Annual arroyo lupine (Lupinus succulentus) and silver bush lupine (Lupinus albifrons) are two species of lupine, also referred to as bluebonnets, that burst their seed pods in spring to self-sow for another season. If you would like to save seeds from these indigenous plants, or some other bluebonnet species, then you need to pull the plants up when the seeds are ripe and just prior to the pods burst. To ensure you don’t miss this narrow window, pull the bluebonnets when the seed pods start to turn yellow.
Select Healthy Acids
Seed pods form on the terminal ends of bluebonnet flowers. To ensure the seeds you harvest grow into plants that are vigorous, pull up just strong, healthy plants in the flowerbeds to dry. Bluebonnets are prepared to pull when the seed pods start to yellow but still haven’t turned brown. This occurs about a couple of weeks after the flower petals have dropped. You may wait for the pods to turn brown but you run the danger of the pods bursting in the garden and spreading their seeds on the ground. To decrease seed pod drying time, pull the bluebonnets at one time of day when the plants are dry. Be sure you’ve got permission to harvest seeds and plants from the land on which the bluebonnets are growing.
Hang Plants, Collect Seed
After pulling the bluebonnet plants, hang them, using the seed pods facing down, to dry in a well-ventilated room. Spread newspaper below the plants to collect the seeds, or even better, place an open cardboard box beneath the plants. Hang the plants low enough the forks are included in the box, without touching the box’s bottom. When the dry bluebonnet seeds pods burst open, then they eject their seeds quite a distance. The box keeps them contained.
Expand the Seeds to Dry
When the seed pods have ejected their seeds, spread them in a thin layer on newspaper to dry for about one week. Dried seeds are less likely to become moldy. For seed pods that did not open on their own, pull them open and dig out the seeds. Dispose of the plants in the compost pile. Bluebonnet roots are full of sulfur and will help enrich the compost. Dry the seeds indoors in a room with good air circulation. Indoor drying permits you to control the room temperature, as well as the humidity level is usually lower than drying seeds in a garage.
Store the Seeds
When the seeds are dry, store them in glass jars using tight-fitting lids. Place them in a cool, dry place away from light. Humidity and humidity may make the seeds to sprout and thus don’t store seeds in a bright kitchen or in a moist bathroom. Label each jar using the seed type and the date the seeds were picked. Silver bush lupine (Lupinus albifrons) seeds, which grow as perennials in U. S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10, in addition to other types of bluebonnets, should stay viable for two to three decades.