The Wild Flower Hotline

May 16, 2025Welcome to the Theodore Payne Foundation’s 42nd year of the Wildflower Hotline. The Hotline offers weekly on-line and recorded updates on the best locations for viewing spring wildflowers in Southern and Central California.In Southern California, the valleys and foothills are fading, leaving behind fruit and seed for next year’s germination. Above 4000 feet in elevation however, many spring wildflowers are just coming into glorious bloom.Manzanitas and ceanothus species have faded from their bloom in most regions of Southern California below 3500 feet. In San Diego county’s Laguna Mountains, however, manzanitas and ceanothus are still putting on a spectacular show especially along the Garnet Peak Loop trail. I’ll add a note that the Pacific Crest Trail connects here in the Laguna Mountains as well. One scenic route to arriving to the Garnet Peak Loop trail is travelling along SR76 south from Palomar Mountain. Flowers along the south side of Palomar are mostly done. Clearly spring is mostly over there. However, starting in Santa Ysabel Valley to Julian, spring is still going full blast. Somehow the blue chaparral whitethorn is still blooming gangbusters there. Fields of cream cups and lupine are painting the landscape with pastel colors. The yellow lupine or California golden banner is in bloom in a field just before Julian and just past Julian, the white palmer’s ceanothus is in glorious full bloom. There are a few patches of goldfields just above Lake Cuyamaca, and some stunning areas of redbuds along Sunrise Highway. Also spotted is serviceberry in full bloom near the beginning of Garnet Peak Trail at Sunrise Highway. One month ago, there were essentially no flowers in this area, and very little annual germination. An amazing transformation occurred in the last month, to have tons of flowers here! On the Garnet Peak trail, the star bloomers are cupped leaf ceanothus and chaparral whitethorn producing slopes of white from the cupped leaf ceanothus and rivers of blue from the chapparal whitethorn. Close to Garnet Peak, pink bracted manzanita with its deep pink flowers, joined the show. There are also good patches of Eastwood manzanita in bloom in several places along this route. Garnet Peak is covered with rocky slopes of Laguna Mountain goldenbush, an endemic species to this area. There are abundant annuals and perennials in places. Close to the trailhead there are baby blue eyes, strigose lotus, coastal gilia, and Washoe phacelia among others. Garnet Peak was beautiful now, so make the trip soon.With a massive bloom of speckled clarkia, spring is winding down in the foothill country of the southern Sierra. Intermingling with the speckled clarkia, the spring madia are still in bloom. Also, prominent both along the highways and the trails, are the fragrant California buckeye, an abundance of bright yellow rock bush monkey flower and creamy white blooms of blue elderberry. Along oak grove trails one will still find colorful patches of mustang clover and the elegant Ithuriel’s spear. While the speckled clarkia is the one most impressive, two other farewell-to-spring species are found here and announcing the long hot quiet summer season: elegant clarkia and the lovely four spot clarkia.

Since the report earlier this month, many more blooms have popped up at Casper’s Regional Park in Orange County. Along the Dick Loskotn Trail, look for patches of Catalina mariposa lilies in the grasslands, along with San Diego jewel flower and Padre’s shooting stars. Wild canterbury bells prefer sunnier slopes along with a few showy chaparral yucca. Not far from the West Ridge Trail boundary, you will find a large, blooming clematis vine. There are others nearby, but this one clematis is particularly grand with stunning flowers begging to be photographed. On the Starr Rise Trail, search for cute California golden violets growing in clumps low to the ground. Chaparral gilia, blue dicks, miniature lupine and popcorn flowers are fading but have some interesting seed pods still to show. Some huge chalk dudleya reside along the trail as well. There are spectacular vistas of Orange County’s wildlands as you ascend the ridges. The word from recent visitors to the Santa Rosa Plateau in Riverside County is that annuals and geophytes are blooming nicely, and it is an excellent time to hike the trails! The Sylvan Meadows Trail and the Vernal Pools Trail are good places to see some iconic Plateau species. Various oaks have fresh new foliage and are in flower. They provide a lovely canopy along some pathways. The California peony is tucked near and under protective chaparral shrubs and are just starting to bloom. California golden violet, milkvetch, Southern checker bloom and great numbers of blue dicks can be found in open, sunny areas along trails. The regal Mission manzanita is past bloom, but just starting to go to fruit. Check out their bountiful bunches of copper-red berries. A short, easy hike along the Pacific Crest Trail at Crowder Canyon in the busy Cajon Pass near Phelan, will delight you with an array of spring blooms. You will encounter a lovely mix of Mojave Desert and chaparral flowering perennials and annuals. Lots of ceanothus, are still in flower along with narrowleaf goldenbush and bush poppy, Fiddleneck, goldfields, chia, and phacelia are blooming, though somewhat patchy in occurrence. Also find decent numbers of baby blue eyes, miniature lupine, bajada lupine, Mojave Desert parsley, California butterweed, blazing stars, and blue dicks.

