Outdoors
Sponsored by

Shredding bluebonnets

9,464 Views | 9 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by propaniack
MorgansPoint
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I have read (somewhere) that there is a better time than others to shred bluebonnets to help spread them for the next season. Anybody have any experience with this? Moved into a house about a year ago and our bluebonnets in our back pasture took off almost before we realized they were there.

Any help would be appreciated!
HTownAg98
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Wait until the plants are dead and the seed pods are dry. Then shred away.
oscar9
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
We have a pasture that is thick with bluebonnets. Normally we shred the pasture in February or so just as the the bluebonnets are starting to sprout. We have found this allows them to grow much better. The years we don't shred the pasture they are sparse.
Gunny456
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Yes on this. They have to flower first to make the seed pods. So let them flower and the pedals will then go away and you can see the seed pods. The state never allows shredding bluebonnets and other flowers during the blooming season....only after I have been told.
jpb1999
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
oscar9 said:

We have a pasture that is thick with bluebonnets. Normally we shred the pasture in February or so just as the the bluebonnets are starting to sprout. We have found this allows them to grow much better. The years we don't shred the pasture they are sparse.


They start growing in the fall... Now they are pretty short until late feb, but they have been there for a while.
_________________________________________

Spane Bohem


Gary79Ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
HTownAg98 said:

Wait until the plants are dead and the seed pods are dry. Then shred away.
May be too late by then...bluebonnet seed pods will have automatically spread most of the seeds, if not all of them by then! Need to shred them when the seed pods turn brown, not the plants...otherwise, the pods will have popped and spread the seeds already!

Reason I say that is because I used to harvest bluebonnets with my Dad back in the 70's to sell to seed companies and the highway department. The seed pods will turn brown and dry up spreading the seeds before the plants are dead.

The pods will pop open during the heat of day and immediately twist like helicopter propellers, thereby throwing the seeds around in the process (they automatically spread seeds themselves - it mother nature's way). It happens rather quickly and if you happen to be standing in a batch of bluebonnets in the heat of day when the pods are drying up, you can actually watch mother nature in the process...it's amazing feat to watch.

Note that the following pic is not bluebonnet seed pods (as I was not able to find bluebonnet pods popping in action), but it gives you an idea what happens when the seed pods pop and spread their seeds...



Check that...here's a brief video of bluebonnet seed pods opening...



The following is a video that explains exploding seed pods in action...similar to how bluebonnets seed pods explode...



The following is a pic of actual bluebonnet seed pods before and after they've popped and spread their seeds...



More info on bluebonnets...

Quote:

It's hard to anticipate exactly where and when bluebonnets will appear. A good strategy is revisiting places where you previously found flowers. That's because it takes years for bluebonnet seeds to germinate. The plants reseed each season. The tan, fuzzy pods turn brown, fall off and seeds pop out to spread. To encourage more bluebonnets in a field, it's important to wait until at least half the pods have turned tan before mowing. Big fields have a continuous cycle of germinating seeds from many years.

Quote:

Texas bluebonnets are annual plants, meaning they go from seed to flower to seed in one year. They germinate in the fall and grow throughout the winter, and usually bloom around the end of March to the mid-May.
Sorry for the long winded response but this brings back fond memories of working with my Dad during the bluebonnet season.

We spent many hours locating lush neighborhood pastures of bluebonnets in the spring to harvest (provided we could cut a deal with the owner) when the time was right and we would check them daily when it was close to harvest time as the window of opportunity was very narrow to get the best harvest yields.

Once the seed pods were harvested with our combine, we spent many more hours drying the seed pods, then running them thru a hammer mill and small combine set-up we had installed inside of an old schoolhouse (my 1-4th grade schoolhouse) my Dad bought just for doing things like this. The hammer mill basically separated the seeds from the pods and essentially scarified the seeds and then the combine would basically separate the seeds from the chaff and the clean scarified seeds would enter a holding bin to allow sacking of the seeds for selling to prospective customers. It was a labor of love and was well worth it cause bluebonnet seeds were a hot commodity back in the days...
Hodor
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
That's great info!

I had a few bluebonnets last year that grew between the flagstones of a patio way in the back of my yard. I figured I'd harvest them when they went to seed, and move the seeds somewhere more desirable. I was too late, and found the vast majority of the pods spiralled like that.

This year, the entire patio looks like a bluebonnet garden. Interesting look.
Gary79Ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
One additional note to add...just because you had bluebonnets this year does not mean they'll be back next year. They are annuals and the seeds themselves are about the size of pea gravel, weigh about the same and are really hard and the outer shell protects the seeds and is tuff.

The seeds can lay dormant for several years if the conditions are not right for them to actually germinate. To ensure the seeds germinate, they would have to be scarified via a mechanical process to break the outer layer. The process works naturally, if the winter is cold enough and the rain conditions are timely and adequate. If not, the seeds will not germinate.

If you hand pick seeds to replant the fllowing year, you need to break the outer layer by scuffing them with a piece of sandpaper while the seeds are laying on concrete for best results and ease of scuffing. Another process is to put the seeds in the freezer overnight and then drop them in boilinghot water. Otherwise, just planting them without breaking that outer layer will not guarantee the seeds will germinate at the time of planting them for that season.

Dad taught me alot back then about bluebonnets and always loved to tell others. As you might notice, I think he might have rubbed off on me!
dave99ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
This is what they looked like in Big Bend on Thursday. Absolutely amazing!

TxFig
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
After the bluebonnets have gone to seed, other flowers will bloom. I wait until after ALL of the spring flowers have gone to seed before I shred. Usually mid-late May.
--
Chris Barnes
Retired A&M IT geek - now beekeeper
http://www.cornerstonehoneybees.com/
propaniack
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I'd love to see this set up, I'm interested in commercial harvesting of bluebonnets, 254 627 9106
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.