This season's wildflower bloom in Southern California state parks is expected to be small due to below-average winter rainfall, according to California State Parks.
Wildflower growth depends on a delicate mix of weather factors, including the right amount of rain, sunlight, seasonal temperature patterns and winds.
“The past couple of storms have only dropped 0.6 inch of rain, not enough to significantly improve poppy germination rates,” said Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in a Facebook post.
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The poppy reserve has received significantly less rainfall this fall and winter season (image on left) compared to 2017 (image on right) where they witnessed an extraordinary bloom.
Despite the light bloom, the park said it will still offer diverse wildlife outdoor recreation opportunities.
“The best trail to hike for flowers is the ADA trail,” the park said in a statement. “This trail has baby poppies and miniature lupine growing slowly and may be a good trail in 3 or so weeks.”