Welcome to the Theodore Payne Foundation’s 42nd year of the Wildflower Hotline. The Hotline offers weekly on-line and recorded updates on the best locations for viewing spring wildflowers in Southern and Central California. All locations are on easily accessible public lands and range from urban to wild, distant to right here in L.A. Please support the Wildflower Hotline today at theodorepayne.org/donate.The annual Open House events are scheduled at Prisk Native Garden for the next two Sundays, April 6th and April 13th from 1 to 4 pm. Please attend one of the Sunday dates or both! Visitors will learn about the 30-year-old Garden on a school campus in Long Beach that has a mission to engage children in nature’s joyful and restorative experiences. Overnight seemingly, because of mild warm temperatures following mid-March rain, there are colorful blossoms everywhere, with more coming each week. In addition to the ubiquitous California poppies. Arroyo lupine, and tidy tips, there are lovely patches of five-spot, mounds of baby blue-eyes, Mojave bluebells, and various fragrant sages. Dorr’s sage, for example, brings home the wild aroma of the high desert in spring bloom. Many members of the cactus family are beginning to pop in the Desert Wash section. The claret cup cactus and Engelmann's hedgehog are beaming with blossoms! Elsewhere, look for meadow foam in the shadier, moister areas. Shrubs in all the garden habitats have been flowering profusely, including Island bush poppy showing off their large, yellow flowers set upon elegant gray-green foliage, or hot pink flowers of fairy duster beaconing passing hummingbirds. This is just a tiny taste of the Garden’s color palette. Next week on Sunday April 13, these bountiful blooms and hopefully many more will be available for viewing for the second Open House event.A great place to enjoy a recreational spring fling is Pinnacles National Park. Signs of spring are everywhere. The geography of the park provides raptors with ideal nesting sites, both on the inaccessible cliffs, craggy rock formations and on the oaks and pines along the riparian corridors. Although some of the trails are closed during peak nesting season (check park website), you may spot prairie falcons, golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, and American kestrels to name a few. Entering the park at the Eastern portal, you can’t help but notice the large perennial silver bush lupines peppering the landscape. Depending on the trail you choose, and there are many, early spring flowers can be seen throughout the park. The blue-purple blue witch is common in the chaparral. Look there too for Fremont’s star lily growing among the grasses and under chaparral shrubs. The deep shade cast by oaks and other riparian trees give refuge to the shade loving California saxifrage, purple pagoda, small flower woodland star and fiesta flower. All of them like to hang out in shady areas with the sunlight filtering through tree canopies. Find them now along the Bench Trail or occupying meadows like those along the Rim Trail. Also preferring grassy, open areas but in sunnier locations, are baby blue eyes and cream cups It’s impossible to choose the “cutest” flower in California but cream cups, seen along the North Wilderness Trail, would be a contender. Each creamy petal grades to a buttery yellow at the center where you find a pom-pom of filaments and stamens.

Friday, March 28 2025 Welcome to the Theodore Payne Foundation’s 42nd year of the Wildflower Hotline. The Hotline offers weekly on-line and recorded updates on the best locations for viewing spring wildflowers in Southern and Central California. All locations are on easily accessible public lands and range from urban to wild, distant to right here in L.A. Please support the Wildflower Hotline. The herbaceous perennials, woody shrubs, and trees have leafed-out and are blossoming well following the mid-March rain events. A few hardy annuals have started to appear like goldfields, fiddlenecks, popcorn flowers and some lupine species. It doesn’t seem promising for wild landscape super blooms. Our best wildflower shows in Southern California are at maintained gardens like Theodore Payne, California Botanic Garden, and home gardens like the ones you will see on Theodore Payne’s Garden Tour April 5 and 6. In the Southern Sierra foothill region east of Visalia, redbud trees are still blossoming and dot the slopes with their fuchsia pink buds and flowers. Petite and whipsy stems of Eastman’s fiddlenecks, rusty popcorn flower, electric blue hound’s tongue blossoms, silver bush lupine and not one, but TWO species of baby blue eyes are in peak bloom. Wild hyacinths are poking up from the ground everywhere. Shooting stars, buck brush and tiny-but-mighty miner’s lettuce are fading slowly but Greene’s saxifrage is still standing strong and tall in the moist meadows. These delicate flowers paint a lovely picture of early spring in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The usual riotous wildflower bloom at Placerita Canyon Nature Center has not appeared yet this year. However, the hills within and around the park are shrouded in places with shades of white and blue blossoms of two ceanothus species. The fragrance in the air is delightful. Shades of blue and lavender dominate the color scheme this week at the California Botanic Garden, Check out the various lupines, native Douglas iris, fragrant sages. little purple houses, assorted phacelias and the many lovely ceanothus species .The flashes of red exploding on the scene and catching your attention are the firecracker penstemons. Low to the ground, the upturned faces of sunny yellow Southern sun cups can be found in many open areas of the garden. Other plants along the maze of picturesque trails include desert globemallows, California redbuds, California buttercups, wallflowers, sticky monkeyflowers, Baja roses and sugar bushes. Of course, you would expect, at the California Botanic Garden, you might find California poppies and indeed, they are everywhere! That’s it for this week. Visit the Wildflower Hotline website to see photos of these and more wildflower sites. The Theodore Payne Foundation’s. annual Native Plant Garden Tour is April 5 & 6. Tickets are now on sale. Check the TPF website theodorepayne.org for details. The next report will be available on Friday, April 4th.

