Texas Yellow Star sometimes begins flowering when not over 2 inches tall, and continues blooming while growing taller. In a cultivated area we've seen it get up to 30" tall with hundreds of blooms. The common name, Texas Yellow Star, is derived from the yellow flowers that have five petals or rays that correspond to the five points of the Texas Lone Star emblem. Texas Yellow Star is found throughout all of Texas, north to OK, east to AR & LA and south into Mexico.
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Texas Yellow Star, Lindheimera texana, is one of the first spring bloomers to cover the country side. This yellow daisy makes a dramatic announcement that spring is here with roadsides and prairies covered in brilliant yellow blooms. Bloom time will last through May but with the onset of the heat of summer the blooms start to fade. The common name, Texas Yellow Star, is derived from the yellow flowers that have five petals or rays that correspond to the five points of the Texas Lone Star emblem. The genus name, Lindheimera texana, is named after Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer (1801-1879) who is called the Father of Texas Botany. Lindheimer migrated to the United States from Germany in 1834 and settled in New Braunfels. He is credited with the naming of several hundred plant species and his name is used to designate 48 species and sub-species.
Texas Yellow Star is found throughout all of Texas, north to OK east to AR & LA and south into Mexico. This Yellow daisy is found along roadsides and prairies but in abundance in the prairies of Central & North Texas. It likes most soil types from clay, loam to sand as long as they are well drained. It can be easily cultivated from seeds and its size can very greatly from 2 inches to 30 inches but averages between 6 inches to 20 inches. In the garden setting it makes a good bedding plant or border and you can count on it to reseed itself readily. This showy annual likes full sun and a little dry time between watering.
The time to plant Texas Yellow Star is in the fall. The seeds will sprout and make what is called a rosette. This rosette will grow slowly throughout the winter until February then it will grow quickly and begin flowering. It will continue flowering as it grows. Flowering finishes and the plant begins to dry up around the end of May or first of June. This year the seeds of our crop of Texas Yellow Star here at Native American Seed were harvested on May 22nd. Plants that have this type of life cycle are called winter annuals and provide us with early spring time color. To start your own spring time show you should sow Texas Yellow Star in the fall.
