Drenching rains in late summer and autumn have set the stage for what could be a splendid wildflower bloom in the spring.
Experts say mass germination has begun, but continued rains through February are needed to bring an especially good bloom.
“If my neighborhood is any indication, we’re off to a great start for a promising wildflower spring,” said Mark Dimmitt, a wildflower expert and retired director of natural history at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. “I had two inches of rain last week, and I see on rainfall logs on the web that the rains have been fairly widespread.
“Mass germination has begun,” signaling that blooms are likely on the way, Dimmitt said.
Autumn rains are considered a key to prepping the desert for a colorful bloom come spring — and October certainly played its part.
Tucson’s official rain total for the month was 2.25 inches — 0.89 inches above normal. October’s cloudbursts, along with earlier rains, have brought Tucson’s 2015 rainfall to 12.79 inches so far. That’s already in excess of the city’s annual average total of 11.59 inches, with more rain expected this month and next. But a spectacular spring bloom still isn’t a certainty.
“A good bloom depends on continued rains at about an inch a month through February, with no prolonged periods of warm or windy weather that would dry out the soil,” Dimmitt said. “Do your best rain dances!”
