Rewilding My Lot

I’ve never grown Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) before, so I am enjoying watching their life cycle.

Seeds for this year’s crop were scattered last fall, and by November or December there were small flat rosettes of leaves which stayed that way until spring.

Blooms started appearing in February. There are still blooms in April, but I think that there will be no more new flowers this year.

Seed pods began to form on the earliest flower stems in March. The pods start green, then progress through a pale purple to black.

I will be happy to have Bluebonnets next year in the same locations, so I am not concerned about collecting the seeds — I will let the plants handle the dispersal themselves.

Once seed pods are ripe, then naturally or with a slight squeeze, they spring open quickly with a corkscrew motion that causes the seeds to be flung away from the original plant. It is possible to catch them, but to do that you have to somewhat wrap your hand around the seed pod as you push it open. Seeds collected before the pods are black will probably not be viable so if you are collecting the seeds you have to catch them just before the plant throws them out.

Below are photos of pods that were either already empty when I found them or after I pushed the pods open. The empty pods are twisted.