Wild flower superbloom this season? Experts weigh in on winter rain and what it means for season

First came the heavy winter rains that soaked the soil. Then, the sunny weather — not too hot, but just warm enough to fuel the growth.

A few more winter rainfalls and Southern California could be ripe for an epic wildflower season in the coming weeks and months.

And when they bloom — the vibrant colors popping from rolling hills as far as the eye can see — thousands of people are bound to seek out their beauty, if past years are any indication.

California State Parks recently announced it is expecting a moderate-to-strong wildflower bloom across the desert region, courtesy of the storms that showed up in fall and winter.

Wildflower growth depends on a delicate mix of weather factors, including rain and its timing, amount of sunlight, seasonal temperature patterns and wind.

Already, the desert landscape is beginning to burst with color in parks such asRed Rock Canyon and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, one of the most well-known areas for its wildflower seasonal offerings, with additional parks expected to display vibrant blooms in the weeks and months ahead, State Parks officials said.

Some of the other areas known for their past blooms include the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, Eastern Kern County Onyx Ranch, Hungry Valley, Saddleback Butte and Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland state parks.

Many of these parks experienced notable blooms in 2017, 2019 and 2023, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world. Some areas became a bit too popular, like Walker Canyon near Lake Elsinore, fueled by viral social media imagery and drawing crowds that threatened the delicate landscape.

State Parks reminded visitors to enjoy these seasonal displays responsibly and safely, and that it is against the law to pick wildflowers in the parks.

Some of the wildflowers that people may see include sand verbena, desert poppies, primroses, desert sunflowers and apricot mallow, among others.

The Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve, typically blooming from mid-March to May, expects a variety of wildflowers, including poppies, fiddleneck and redstem filaree in dense quantities.

The reserve, near Lancaster, also offers a PoppyCam live feed visitors can check for bloom conditions before making the trip.

“We are anticipating a good season — but you just never know,” said Lori Wear, district interpretive program manager for the State Park’s Great Basin area. “In the desert, I think we’re definitely anticipating a good bloom.”

There’s already been poppies popping up in the Antelope Valley areas, she said.

It’s likely not going to be a superbloom, typically snow in January is a good indicator for those prime conditions. But again, you just never know, she said.

“We do think it will be a good bloom,” she said.

There’s one unknown that can put a damper on the season.

“If we get an early heatwave, that can wipe it all out,” she said.

Borrego Palm Canyon and Coyote Canyon are already starting to show early pops of color and initial blooms are appearing in some areas, with Anza-Borrego Desert’s Henderson Canyon Road currently offering the most vibrant displays, according to State Parks.

Visitors are spotting desert sand verbena, primroses, desert sunflowers, apricot mallow, and desert lilies at Anza-Borrego.

“Henderson Canyon Road Wildflower Area is still looking great from the late monsoon rains, which created a great fall bloom in that square mile area,” said Sicco Rood, facilities and research coordinator for UC Irvine who works at a field station in Anza-Borrego. “It’s also looking really good so far in terms of the desert greening up overall from those two inches or so of rain that soaked into the ground around Borrego Springs around New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day.”

That rain, combined with others since late August, has carpeted many natural areas in Southern California in green.

How it’s going to look into February and March is too early to tell, Rood said.

“We still will need at least one or two well-timed rain events and mild temps — not too hot, especially — to keep those plants looking to flower in February and March happy,” he said.

Other areas, such as the Borrego Badlands, are starting to show desert lilies flowering, and dune primroses and desert verbenas are starting to pop up in areas, he said.

But, there’s also a lot of invasive Sahara mustard coming back with a vengeance, Rood noted.

“They could take over large flower fields, covering natives with mustard. Caterpillars can also do some damage to the flowers, but I haven’t seen them really active yet,” he said. “Other than that, I see the western canyons and mountain sides will have a lot of yellow brittle bush flowers, and others like poppies coming up, but not yet flowering.”

Depending on the region and weather, the peak bloom season typically begins in mid-February onward.

Tips for visiting wildflower areas

• Stay on designated trails whenever possible.
• Tread lightly,  do not trample flowers.
• When viewing the blooms, take only pictures. Flower picking is prohibited.

Wildflower hotline: 

Want to know where wild flowers have been spotted? Call the Theodore Payne Wild Flower Hotline, which has been giving weekly recorded updates since 1983. New reports are released every Friday from March through May. Contact: 818-768-1802, ext. 7 to hear the report.