UT decides Longhorns have been pranked, will rip out maroon bluebonnets

Speculation is growing about some Aggie-maroon bluebonnets blooming near the University of Texas Tower. Speculation is growing about some Aggie-maroon bluebonnets blooming near the University of Texas Tower. Photo: Dborah Cannon Photo: Dborah Cannon Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close UT decides Longhorns have been pranked, will rip out maroon bluebonnets 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Maroon bluebonnets, at best an oxymoron and at worst a deep insult to the Austin community's burnt-orange sensibilities, are slated to be removed from the University of Texas main campus.

UT officials would prefer not to announce the exact date the offending plants will be taken up, said Markus Hogue, the university's program coordinator for irrigation and water conservation.

"We anticipate soon," Hogue said Wednesday. "We're trying to make it as discrete as possible, and we're trying to capture the seeds. Next year, we're going to pull any maroon bluebonnet as soon as we see it."

No one has confessed to secretly seeding two beds in the shadow of the UT tower with Aggie maroon bluebonnets, but Hogue said he suspects it was the work of Texas A&M supporters.

After seeing an annual increase in the number of maroon bluebonnets in the two beds near the tower, Hogue said he did some research and learned that two A&M professors, Jerry Parsons and Greg Grant, developed a maroon strain of the Texas state flower.

"Dr. Parsons mentioned that maroon is a recessive trait, but we're seeing more and more," Hogue said. "That leads me to believe that somebody is putting out more seeds. We should see a decreased number."

Another professor said he thought UT crews had planted the maroon flowers by mistake, but that's not possible, Hogue said.

"We haven't touched the bed in four years," he said. "We're trying to get it native to where it survives on its own."

That's part of the reason Hogue became aware that the maroon bluebonnet patch had been getting bigger. The contraband flowers are in a bed that was switched five years ago to the "xeriscape" landscape design, requiring little or no irrigation.

"We've been monitoring it to see how much water it was using," Hogue said. "We're trying to move the campus over to native plants to see how they hold up against traffic and the heat-island effect. I started noticing the flowers."

Besides bluebonnets, the xeriscape bed has agave, rosemary, ornamental grasses and succulent plants such as cactus.

As an irrigation expert, Hogue had a few kind words to say about the alleged pranksters.

"I'm happy they chose a drought-tolerant plant," he said. "During this time we're all struggling with water, even if this was done by an Aggie, it was done in good taste."

And if Parsons and the A&M crew succeed in developing an orange bluebonnet, Hogue said UT will plant it.