Gold poppies, the poster flowers of springtime in the Tucson area, have burst into brilliant bloom in parts of Saguaro National Park west of the city — never mind that it’s six weeks before the end of winter.
The winter appearance of poppies and other wildflowers is partly a result of this year’s weather, but botanists say a trend toward earlier blooming is also a factor.
“It has been a rather warm winter, and the few annuals that germinated with the fall rains have grown rapidly,” said Mark Dimmitt, a wildflower expert and retired director of natural history at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
“I’ve seen poppies and other wildflowers blooming this early in several years out of the last 35 that I’ve lived in Tucson,” Dimmitt said. “The trend has been ever earlier during that time, as revealed by phenology data posted on the Desert Museum website. I can’t do the statistics, but I’d say that in recent decades many species may bloom as much as two weeks earlier than they did before 1980.”
Other wildflower species that are blooming in some desert areas this month include brittlebush and globemallow.
SEE SOME POPPIES
One place to find gold poppies blooming this week is at a site along Picture Rocks Road on the northeastern side of Saguaro National Park west of Tucson.
Shortly after entering the park from the east on the road, watch for a large parking pullout where the road bends at the bottom of a hill. You’ll find flowers in the flat desert area across the road from the pullout.
Don’t expect extensive carpets of blooms this early in the season, but the many flowers in the area are easy to spot because of their bright golden hue.
Be aware that poppies close up in the evening, and sometimes open slowly in the morning. Most will be open by midday in sunny weather.
Another site known for dramatic displays of poppies and other wildflowers is Picacho Peak State Park northwest of Tucson. But such displays haven’t materialized so far this year.
A park spokesman said this week that “we have a few random poppies in wash areas, but nothing to brag about at this time.”
