Outdoor
Planting Wildflowers
By contributing writer Lisa Bellows, Ph.D., North Central Texas College
Oh the beautiful wildflowers! It seems to always be at the peak of blooming season when I receive the call about how to plant bluebonnets and other spring wildflowers. Well, it’s just about time. If you consider Mother Nature, when she plants those beautiful splashes of color, mimic her actions; you will enjoy grand results – sometimes.
The genetics of wildflowers is much more diverse than agriculture crops and garden plants. When you buy pearl millet of crookneck squash seed at the seed store, you know what to expect and plant production is predictable. With wildflowers, this is not the case. The gene pool in natives or “wildflowers” has not been altered except through natural selection over many years. This allows the natives to adapt well, and they are opportunistic, seizing good weather conditions and also lying dormant during times of adversity. So when Mother Nature plants bluebonnets, so should you.
Bluebonnet seeds were formed in May and the seedpods are just now twirling and twisting sending seeds about on the hot summer soil. The seeds will bake in the hot sun, imbibe moisture during the fall rains and germinate in mid-fall. The tiny rosettes will build a root system throughout the winter and viola – bluebonnets in late-April, early-May.
To get in on the dance with Mother Nature, the song is playing so put on your dancing shoes. Begin to select the spring wildflowers you desire, make sure your soil is compatible with the seeds you select, and place your order. Wildflower seeds should be planted between mid-September and Thanksgiving. To read more pick up the August 2014 issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch.
By Jelly Cocanougher
What an extraordinary end to the Wise County Youth Fair – a fantastic opportunity for the Heart of a Champion participants to show. From rabbits to lambs, to pigs to dogs – we’ve seen it all. Through this unique event, the Heart of a Champion Livestock show aimed to promote confidence, friendship, and a sense of accomplishment within our amazing community. Everyone worked tirelessly to create an environment that fosters growth, camaraderie, and a shared passion for agriculture. Until next year!
By Tony Dean, [email protected]
If moisture is adequate, there are several winter annual grasses that dominate the landscape during early spring in Texas. One of the most common is Rescuegrass.
This winter annual is native to South America but grows over much of the United States and can be found in all ecoregions of Texas. Rescuegrass is easily recognized by its flat seed head.
Numerous seed heads produce seed that is transported by animals and can quickly spread to other areas.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Norman Winter | Horticulturist, Author, Speaker
The National Garden Bureau has designated 2024 as the ‘Year of the Angelonia’ and I am in full celebration mode. As I was preparing for my contribution to the celebration, I was, however, sent into taxonomic trauma.
For the last 26 years of deep love for the Angelonia, or summer snapdragon, I have told everyone via newspaper, radio and television that they were in the Scrophulariaceae family. Since most gardeners don’t like those words, I modified or simplified the snapdragon family, but somebody has tinkered with green industry happiness and moved Angelonia to the Plantaginaceae or plantain family. I immediately reached out to my friend Dr. Allen Ownings, Horticulture Professor Emeritus with the Louisiana State University AgCenter. I said, “Did you know this, or better yet, did you do it?” He said, as I expected, that the Taxonomist group had done it. This reminded me that someone once said taxonomists have to eat, too.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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