverage [Rating 2-3]

FM 73 east of Prairie Hill - just east of Prairie Hill are some large fields of bluebonnets with moderate to heavy coverage [Rating 3-4]

Temperatures are beginning to rise and remind us that summer is nearly upon us. A few bluebonnets remain in central Texas but most have gone to seed and are done for this year. Late spring wildflowers such as greenthread, Engelmann daisies and firewheels are now blooming.

For bluebonnets and paintbrush you'll need to head north to the Ennis area or northeast of Waco near Prairie Hill. Head over to WildflowerHaven for some detailed reports from those areas.

Visited Turkey Bend Recreation area Friday for sunset and sunrise the following morning. Bluebonnets are rapidly going to seed, and I suspect the same goes for Muleshoe Bend since it is only a couple hundred yards away across the lake. Turkey Bend is nice to see, but for serious landscape photography the bluebonnets are faded and a majority are going to seed. They only look decent from a distance, close-up you notice all the seed pods. Also, they have been trampled and driven through repeatedly.

RM 1431 from IH35 to Cedar Park - unremarkable except for a few nice fields just after you pass the city sign going west [Rating 1]

RM 1431 from Cedar Park to Marble Falls - a few wildflowers along the road and occassional lightly covered fields [Rating 1]

LCRA Turkey Bend Recreation Area - large fields of bluebonnets along the shores but past peak now [Rating 3-4]

Keep in mind that LCRA parks have per person entrance fees. Also, beware of snakes, I saw several rattlesnakes in with the flowers. I would not recommended that you walk in the bluebonnets without long pants due to chiggers and ticks. Also, be considerate of others and try not to trample the flowers. If you're taking portraits in the flowers use a spot that has already been flattened instead of trampling even more, and use existing paths.

Bluebonnets are now on the decline in Austin and are starting to go to seed. Paintbrush are still looking good and even more are showing up. To the west of Austin, some of the shores of Lake Travis have large stands of bluebonnets. Look for areas that are normally under water. Many may only be accessible by boat, but several parks have nice displays.

LCRA Muleshoe Bend Park - hundreds of acres of bluebonnets, at peak now [Rating 5]

LCRA Turkey Bend Park - I could see from across the lake that this park had bluebonnets along the shore as well [Rating 4]

LCRA Gloster Bend Park - I could also see from across the lake that this park had bluebonnets along the shore, not sure how accessible they are

Keep in mind that LCRA parks have per person entrance fees. Also, beware of snakes, I saw several rattlesnakes in with the flowers. I would not recommended that you walk in the bluebonnets without long pants due to chiggers and ticks. Also, be considerate of others and try not to trample the flowers. If you're taking portraits in the flowers use a spot that has already been flattened instead of trampling even more, and use existing paths.

Made a trip again Friday afternoon with Seguin area as my final destination. Bluebonnets south of Luling and east of Seguin have dramatically faded, with a majority having now gone to seed. Photographic opportunities in the areas I visited have passed. Firewheels have begun to bloom but will not be nearly as abundant as the bluebonnets were. In Austin the bluebonnets are at peak now and will likely decline rapidly without rain.

Toll 130 from Pflugerville to Hwy 290 (Manor) - some bluebonnets, but nothing special [Rating 1]

Hwy 290 from Manor to Elgin - several large fields of bluebonnets just east of Manor, but no good places to stop for photography [Rating 3-4]

FM 1704 south from Elgin - several nice fields of mixed flowers just south of Elgin [Rating 2-3]

FM 969 east to Hwy 71 (Bastrop) - scattered wildflowers and some fields of bluebonnets, but the grass is overtaking them [Rating 2-3]

TX 20 south from Hwy 71 to McMahan - scattered wildflowers with a lot of paintbrush, nothing spectacular. There were several large fields of painbrush near Red Rock but no good opportunities for photography. [Rating 2-3]

FM 713 east from TX 20 to TX 304 - not a lot of wildflowers except along the road dominated by paintbrush. [Rating 0-2]

TX 304 south to IH 10 - not much to report, scattered wildflowers [Rating 0-2]

IH 10 west from TX 304 to Luling - nice displays of paintbrush and firewheels along the interstate [Rating 3-4]

TX 80 south to Belmont (Jct US 90 Alt) - bluebonnets and assorted wildflowers, but bluebonnets are in rapid decline, not very photogenic. [Ratin 1-2]

Belmont area: US 90 Alt, FM 1150, Nixon Rd, Dix Rd, Nash Creek Rd, FM 466 - assorted wildflowers but not nearly as nice as a week ago. Bluebonnets are largely gone. Some nice fields of prickly poppy in Belmont.

