Spring wildflowers Tucson area

Thank you all for your replies. Very helpful as always. We knew there was good rain this fall and with the prospect of El Nino this winter we thought this would be the year to make the trip. We have visited the area in the winter and seen pictures of the bloom in visitor centers. Have always wanted to see it first hand. Looks like 2016 will be our year!

Thanks again and safe travels.

Be sure to take the tour thru the Saguaro Natl Park...both sides. Worth the trip in the spring...If you're lucky, you'll get a thunderstorm while you're here. Nothing beats the smell of the desert immediately after a rainstorm....Dennis

There are many, many varieties of wildflowers and cactus blooms. Some even begin in February. We volunteered at Lost Dutchman State Park, Apache Junction and the hillsides were in full bloom in March... Absolutely gorgeous!

Here's a nice article by the Desert Museum in Tucson:

http://www.desertmuseum.org/programs/flw_predicting.php

20 Years in Tucson. The best time is hard to predict. We always tell people likely best time is the end of April and the first part of May. This year should be spectacular.

Have lived south of Tucson for nearly 13 years and have shot many thousands of cactus flower images. They can come as early as late March and can be around even into July. There are many varieties and each on their own time frame. And some repeat. In checking my files over the past couple or so years I find that April thru June are the most; particularly May and June.

The desert starts to bloom around the first of May.

This is likely to be the best wildflower bloom in decades. The unseasonable rains that we have had through September and October are setting us up nicely. The record El Nino looks to perpetuate the heavier than normal precipitation right on through the winter.

The wildflower bloom could start as early as late February but March and April should be prime time. The spring weather here in the Tucson area should be awesome with highs in the 70's - low 80's. Piccacho Peak and Catalina SP's will be prime time locations to be sure but just about anywhere in the high Sonoran Desert look to be amazing.

:B