It's nearly March, which means bluebonnet season in Texas is right around the corner.
Due to a relatively dry winter, botanists at the University of Texas at Austin's Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center said Texans shouldn't expect a bumper crop of the state flower this year.
Damon Waitt, the center's senior director, said it'll be a decent year for spring flowers, just not a banner year, in a news release issued Wednesday.
“Indian paintbrush, bluebonnets and other early spring bloomers won’t likely be as plentiful along state roadsides this year,” said Waitt. “Winter rains should help late-spring and early summer wildflowers to develop, though, such as horsemint and Indian blanket.”
While not as abundant, there should still be enough bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush to provide a colorful backdrop to the Texas annual springtime rite of roadside family photography. You just may have to look a little harder to find the perfect shooting location.
Further good news is that last year's bumper crop produced more seeds that could result in more flowers in a year or two if fed with good rain in the fall.
More rain is, of course, always welcome in Texas and spring showers could improve the mid-to late-summer bloomers across the state as well.
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To read the entire report from the Wildflower Center, visit: http://www.wildflower.org/press/index.php?link=press&id=264
A second season forecast from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center will be online in early May.
As always, NBC 5 looks forward to sharing your bluebonnet photos on our website. To share them, email the photos to iSee@nbcdfw.com. And remember, though it may be frowned upon, picking bluebonnets is not illegal contrary to popular opinion.
