In Bloom
Central Texas wildflower pro says this season will be great for bluebonnets
Drought may actually be helping this year's crop of wild bluebonnets.
It's almost that time: Texas bluebonnets will soon return for spring 2024. And according to experts, it looks like this year could be a "superb" bloom.
Lee Clippard, the executive director at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, said this is going to be a fantastic year – but not for reason you might think.
"It's because we're in a drought, and we had a pretty severe drought last summer. We're still in a drought in much of Central Texas," Clippard said. "Wildflowers like to have little competition in the landscape, so drought has reduced competition from other plants."
Widespread drought last year did the same thing: killed off other species so the blue buds could flourish. But this year, drought conditions are different.
"For example, it's still a pretty severe drought west of here, in western Travis County, but not eastern Travis County. So we'll just kind of have to see how things play out over the next month or so," Clippard said.
Since January, portions of Central Texas have received enough rain to eradicate drought east of Interstate 35. But that doesn't mean those areas won't see bluebonnets. Clippard said the mix of drought last summer and spaced-out rains early this year will be a great combination for blooms this spring.
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