March 22nd, 2002
White Bluebonnets

photo: white bluebonnet
White and blue bluebonnets in Austin, TX.

Maybe God heard my lament about the too blue garden. Today when I went to look at the bluebonnets there were three white ones (two are a rather muddy white and one tends more toward the palest pink).This is an interesting development as I tend to select seeds from the darkest blue plants each year. Still, their are lots of plants out from seeds that sow themselves.

The Aggies have been selecting and propagating various colors of bluebonnets for a couple of decades now. When I read about their new varieties, I was unexcited (although I’m attracted to the maroon bluebonnet.) There are plenty of pink and white flowers, but few flowers are as deep blue as our bluebonnet. Still, it’s pretty exciting to find a white one in one’s own garden.

Here’s everything you’ve ever wanted to know about .

Dateline: 2005
Found the saved seeds for both the white and pink bluebonnets from 2003. Soaked them. Six of the pink ones swelled, so I planted them today (2/24).

by M Sinclair Stevens

6 Responses to post “White Bluebonnets”

  1. From Linda:

    Today I found a white bluebonnet in among my blue bluebonnets and imagine my surprise. It is beautiful. Will re-seed itself and more white ones come up too? Thanks for any info.

    I read that about 12% of the seeds will come back white. None of mine did. But try saving the seeds and planting them in a protected place to see if you can get more. — mss

  2. From Lesly:

    I have one lone bluebonnet, of the blue variety, planted in my flowerbed. I broke open the pod which is green, and the seeds inside are green, I wanted to pot them and see if I could get them to grow, but it sounds like I harvested them at the wrong time. Should I try it, or discard the seeds? Thanks!

    Sorry, Lesly, but you harvested the seeds before they were ripe. They can’t grow now…they’ll just rot. — mss

  3. From Lesly:

    Thanks Mr. Stevens. I thought as much. You have a very nice site by the way. Lesly

  4. From Daric:

    I just went out into my garden and found pink bluebonnets. If I want to get the seeds, what should I do?

    Mark the plant. (I use twist ties around the flower stem next to the flower. Be careful not to cut into the stem.) Wait until the seeds ripen. When the seed cases start to turn brown start checking them every day. When the seeds sound dry (like a rattle), pick them. They pop open so don’t wait too long. Take the seeds out of the husk. Make sure they are hard and dry. Don’t store them in a plastic bag or any airtight container where they might get moldy. Plant them next August. — mss

  5. From Debbie Ross (Navasota):

    We have a nice stand of bluebonnets in front of our home but I have never been able to get them to spread. I’d like to grow them to cover the entire 3 acre front yard. They have green fuzzy pods on them now…what do I do if I want to spread them. I’m not really a plant person and I tried spreading “wildflower seed” last year, but nothing was different this year. Of course the weather was so wacky this winter/spring, Anyway… HELP!

    If you want your bluebonnets to spread, you have to let them go to seed. If they have green fuzzy pods on them now, that’s good. Wait until the seedpods are brown. Go out on a sunny day and shake them. The pods will rattle or burst open and seeds will go flying. Gather up the seeds or seedpods and plant them. You can throw them to the wind, if you prefer, but you will lose a lot of them to weather and birds and it will take longer to establish new stands of bluebonnets. Better to scratch them into the dirt. — mss

  6. From Loretta Katy Texas:

    My sister lives in Georgetown on about 5 acres. A few years ago she had one single perfect solid white bluebonnet. I was amazed since I’ve lived with bluebonnets all my life and never seen a perfect white one. I took a picture of it and it turned out great. If you’d like to see it let me know and I’ll email it to you.
    Loretta