When to See the Wildflowers in the California Desert

Image: PHOTO: This should be a record year for California wildflowers. (photo via Flickr/Robb Hannawacker)
Image: PHOTO: This should be a record year for California wildflowers. (photo via Flickr/Robb Hannawacker)
Janeen Christoff
by Janeen Christoff
Last updated: 5:00 AM ET, Fri February 10, 2017

Last year was one for the books when it came to wildflower viewing in California's deserts, which received record rainfall and 2017 may prove to be another in places such as Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"With a record 5 inches of rain in the last two months (that's a season total in some years), he's expecting spectacular shows of plants like desert lilies, verbena and dune primroses," writes Mary Forgione.

Peak blooms are expected between the middle of March to early April.

"Germination is happening," the president of the Anza-Borrego Foundation, Ernie Cowan, a 50-year-old nonprofit that partners with the state park, tells the L.A. Times. "If you drive through parts of the desert, you'll see carpets of green. Plants are growing, and growing well."

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It's up to nature, now. Hot temperatures or high winds could ruin the bloom. But for flower lovers, make plans now, Forgione recommends.

"To hit the sweet spot for wildflowers, or close to it, make travel plans now. A "pervasive" bloom - one with carpets of purple verbena, red-tipped ocotillos or large white desert primrose - should arrive at low elevations in late February, Cowan tells the Times.

For more predictions on the wildflower bloom, read on here.


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Janeen Christoff

Janeen Christoff

Executive Editor - AGENTatHOME | TravelPulse Content Strategy

Editor Executive Editor - AGENTatHOME | TravelPulse Content Strategy true [email protected] 9088 14744 Janeen Christoff caught the travel bug while living in London, England. After two years on the road, she settled in Los Angeles and focused her writing on

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