Headed south again Monday to explore the area around Seguin and Stockdale. The following is a synopsis of the route I took with notes on what I observed:

TX 123 S from San Marcos to Seguin - not a whole lot of wildflowers until you get to Seguin, mostly cropland [Rating 0]

TX 123 S from Seguin to FM 1681 north of Stockdale - more and more wildflowers alond this route, but with the oil boom this road is busy [Rating 2-3]

FM 1681 E from Jct TX 123 to Union Valley - many good displays of a variety of wildflowers including bluebonnets, paintbrush, verbena, crown tickseed, prickly poppy, and phlox [Rating 4]

FM 466 E from Jct FM 1117 to TX 80 - another great route that gets best closer to TX 80, many good photo ops along this road with a variety of wildflowers including bluebonnets, phlox, paintbrush, bladderpod, prickly poppy, lazy daisies and groundsel [Rating 3-4]

Based on the weather report I headed south towards Seguin. The following is a synopsis of the route I took with notes on what I observed:

US 183 S from IH 35 to Austin Berstrom International Airport - lots of paintbrush and bluebonnets along the road, the most I've ever seen in decades, makes for a pretty drive but not many photo ops

US 183 S to Lockhart - some areas with bluebonnets in fields, a really nice one just north of Lockhart

US 183 from Lockhart to Luling - you begin to see more and more wildflowers: bluebonnets, paintbrush, phlox, but not as good as recent years

US 183 from Luling to Gonzales - nice fields just south of IH 10 near Palmetto state park

Luling area - explored some county roads, some nice displays but not as good as a few years back

Headed to Seguin via US 90 parallel to IH 10 - nice displays along this road

I decided to explore the area east of Temple that received 10-20+ inches of rain last October; eastern Bell and Falls counties. I've never been through this area in the spring but thought I'd give it a try since they were in the rain "bullseye" last fall. I found this area to be largely agricultural crop land, so unfortunately not a great deal of wildflowers. The area is, however, a lush, verdant green. You can really tell they received abundant rainfall. The following is a synopsis of the route I took with notes on what I observed:

Hwy 79 East from Round Rock to Taylor - a few fields of bluebonnets, but mostly crop land

Hwy 95 North to FM 2268 East - predominantly agricultural, not many wildflowers

FM 437 North - again mostly crop land but I did find a nice field of Texas Star

Tx 53 East - some paintbrush and bluebonnets but mostly roadside

Hwy 77 S to FM 413 East - not much until you hit FM 2027

FM 2027 N from FM 413 to Cedar Springs - many huge fields of yellow groundsel, this area is "Groundsel Heaven". Also in bloom, but in far fewer numbers, were toadflax, paintbrush, multicolored phlox, and sandwort. This was the best area of the day.

FM 413 E to Kosse - some Sandyland bluebonnets and paintbrush mainly along the roads, also some fields of groundsel

Made my way back to Temple via Tx 7, Tx 320 and Tx 53 - not a lot to see, some bluebonnets and paintbrush roadside

Bluebonnets look to be at or near peak here in Austin now. Much needed rain is forecast for this weekend and will help extend the bloom if it materializes. I'll be scouting north and south of Austin this weekend. Stay tuned for reports early next week. In the meantime, WildflowerHaven's Facebook page has some great reports, check it out.

Don't despair all you bluebonnet lovers out there. Yesterday's post was an April Fools joke. Bluebonnets that started out blue should remain that way.

April 1, 2014
College Station, TX – Researchers at Texas A&M University have isolated a virus that attacks the state’s wildflower, the bluebonnet. This newly discovered virus has been classified as a lupine mosaic virus (LMV 41C) and is closely related to the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). Although the vector for transmission has yet to be verified, due to the rapid spread of the infection, scientists suspect multiple vectors including insects such as an aphids or leafhoppers and soil-borne nematodes. The insects acquire and transmit the virus by feeding on infected plants. Once plants are infected, nematodes acquire the infection by feeding on infected roots. Nematodes then rapidly spread the infection to neighboring plants through the soil.

Bluebonnet plants seem to be more susceptible to infection during dry periods, and the ongoing drought is contributing to the rapid spread of the virus across the state. Infected plants don’t seem to be affected adversely except for one notable side-effect: the flowers turn from blue to pink. Once a stand of bluebonnets is infected, it can take only a few days for all the flowers to turn pink. Scientists are unsure what effect this will have on seed production, and whether or not the pink coloration will be passed on to later generations.

