Desert Wildflowers Archives ~ Page 8 of 8 ~ Rambling ranger

February 20, 2017

It’s Raining in the Desert!

It’s raining in the desert! From Saguaro to Death Valley, it’s pouring. This is good news for wildflowers this spring.

Desert Hyacinth (Dichelostemma capitatum), Gila Box Riparian Area, AZ

Early season flowers blooming in eastern Arizona include Desert Hyacinth, Brittlebush, Bladderpod, and Mexican Gold Poppy. I found all of these in the Gila Box Riparian Area near Safford.

Gordon’s Bladderpod (Lesquerrella gordonii)

Further west in the Sonoran Desert, look for Fairy Duster, Brittlebush, and Desert Marigold.

Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla), Saguaro National Park, AZ

In the California desert, exciting things are starting to happen. Anza Borrego is set to have an incredible season, with five inches of precipitation in two months! Ajo Lilies are beginning to bloom. There are even some fishhook cactus blooming in remote canyons. You can find Sand Verbena and Brown-eyed Evening Primrose from Anza Borrego to southern Death Valley. Look for Anza Borrego to peak between the last week of February and the middle of March. If you can’t make it then, the cactus will be blooming from mid-March through April.

In Joshua Tree, it continues to rain. Things are greening up. Flowers are beginning to bloom in the southern end of the park.

Mojave National Preserve is getting a lot of moisture, too. Can anyone tell me what’s happening with the flowers there? I believe it will be a great flower season there, any day now.

Death Valley is getting SLAMMED with rain. Many park roads are closed. But flowers are blooming in the southern end of the park. From the Ibex Dunes to Jubilee Pass, you can find good blooms in Death Valley even now. If you’d like to see what the rain is like there, check out this picture on their Facebook page.

It’s starting to happen, folks! Make plans and get out there! Happy flower hunting!

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February 16, 2017January 24, 2023

Throwback Thursday – Death Valley Wildflowers 2016

This is what Death Valley looked like, a year ago today.

Telescope Peak and Desert Gold (Geraea canescens)

Wildflower season was pretty much at its peak, although a month earlier than usual.

Desert Gold (Geraea canescens) and Desert Five Spot (Erimalche rotundifolia)

The size of the plants, and number of blooms per plant, was absolutely phenomenal.

Desert Gold (Geraea canescens),Desert Five Spot (Erimalche rotundifolia) and Notchleaf Phacelia (Phacelia crenulata)

It won’t be like that this year.

I never saw so many Desert Five Spot, or such big plants!

There was no big soaker fall rain, which is key to a superbloom year.

Happy hummingbirds were everywhere! Costa’s Hummingbird( (Calypte Costae) on Pygmy Cedar (Peucephyllum schotti)

However, it has been raining a lot recently.

Things are greening up.

There are not many flowers blooming in Death Valley yet, but what will the future bring?

Death Valley National Park — It’s not the Valley of Death!

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January 24, 2017

2017 Desert Wildflower Forecast

Desert Gold (Geraea canescens) & Telescope Peak

You were lucky indeed if you got to see the 2016 Death Valley superbloom last spring. Alas, superblooms are rare. You need just the right conditions – a flash flood in the fall to wear away protective coverings on the seeds, followed by enough gentle winter rains to keep the sprouts alive. Unfortunately, this year is not a superbloom year.

But just because it’s not a superbloom does not mean there won’t be a bloom! It’s been raining in the desert and I’m here to tell you where the best spots to look for flowers will be this spring!

Death Valley National Park

This year things are looking pretty dry in Death Valley. Furnace Creek has received less than half it’s annual average for this time of year. That’s less than 15% of the precip that fell last year. To top it off, Artist’s Drive is closed for repairs until the middle of March.

Desert Five Spot (Eremalche rotundifolia)

It’s not all grim, though. Death Valley is a really big place, the largest national park outside of Alaska. With all the different mountain ranges and valleys, there are generally some places with good flowers in the park! It has been raining hard in the southern end of the park over the weekend, so that may be a good area to start looking.

Don’t expect carpets here this year, though. Learn to appreciate the perfection of each individual flower, instead.

Mojave National Preserve

The good news is, the farther south you go this year, the better the rainfall! Mojave had a really big storm (1.4″ of rain) on Christmas, and enough rain since then to keep things going. You should find some lovely flowers here in about a month.

Western Mojave near Barstow

This area is doing a little bit better than usual for precipitation. There should be a few nice displays.

Joshua Tree National Park

Golden Evening Primrose (Camissonia brevipes), Notchleaf Phacelia (Phacelia crenulata), and Rock Daisies (Perityle emoryi)

Several roads have been closed in recent weeks in Joshua Tree due to storms. It’s been raining for most of the past week. The park is well above average in rainfall this year.

Some flowers are already blooming, although not many. Bladderpod (not sure which species) and Filaree (Erodium cicutarium) have been seen.

Anza Borrego County Park

I predict great things for Anza Borrego this year. They have had more than double their average annual precipitation. I think this very well may be the best place in southern California to look for desert wildflowers this year.

Desert Gold Poppies (Eschscholzia glyptosperma)

So that’s what it looks like so far. Keep hoping for rain, the more moisture the better the bloom!

Have you been out in the Arizona or California desert lately? What have you seen? Let us know! Leave a comment! Follow this blog for future updates on the 2017 desert bloom.