PHOENIX — As we're heading into the summer months, you'll notice that some desert plants are no longer blooming, while others are just getting started.
Here in the Sonoran Desert, there is always something blooming. The desert gets 3 to 20 inches inches of rain a year making it one of, if not the wettest desert on the planet. And that much water means lots of plants, relatively speaking.
However, different plant species bloom at certain times of the year. Most recently, you've likely noticed all the blooming prickly pear.
Prickly pear typically bloom from March through June. Alex Arnold with the Sonora Desert Museum's Botany Department said prickly pear are now focusing their energy on producing the fruit that comes after the flowers as the blooms finish up.
Right now, we are also at the beginning of the iconic Saguaro blossoms, which usually go from May through June and even sometimes later again in October.
"As the monsoon rains wind down, you'll have a lot of wildflower species along with a lot of plants reaching their apex of vegetative growth," Arnold explained. September and October are typically other good months to enjoy blooming desert plants.
In addition to the monsoon, temperatures play a large role in plant blossoms. Arnold explained that flowering plants have proteins called Florigens; some plants are adapted to bloom earlier, and some are adapted to sense the shorter daylight hours.
When the plant knows it's a certain time of the year, the proteins trigger the plant to produce flowers. Arnold said some of the prickly pear species flowered a bit more this year thanks to the winter rains.
Even though several plants are now passed their prime blooming time, be on the lookout for the iconic blooming saguaros through June!
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