dont get tied down with common names .... though common in TX .. i am guessing your base question.. is whether it is a snob about TX .. lol ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=Lupinus+texensis+range&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3uoLcuIjTAhXJ6YMKHbswCuoQ_AUIBygA&biw=892&bih=743&dpr=0.9#q=Lupinus+texensis&*

then i added some terms ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=Lupinus+texensis+range&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3uoLcuIjTAhXJ6YMKHbswCuoQ_AUIBygA&biw=892&bih=743&dpr=0.9#q=Lupinus+texensis+where+can+it+be+grown&*

and came up with this reference... which shows zone 3 to 8 ... with caveats of it being a perennial .. but an annual in colder zones ... who knows how that all works out for you ..

http://www.americanmeadows.com/wildflower-seeds/lupine-seeds/texas-bluebonnet-seeds

but the thing that catches my eye ... mostly where the seller is called american meadows .. is that all the glory pix of this.. seem to be hundreds if not 1000s of acres .. it MIGHT not turn out to be much in a small suburban garden ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=Texas+Bluebonnets&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXoPO8uIjTAhXh3YMKHYanDXoQ_AUICCgB&biw=892&bih=743&dpr=0.9

all that said.. go for it ... keep us posted ....

ken

Yup. I know I'm supposed to love my native Northeast wildflower species, and I do, but the thought of growing the state flower of Texas is too irresistible to this New Englander. (Or at least it was until I read that it germinates at soil temps of 55-70 degrees ... who knows when that'll happen here.) Sure looks gorgeous in those pictures...

Some Texas wildflowers take advantage of the long growing season and germinate and start growing before winter,then finish up and flower the next year.Unfortunately blue bonnet are one of them. I tried growing them in Illinois in one season and wasn't successful. I have seen seeds for tweeked blue bonnet that are claimed to grow better,but I haven't tried them because I tried growing tweeked seeds of the standing Cypress and didn't get great results. I have just decided to grow the northern , native lupin Perrine and be content with that.Some Texas wildflowers will do well further north like oenothera speciosa,while others like the paintbrush will not do well at all.

Let me know how it goes....I'm in southern Ma. too. On the western side...would love to see pretty blue blooms.

Try perennial wild blue lupine, which are native to northern states. They grow best in hot, sandy, sunny spots, but tolerate richer soils, if well drained.

I have Russell Blend lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus, native to the Pacific Northwest) seedlings at the end of their winter-sowing in a jug right now. I got seed for the Russells only because I didn't then know the difference between them and the eastern wild blue lupine (L. perennis) that you mention, and now I see the seed company I usually order from doesn't seem to carry L. perennis.

In any case, after getting your note, I was curious about the difference between the two and found this on the American Meadows web site:

Two of the major wild perennial lupine species of North America are now
hopelessly crossed and confused by almost every seed grower. L. perennis, the basic blue wild species has been mixed with the taller L. polyphyllus
(originally from the Pacific northwest and also blue) which was used
years ago to make the famous “Russell Hybrid Lupines” in reds, yellows,
and bicolors. So today, what you plant should be mostly blue, but may
show some breaks to the other colors, adding a rainbow to your meadow.
The blue-flowered plants are always the most permanent.

.......... which are both far cousins to my Texas Bluebonnets which I still am hopeful about...

I have Chatelaine Lupine...some years it leaves babies everywhere, some not.

Is the Chatelaine one of the Russell Blend hybrids?

Yes Rick, it is. They're beautiful...I've had them around 6 yrs. or more.

I am in southeastern Connecticut and I grew some blue bonnet seeds this winter indoors and transplanted them in my perennial garden in early may. So far they seem to be doing very well, even considering we have had a very cool spring. They are just starting to bud so I will update once they bloom. Doubt that they would work seeding them outdoors.

Ah, that's the trick! Thank you. I'd love to get updates from you about this, and maybe some pix. I'll try that next year. My seeds that I planted outdoors in April just didn't germinate at all.

I have had great success using the wintersowing method to germinate wild blue lupine. I get nearly 100% germination. Though, these are a type that requires cold, moist stratification. Good luck.

I'm only one state up from Texas, and they really won't do much of anything here. They're adapted to germinate in fall, grow through the winter as rosettes, and burst into bloom in spring. More northerly climates just don't allow it.

Well, I'm as shocked as anyone, but it looks like I have two Texas Bluebonnets plants growing here outside of Boston. One is small (maybe 8" tall) and the other is struggling but they both have made it so far. I planted the seeds March 31 and by early May saw no germination and pretty much gave up. But I was browsing around my garden a few days ago and found this, so it looks like my assumption of defeat may have been premature. And it's probably small because of too much crowding in this flower bed. But even if this doesn't grow much more than this, I'm happy that the seeds took me this far so I could experience this Texan delight in New England.

Color me impressed Rick. I got one sickly plant that I don't think made it to flower.

Though I guess I should say that I am not 100% positive this is Texas Bluebonnet, even though it's growing roughly in the area that I planted the Bluebonnet seeds. Can anyone say any more definitively? It's about 8" tall. Could this be some other Lupinus?

Looking good. I know what it's like to want to grow and flower something so bad, you will go to almost any extreme to pull it off. Great job! Are you now ready for another Texas wildflower that's a little higher on the difficulty scale? Like say Texas Paintbrush? I wanted to grow the Paintbrush,but after the difficulty I had trying to grow Bluebonnets, I opted out for a more northerly Castilleja species. That attempt did not work out too well. They are semi-parasitic plants and growing them is tricky. Now the pink primroses in Texas, Oenothera speciosa. They are fairly easy. I live in Illinois,40 miles south of Chicago. Wanted to get some native blue Lupinus perrine plants this spring,but they were sold out everywhere. Have some seeds for it. They sure look like genuine Texas Bluebonnets to me.

Hee, Oenothera speciosa is a weed :) I've had some luck with indian paintbush, since it naturally occurs in Oklahoma. I've seen whole fields of it (but I didn't have THAT much luck). My little patch persisted for years though.

I remember planting O. speciosa once in a bed once...and quickly figured it was best for a roadside planting. It spreads and spreads and spreads (and dies out where you wanted it).