Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Well, right here, of course. We'll find you a list of Central Texas fall-blooming wildflowers and show you how we did it so you could find your own list for any part of the country. For the first go-round, we went to the Native Plants Database, narrowed our search by indicating Texas, herb (herbaceous plants), we left the duration at "all", because some wildflowers are perennial and some annual. We then went down to "Bloom Time" and checked September, October and November, calling that Autumn. When the search was complete, there was this list of 615 herbaceous plants that would be blooming during at least one of those months. You can click on the Latin name of any plant on the list and read more about it on the individual webpage. For a more manageable and more local list, we went to Recommended Species, clicked on the Texas map for Central Texas, and again, to narrow our Search, Texas, herbs and the three months indicated above. Some extend their bloom only into September, some all the way to November. This search produces a list of 36 plants, from which we selected 8 of our favorites.

Asclepias asperula (spider milkweed) - March to October

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed) - May to September

Chamaecrista fasciculata var. fasciculata (partridge pea) - May to October

Coreopsis tinctoria var. tinctoria (golden tickseed) - February to November

Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower) - April to September

Eryngium leavenworthii (Leavenworth's eryngo) - July to September

Helianthus maximiliani (Maximilian sunflower) - August to November

Ratibida columnifera (upright prairie coneflower) - May to October

Asclepias asperula

Asclepias tuberosa

Chamaecrista fasciculata var. fasciculata

Coreopsis tinctoria var. tinctoria

Echinacea purpurea

Eryngium leavenworthii

Helianthus maximiliani

Ratibida columnifera