Dr. Wayne Mrazek, Ph.D., Senior Research Botanist and head of the Molecular Genetic Analysis Department, urges people to get out and enjoy the “blue”bonnets while they remain true to their name. He notes that we may soon have to change the name of this iconic wildflower to “pinkbonnet”.

This image shows a field of bluebonnets in Atascosa county that has been infected.

Bluebonnets have made significant progress over the last several days with warmer temperatures and plenty of sunshine. Many fields around Austin are now looking to be near full bloom and should only improve over the next week or two.

The map below represents rainfall during October overlayed on the Texas Highway map. Rainfall analysis from October seems to correlate well with where the heaviest bluebonnet concentrations have been spotted so far. On the map, the pink (10-15 inches), grey (15-20 inches) and white (20+ inches) areas saw the heaviest rainfall last October. The red areas indicate 5-10 inches, and the yellow and orange areas indicate less than 5 inches of rain during October. The greens represent an inch of rain or less.

Propects look the best for Comal, Caldwell, Hayes, Travis, and Bastrop counties in Central Texas. In the Brazos Valley look to Austin, Colorado and Waller counties. Further north, the areas north and east of Temple look promising as well in Limestone, Falls and Freestone counties.

Bluebonnets and painbrush are appearing in numbers not seen in many years in Austin this year. The copious rainfall in September and October that resulted in widespread flooding seems to have spurred a mass bloom of wildflowers. There should be no shortage of places to get your photos in the bluebonnets this year for Austinites. We should be at peak in a week or two.

Going further south towards San Antonio the bluebonnets are far less numerous especially in the north and northwest part of town. I visited this area on 3/28 and it was dry with few bluebonnets.

Reports coming in from east of San Antonio are far more promising, with good reports coming in from the Stockdale, Floresville, and New Berlin areas. Head over to WildflowerHaven for a detailed report.

Spring is in full swing in the Austin area. Redbuds continue to bloom along with Mexican Buckeye and several other native trees including Red Oak. Live oaks for the most part are not yet in bloom. What's noticably missing are the Mountain Laurels; close inspection of several plants shows that the flower buds appear to have succumbed to a late freeze. Looks like we may have to wait another year here in Austin for the familiar aroma of grape kool aid. Bluebonnets continue to pop up all over town, and it appears that the bluebonnet bloom will be better than last spring, albeit later due to cooler temperatures so far this year. Most of the bluebonnets are still in early bloom. I expect the peak bluebonnet season to be several weeks later than what we've seen during the last several years.

Spring has officially arrived and wildflowers are in bloom all over central Texas. Redbuds are in full bloom all over the Austin area and bluebonnets are beginning to show along the roadways. Bluebonnets and paintbrush have been spotted along Mopac in early bloom. Along IH 35 the bluebonnets are further along due to warmer temperatures along the roadway. The bad news this year is that the most common plant in bloom right now is invasive yellow mustard, and it far outnumbers our native wildflowers.

The LBJ Wildflower Center has released their forecast for 2014 predicting a "good wildflower season". Peaks this year, however, will likely be later than during the last several years due to the unusually cold winter.
Wildflower Center Forecast

Despite an impending arctic cold front late this weekend that will bring several more overnight freezes to central Texas, the recent warmer temperatures have prompted trees to put on leaves, bloom and pollinate. Oak has joined the pollen count replacing cedar for allergy sufferers. Many redbuds are blooming around Austin and central Texas along with other non-native trees. Many invasive weeds are also blooming, however, bluebonnets are yet to come. Rain this week should help the native wildflowers. Keep tuned for reports, we should start seeing wildflowers in bloom near San Antonio and south Texas.

Recent warm temperatures over the last several weeks have prompted trees to start budding and pollinate. Redbuds have been spotted in early bloom and mountain laurels are forming flower spikes here in the Austin area. Some wildflowers have begun to bloom as well, but mainly invasives such as invasive mustard, henbit, dandelions and pin clover. Good news is that rain is forecast for the coming week. It won't be long now before we see bluebonnets in bloom. Look for the area south of San Antonio to be first.

Fall rainfall for much of Texas, especially prime bluebonnet areas, looked great. Bad news is that there has been little rainfall this winter and the longterm forecast is not looking great at this time. All of the prime areas for bluebonnets received good rainfall September-November, covering most or part of each zone: south central Texas (south east and west of San Antonio), the Brazos River Valley area (in and around Brenham), the Hill Country (west of Austin) and Ellis county (south of Dallas).

More rain is needed between now and March, and the amount will generally determine which areas are best. We will see wildflowers this year, just like every year, but whether or not this is a "banner" year is still to be determined by Mother Nature.