Arizona in bloom

Arizona bloom calendar

Darker = more flowering sightings that month. Based on iNaturalist research-grade observations in Arizona marked “Flowering,” as of October 17–23, 2026. Garden flowers have few records because research-grade data leaves out planted ones.

Families on this list

The plant families with the most flowers on this list, from iNaturalist taxonomy. Within each family, the most-observed flowers come first.

• Asteraceae (21): Common yarrow, Brittlebush, Common sunflower, Purple coneflower, Cowpen daisy, Stinknet, Blackfoot daisy, Emory's rockdaisy and 13 more
• Rosaceae (13): Roses (genus Rosa), Apache plume, Woods' rose, Stansbury's cliffrose, Fernbush, Flowering quince, New Mexico raspberry, European pear and 5 more
• Cactaceae (13): California barrel cactus, Fishhook barrel cactus, Buckhorn cholla, Teddybear cholla, Spinystar, Graham's nipple cactus, Chain-fruit cholla, Brown-spined pricklypear and 5 more
• Fabaceae (11): Mexican palo verde, Catclaw acacia, Desert ironwood, Little-leaved palo verde, Coulter's lupine, Blue palo verde, Velvet mesquite, Coues' senna and 3 more
• Asparagaceae (9): Blue dicks, Soaptree yucca, Banana yucca, Eastern Joshua tree, Wheeler sotol, Palmer's agave, Parry's agave, Sacahuista and 1 more
• Lamiaceae (5): White horehound, Chia, Desert lavender, Bluebeard, Russian sage
• Solanaceae (5): Silverleaf nightshade, Sacred datura, Tree tobacco, Desert tobacco, Desert thorn-apple
• Malvaceae (4): Apricot globemallow, Cheeseweed mallow, Desert cotton, Tropical hibiscus
• Plantaginaceae (3): Snapdragon vine, Beardlip penstemon, Parry's beardtongue
• Nyctaginaceae (3): Trailing windmills, Scarlet spiderling, Bougainvillea

Shortlists by growing conditions

Flowers on this list whose USDA PLANTS characteristics data gives the rating shown. USDA only rates some species, so these lists are not complete.

• High drought tolerance (18): Brittlebush, Fishhook barrel cactus, Soaptree yucca, Common snowberry, Apricot globemallow, Banana yucca, Catclaw acacia, Apache plume, Desert willow, Desert ironwood, Wheeler sotol, Littleleaf rhatany and 6 more
• High moisture use (suits wet spots) (1): Southern magnolia
• Rapid growth rate (12): Brittlebush, Common sunflower, Apricot globemallow, Cowpen daisy, Northern catalpa, Apache plume, Desert willow, Snapdragon vine, Woods' rose, Western redbud, European pear, Bigleaf hydrangea

How we picked these flowers

We started from iNaturalist's research-grade sightings in Arizona, most-observed first, left out grasses, sedges, trees and other plants with tiny or wind-pollinated flowers (plus poison ivy), kept at most three species per genus, and added Arizona's official flowers, plus flowering shrubs and trees with at least 3 garden or 10 wild iNaturalist records in Arizona and popular garden flowers that iNaturalist users record growing in Arizona. Every flower needs a CC0 or CC BY photo.

Rare plant list: Arizona Native Plant Law protected plants (Ariz. Admin. Code R3-3 Art. 11, App. A, eff. Feb. 2, 2025)
Invasive plant list: Arizona prohibited noxious weeds (Ariz. Admin. Code R3-4-245)