Text by Texas Master Naturalist Coastal Prairie Chapter member Susie Doe, who instructs TMNCPC interns about plants. Photos by TMNCPC Courier newsletter editor Lynn Trenta
My guess is that the February cold spell may delay some wildflowers for a only a very short while in the Rosenberg area (including Seabourne Creek Nature Park). I would say delay time is about the time of the cold weather.
Many of the early wildflowers have winter basal rosettes that are in effect designed to take such weather in stride. I can tell you that the Coralberry bushes (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) in my yard were putting out leaves like crazy just a few days after the freeze.
Louisiana Vetch (Vicia ludoviciana) was coming on strongly before the freeze, and it ‘took a bit of a hit’, but is already beginning to come back and should be blooming soon.
At Seabourne Feb. 27, I saw the basal rosettes of many wildflowers ready go in the now-warming weather, including, Gaillardia pulchella (Indian Blanket), Lupinus texensis (Bluebonnet), Polytaenia texana (Texas Prairie Parsley).
The winter clumps of Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) were protecting the already green 5-6-inch tall new shoots at the bases of the plants.