Bluebonnet is native to Texas, California, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. It has been scientifically named as Lupinus texensis, but is also called buffalo clover, wolf flower, and (by the Mexicans) el conejo.

 

It is a hardy winter annual and typically grows about 0.3 m (1 ft) tall. Bluebonnet is perennial in warm areas.

 

The Bluebonnet has densely arranged flowers on a spike with a characteristic ice white terminal tip. It is almost exclusively blue in the wild. A random genetic mutation does occasionally create an albino white bluebonnet naturally. The flower is bright blue and contrasting white. Flowers are sweet-pea-like and the seed of bluebonnet is large and hard.

 

Bluebonnet flowers are grown as an annual in colder regions. It is said to be the easiest for gardeners to grow. It is recommended that gardeners use transplants rather than seeds for growing bluebonnets and other species of hybrid lupines in their gardens. It blooms in the early spring and can be readily found in fields and along the roadsides.

 

It needs a sunny place to grow well. Bluebonnets will not perform well if grown in the shade or in an area which receives less than 8-10 hours of direct sunlight. If grown in a shaded area, the plant will be tall and spindly with few blooms. It should be planted in full sun, in soil which drains well and doesn't stay wet for long periods of time.

Utilize transplants or chemically scarified seed. Barely cover seeds with soil, don't bury the crown of transplants. Water seeds only on the day of planting and transplants only when the top one inch of soil dries. No applications of fertilizer are required but are helpful and will cause more abundant bloom. Interplant with pansies and other annuals for winter-long color.

 

Pests to watch for that attack bluebonnets or other species of lupines are sow bugs, pill bugs, and slugs.

 

Blue Bonnet Flower when added to the garden can be a wonderful way to add color to the garden and enhance garden design. It should be planted in a cluster of all blue type plants or mixed with other colors for a rainbow of beauty.

 

Did you know?

·        Bluebonnets have long been a favorite of Texans and were adopted as the official state flower by the Texas Legislature in 1901.

·        The flower has been named for its color and the resemblance of its petal to a woman's sunbonnet.