Wildflower Center: Fall is for Planting

Miss the spring Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center plant sale? Fall is actually the best time to plant in central Texas, and on October 11 and 12 the Wildflower Center will have 300 species of native plants, trees, and shrubs for purchase at its twice annual plant sale. A members-only sale will take place on October 10.

Visitors will be able to choose from hundreds of hardy Texas natives bred to thrive with Austin’s climate, and both public sale days will include numerous activities, including tours and book signings. Travis County Master Gardeners also are on the schedule to answer questions.

Expected plants include Chalk Maple, Indigo Bush, Butterflyweed, and Anacacho orchid tree. Plant prices will range from $3 for 6-packs and four-inch plants to $73 for 10 and 15 gallon plants, and members will receive a 10 percent discount. Check out the full list of the Wildflower Center’s collection of plants at the Fall Sale.

Admission is $9 for adults, $7 for seniors and students, $3 for children 5 through 12, and members and children under 5 are free. The Wildflower Center recommends bringing your own wagon to haul purchases.

Did you know? Wildflower seeds planted before Thanksgiving grow into beautiful carpets of wildflowers in the springtime.

Saturday, October 11, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

• All Day – Make Ecopots in the Courtyard.
• 11 a.m. – Noon, drought-tolerant plants garden tour, Jackie O’Keefe, NPSOT.
• 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Book signing for “On the Road with Texas Highways,” with J. Griffis Smith.
• Noon – Presentation by James Truchard, author of “Memories from a Hill Country Garden.” Signing follows until 2 p.m. in the store.  
• Noon – 4 p.m. Texas Yaupon Tea sampling in the store, Maridel Martinez.
• 1 – 2 p.m. Hill Country Ecology garden tour, Center’s Michelle Bertelsen.
• 2 – 3 p.m. deer-resistant plants garden tour, Patricia McGee, Capital Area Master Naturalists.

Sunday, October 12, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

• All Day – Make Ecopots in the Courtyard.
• 11 a.m. – Noon, Hill Country Ecology garden tour, Center’s Michelle Bertelsen.
• Noon – 4 p.m. Yaupon tea sampling with Maridel Martinez.
• 1 – 2 p.m., drought-tolerant plants garden tour, Jackie O’Keefe, NPSOT.
• 1 – 3 p.m. Learn about seedballs from David Werth and Jolyn Piercy.
• 1 – 4 p.m. Thomas Koschmieder in the store signs his “Common Tree & Shrub Leaves of Central Texas” guide.

Photo by Philip Hawkins, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, The University of Texas at Austin. Courtesy of Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.