Where the Wildflowers Are: Sporadic Rains Make for an Unpredictable Flower Season

Photographers and flower enthusiasts are watching this year's wildflower season with the intensity of Wall Street speculators. Will ongoing drought doom us to months of brown hillsides, or will late rains make for a March miracle?

Last year, ample rains gave us a standout show, with flowers blanketing hillsides throughout our local deserts and mountains.

Not so this winter.

A few promising rains in October and early January gave way to months of parching drought and wind. Flowers that had sprouted either withered or remained too small to eke out more than a bloom or two.

This spring, flowers are few and far between in popular spots such as Anza-Borrego, Death Valley, and the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.

But wildflower prediction isn't a science, so no one knows what may happen next.

'Right now it doesn't look like we'll have much of anything, but your guess is as good as mine,' admitted a befuddled state parks employee in mid-March, declining to be identified for fear of making a floral faux pas.

Tony Valois, a wildflower watcher who compiles an online bloom report for the Santa Monica Mountains, said he has 'counted only a tiny fraction of the number of wildflowers we had last year.'

'But the rain we got in March may help things. Plus, since we had a very bountiful year last year, there is a lot of seed in the ground waiting for the rain,' Valois said.

Fortunately, seeds have infinite patience.

'Rainfall always varies a lot in Southern California from year to year, and it's typical for us to fluctuate from one extreme to the other,' said meteorologist Eric Boldt of the National Weather Service.

Last year a weak El Niño boosted our rain count to more than 37 inches. This year, La Niña is diverting storms to the drenched Pacific Northwest and turning Los Angeles back into a desert.

Wildflower Whims

Rain alone doesn't guarantee a knockout wildflower season. Wildflowers often act like the capricious starlets they are, refusing to germinate until they're good and ready. Most fare best with cool early rains to kick off germination followed by evenly spaced rain and plenty of sun to encourage growth.

'Years with very heavy rainfall actually aren't as good for wildflowers,' said botany professor and poppy expert Curtis Clark. 'In fact, displays actually seem to be better in years that are only moderately wet.'

Heavy rains block the sunshine that encourages strong flower growth, thus favoring nonnative weeds that out-compete the wildflowers.

Plus, unlike weeds, native annuals have caution built into their DNA. Poppy seeds, for example, 'contain chemical cues that cause them to wait until they see whether there is enough water to make it worth their while to germinate,' Clark said. If they germinate with late rains, they have to hurry up and flower before summer temperatures set in. 'Instead of 15 flowers per plant,' said Clark, 'you might get one or two.'

This will likely be what happens this year.

A Very Shrubby Year

Aside from annuals, let's call 2006 the year of the shrub. Boring? No way!

Look for flowers ranging from the perfumey puffs of California lilac (Ceanothus) in our local mountains to the hummingbird-attracting firecrackers of chuparosa (Justicia californica) and ocotillo (Fouqueiria splendens) in the nearby deserts.

'We've been having a really good Ceanothus year,' said Valois. 'Our shrubs and perennials stored up their energy from last year's rains for this year's blooming season, and this year many of them are spectacular.'

Many desert shrubs make quick work of any rain they find. Some of our most beautiful flowering shrubs, like the acid yellow brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) that lights up desert hillsides, can transform from a bundle of sticks to a riot of blooms within a week or two of rain.

If poppies are your thing, try the hills around Gorman rather than the desert or the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster. The poppies in desert areas are annuals, which require more water to get going than do the perennial poppies that dominate in the rest of the state.

Follow the Water

When hunting for flowers this year, keep one rule in mind: follow the water. Explore the canyons in our local mountains, such as Solstice Canyon in the Santa Monicas and Eaton Canyon in the San Gabriels, where water naturally drains. The oasis canyons in the Coachella Valley, such as Tahquitz Canyon and Palm Canyon, are also good candidates for surprise discoveries.

Desert sand dunes are another place to find water. Sure, the surface is dry as a bone, but below ground is a water reservoir that allows spectacular perennials, such as desert primrose (Oenothera deltoides) and sand verbena (Abronia villosa), to bloom even in a relatively dry year.

The best place of all to find flowers this year, said Clark, is also the easiest: the side of the road. Roadsides aren't glamorous, but they generate runoff, making a great home for water-hungry flowers.

And if you don't find anything, look on the bright side. One of the cool things about a slow wildflower year is that the crowds aren't as bad and the bathroom lines are short!