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Desert Wildflower Blooms
March 25, 2008 The Tucson Mountains are still colorful with annuals, and brittlebush is in full glory this week. John Annesley reports that on Easter Sunday the San Carlos Apache nation near Globe, AZ was spectacular. See photo below.
March 11, 2008 The season is progressing so fast that by the time I get information about a site, that location will be past peak. So you'll need to go to the general areas cited, but a little higher in elevation if possible. The Tucson Mountains on the west side of Tucson have many annuals and some shrubs in full bloom now. The higher slopes of Wasson Peak continue to display large patches of orange poppies mixed with many other species. It's difficult to hike very fast if you're trying to count how many species of flowers you see. The famous area near the base of Kitt Peak is reportedly mediocre. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was excellent last weekend; it was at peak bloom, and will fade soon. 100 species of flowers in bloom last weekend. The Pinacate were also excellent in many places, especially the road to Red Cone camp. Jan Emming reports that the Parker Strip (Lower Colorado River between Parker Dam and the town of Parker, AZ) is quite good, especially the Copper Basin Dunes ORV Area off the most-traveled areas. Black Mountain near Yucca, AZ was also quite good the first week in March and probably still is for a few more days. This year Mexican gold poppies (Eschscholzia californica var. mexicana) are heavily dominant, with less lupine and few owl clover. There is also lots of silver bells (Streptanthus carinatus) and desert chicory (Rafinesquia neomexicana). The Florence-Kelvin highway is ablaze with poppies right now (Rob Nixon). The Pacific side of northern Baja California is very lush with lots of flowers (Marilyn Hanson). The annuals are about to fade in the low and intermediate deserts, but should be good at higher elevations now or in the near future. Later bloomers will continue to produce spots of color in the desert through April. March 6, 2008 The Tucson Mountains are at their peak for number of showy annual wildflowers; this will last only about another week unless there is more rain. Other annuals and herbaceous perennials (e.g., desert larkspur and mariposa) will bloom later, but these species are fewer in number and more localized in distribution. The King Canyon trail across from the Desert Museum has many species in bloom, but there are no large patches of color until you get high on Wasson Peak (which has large patches of orange poppies). The biggest patches of flowers that are easy to reach are at the west base of Picture Rocks Pass; there is a big parking area there. The Sutherland Trail in Catalina State Park is reportedly also quite good, above the second set of steps. The low desert below 1000 feet elevation is already drying out; many areas were dominated by exotic Sahara mustard anyway. The road to Rocky Poiny (Puerto Peñasco) was spectacular last week and may last a bit longer. The higher elevation grasslands may be great in a week or two. Poppies are beginning to flower in southwestern New Mexico. The Arivaca Road - Ruby Road loop off of I-19 near Nogales is often very good in wet years. The road from Winkelman to Globe has large patches of poppies on the hillsides, and other flowers too. It's better than the road from Winkelman to Superior. February 18, 2008 Wow! Another inch of rain in the Tucson area. A good bloom wherever it has been raining all winter is now assured. It has in fact begun in the Tucson Mountains (Saguaro National Park west and Tucson Mountains Pima County Park), and will probably peak in early March. Peak color will be a week or two earlier in the lower elevation deserts to the west of Tucson (which means it should be happening right now). See the DesertUSA wildflower watch page for more information. News from other areas: The road to Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco) Sonora is ablaze with sand verbena, dune evening primrose, and lupines. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is in good color. Poppies are beginning to bloom at Picacho Peak State Park a half hour west of Tucson. February 14, 2008 Tucson Mountains: What a difference a week makes. Most of the abundant annuals and herbaceous perennials are bolting; they'll be in flower by March 1. But they're also wilting from a week of warm weather. The show will be modest and short-lived unless it rains again. (Another storm is coming tomorrow.) On the warmest south slopes you can find an occasional Mexican gold poppy (Eschscholzia californica mexicana) and silver bells (Streptanthus carinatus) flower. Most ocotillos are not even in bud yet, but four plants are already in flower in King Canyon. Fairydusters (Calliandra eriophylla) are also in bloom in a few places, but most are holding in the bud stage, waiting for some cue to burst forth. January 29 , 2008 Southeastern Arizona had another moderate rainfall this week (and more fell in the deserts to the west of Tucson). The ground in the Tucson Mountains is turning green with seedlings of many good species. There will almost surely be a fruitful spring for macro photographers. The development of great carpets of color will depend on another half inch or so of rain in the next few weeks. Keep your fingers crossed and do your rain dances. Fairy duster (Calliandra eriophylla) is one of the earliest spring flowers. These shrubs are in bud now and will probably be in bloom in another week. On the warmest south-facing slopes a very few flowers of windmills (Allionia incarnata) and bahia (Bahia absinthifolia) can be seen if you hike a few miles of trails. The low desert's flowering season is a few weeks ahead of Tucson's, so there may be flowers in bloom already. I haven't heard nor have I been out. The Pinacate was quite green two weeks ago according to a friend. January 17 , 2008 Southeastern Arizona had two storms totaling 3 inches in November and December, and another half inch in early January. Therefore the first requirement for a good annual wildflower bloom has been met (a soaking fall rain). In the Tucson Mountains many seedlings can be spotted by the keen eye, including lupine, evening-primrose, phacelia, desert chicory, bladderpod, silver bells. But a good bloom of annuals in the rocky soils depends on further rains this month and next. Otherwise the plants will bloom small, providing lots of tiny flowers but no carpets of color. The sand dune areas of western Arizona, IF they also received good rains, will hold enough moisture to flower very nicely even if the remainder of winter is dry. But the plants that dominate might be exotic Sahara mustard (Brassica tournefortii), which would smother the showy flowers. As for perennial plants, the winter rain has been sufficient to assure a good bloom of most species. Expect fairyduster, brittlebush, ocotillo, and cacti to flower in their normal seasons. A hard frost could damage the more tender species such as brittlebush. Delphiniums and desert mariposas have sprouted foliage; it isn't clear whether they will bloom without further rain. Desert hyacinth, wild onions, and desert anemone have also sprouted and will probably bloom well in February and March. The trees will probably also flower in spring, at least on the deeper soils. Penstemons are very scarce; these short-lived perennials have been devastated by the drought of the past several years. Visit this website for further updates. Anyone visiting wildflower areas is invited
to inform me (including images if possible) on what you see: mdimmitt@desertmuseum.org. From the Archives: The following sites may or may not have up-to-date information, and rarely make predictions far in advance. They also tend not to evaluate the quality of the display, but simply list what is in flower. Wide-area Reports Desert Wildflower Watch (This superb resource at desertusa.com posts current conditions for Southwestern states; updated frequently by many contributors.) Individual Parks Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve (This third-party site has much more detail than the park's official website)
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