Austin, Texas, Feb. 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Austin, TX – Experts at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center are predicting a mixed season for spring blooms this year due to the continuing drought in the Edwards Plateau and Trans Pecos according to the Center’s Annual Wildflower forecast released today. However, eastern parts of the state are tracking to have a strong showing. The Center also announced this year’s Wildflower of the Year as Gregg’s mistflower (Conoclinium greggii), an upright perennial with purplish-blue flowers relished by pollinators.
“If predicting the weather is a challenge, then predicting the wildflower bloom for a big state like Texas is even more of a challenge,” says Andrea DeLong-Amaya, Wildflower Center horticulture director. “With fluctuations in weather and micro-climate scenarios (where one small geographical area may have received different weather than others), it’s sometimes hard to make a big sweeping prediction. This is one of those years.”
The western part of the state has been in particularly deep drought and may not see much of a show this spring. More rainfall has quenched the eastern part of the state, so DeLong-Amaya expects more blooms in areas such as Brenham and College Station.
The late fall drought will likely hinder this year’s early-blooming wildflowers such as Texas bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) and Texas paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa) in the western part of the state, says DeLong-Amaya. “Last fall’s drought influenced the number of little wildflower plants we have growing out there. I think we’ve had enough precipitation to give them a boost and get them blooming but it’s too late in the game to germinate new seeds which will affect the numbers of plants we have.”
If these early spring bloomers are a little more sparse, later spring and summer flowers have more room to flourish. Later-in-the-season wildflowers like firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella) or purple horsemint (Monarda citriodora) could show up stronger this year, if spring brings wetter weather.
Within the season, visitors to the Wildflower Center always will find beautiful displays of blooms. Staff, including professional horticulturists and a large team of hands-on volunteers, work tirelessly throughout the year to cultivate native Texas plants and encourage maximum flowers.
“Our experts know how to coax blooms in our gardens,” said Lee Clippard, Wildflower Center executive director. “Visitors to the Hill Country can guarantee a robust floral experience by visiting our gardens and trails this spring.”
Additionally, the Wildflower Center has designated the Gregg’s mistflower (Conoclinium greggii) – a member of the Aster family – as the Wildflower of the Year for 2025. The plant reaches up to two-feet tall with the small purplish-blue flowers clustering together to form puffy, cushion-like flower heads.
Focusing on native plants that are high-performers and crowd-pleasers when it comes to blooms and ease of growing in the home garden, the Wildflower Center’s horticulture experts chose Gregg’s mistflower because of its long blooming season from March to November in Texas, adaptability to various soils and light conditions, and its vital role in providing food for essential pollinators, often attracting impressive numbers of Queen butterflies throughout the summer and fall.
For more information about the 2025 wildflower season, visit the Wildflower Center’s Texas Wildflower Central webpage.
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About The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is the State Botanic Garden & Arboretum of Texas and welcomes more than 275,000 guests annually to its 284 acres of gardens, trails and exhibitions, thus fulfilling its mission of inspiring the conservation of native plants. As a fully self-funded unit of The University of Texas at Austin, the Wildflower Center’s investments in science, conservation and education include a native seed bank, a comprehensive database of North American native plants, and research programs in collaboration with the university. The Center is the embodiment of Mrs. Johnson’s environmental legacy. “The environment is where we all meet, where we all have a mutual interest,” she said. “It is the one thing all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become.”
Scott Simons Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center ssimons@wildlfower.org