Welcome to the Theodore Payne Foundation’s 42nd year of the Wildflower Hotline. The Hotline offers weekly on-line and recorded updates on the best locations for viewing spring wildflowers in Southern and Central California. All locations are on easily accessible public lands and range from urban to wild, distant to right here in L.A.Entering mid-March, wildflower season remains quiet. Recent rainfall may bring relief to some drought-stricken areas, and annuals may awaken later this month. Rain will certainly benefit the spring bloom of perennial and woody natives. Annuals, however, are a bit more persnickety about their blooming conditions, responding only to a complex set of environmental factors occurring normally during the winter months. We shall see what happens. Figueroa Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest is known for its dramatic gold and blue duo of blooming California poppy and lupine displays. It is also a good location to see chocolate lilies. Unfortunately, Figueroa Mt. was hit hard by the Lake Fire last July and is struggling to come back. Poppies and lupines can be found along the road, but not in great numbers or showy displays. In addition, the seasonally colorful native shrubs and perennials are now blackened skeletons in a bleak landscape. The slopes are greening up nicely however and hopefully the “green” is not just weedy grasses obscuring delicate wildflowers. The slopes below the main lookout were missed by the fire and should be populated with chocolate lilies soon after this rain current this rain event. You should visit the area. The vistas are still spectacular. Think of it as an opportunity to witness a post fire recovery and to take note of what species reappear in the landscape over the next few years.The Hotline usually features Anza Borrego Desert State Park as a premier wildflower viewing destination during the month of March. This year however, the desert is bone dry with no great displays of the usual wildflowers. Perennials have fared a little better, especially along waterways. Hike in Coyote Canyon from second crossing along the water as much as possible, and you may see some ocotillo, brittlebush, indigo bush, white rhatany, sweetbush and silky dalea along with one species of hardy annual, desert needles. If you enjoy hiking in Anza, you may find scattered annuals far into the canyons on north facing slopes tucked in among boulders. You might need to expend some effort to find them. A native plant garden at the Elizabeth Learning Center in Cudahy is unique for its school site Habitat Gardens. It is the site of an artificially created vernal pool that serves as a refuge for endangered fairy shrimp and threatened plants endemic to vernal pools. The garden also hosts Desert and a Chaparral habitat gardens. Wildflowers flourish here throughout the spring. The best part is that city dwellers can see most of the garden from the main street, but also can ask for a closer view with a teacher after school. Please learn how to arrange a visit by reading the online version of the Wildflower Hotline on Theodore Payne’s web page. That’s it for this week. Visit the Wildflower Hotline website to see photos of these and more wildflower sites. The Theodore Payne Foundation’s. annual Native Plant Garden Tour is April 5 & 6. Tickets are now on sale. Check the TPF website theodorepayne.org for details. The next report will be available on Friday, March 21st.

Hear weekly recorded wildflower reports, narrated by Tom Henschel. New reports are released every Friday, March through May.The acclaimed Theodore Payne Wild Flower Hotline, founded in 1983, offers free weekly online and recorded updates – posted each Friday from March through May – on the best locations for viewing spring wildflowers in Southern and Central California. All locations are on easily accessible public lands and range from urban to wild, distant to right here in Los Angeles.

Hear weekly recorded wildflower reports, narrated by Tom Henschel. New reports are released every Friday, March through May.The acclaimed Theodore Payne Wild Flower Hotline, founded in 1983, offers free weekly online and recorded updates – posted each Friday from March through May – on the best locations for viewing spring wildflowers in Southern and Central California. All locations are on easily accessible public lands and range from urban to wild, distant to right here in Los Angeles.