SeeCalifornia.com

When people come to Lancaster for the annual California Poppy Festival in April their expectations are high. They want to see fields filled with bright, orange poppies that were captured several years ago in the photograph on the right. Shown in the left picture taken on March 18, 2015 is the same field now with shriveled plants. South facing slopes of the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve greeted park ranges with this sad display when they showed up for work after St. Patrick’s Day. One ranger posted his impressions: “Wow, Mother Nature pulled the rug out from under us. We’re astonished to find that our big bloom of desert-adapted, ruggedly persistent poppies has been all but cooked away by the unseasonable heat we had a week ago. Where we had the densest poppy germination anyone’s seen in a decade, all that’s left on the south slopes are desiccated orange petals that didn’t even have a chance to go to seed before they were left shriveled on the stalk. This is completely unexpected, as the early and regular rains this winter should have given the plants the deep growing roots that would enable them to withstand a month of dry weather; however heat waves are always a variable factor that can quickly alter any prediction.”

Last year there were few, if any, poppies appearing in the State National Reserve fields near the California Poppy Festival. Traditionally those flower fields have been a recommended attraction to see during the flower festival honoring California’s state flower. Enjoy the festival featuring food vendors, arts & crafts and live entertainment. Just don’t shrivel up when you see the poppies, or lack of them.