February is when the Sonoran Desert tips toward spring — the first poppies and lupines open on warm slopes, the cranes still crowd Whitewater Draw, and the citrus harvest holds. In a wet year, the desert floor is already greening toward a full March bloom.
Week by week in February
January 29 – February 4
- Returning Lucy's Warblers begin to sing in the mesquite bosques of southern Arizona, an early sign of spring.
- The first Mexican gold poppies and brittlebush open on warm south-facing low-desert slopes.
- Start tomato and pepper seeds, and prepare for mid-February transplanting to beat the desert heat.
- The desert citrus season holds strong with grapefruit, tangerines, and fragrant lemons.
February 5–11
- After a wet winter, the desert floor at Picacho Peak greens fast as the spring bloom visibly builds toward March.
- The sandhill cranes still throng Whitewater Draw before their northward drift begins later in the month.
- The first northbound Painted Ladies begin to trickle north out of the Sonoran lowlands.
- Ocotillo leafs out within days of winter rain, briefly clothing its long gray canes in green.
February 12–18
- Set out tomato and pepper transplants now in Phoenix and Tucson to beat the heat, weeks ahead of the rest of the country.
- Costa's Hummingbirds begin their whistling courtship dives over the saguaro flats and desert gardens.
- Fairyduster studs the rocky desert slopes with pink powder-puff flowers in the warming south.
- Early green garlic, spring onions, and tender spring greens join the citrus at the stalls.
February 19–25
- Mexican gold poppies open in growing patches on the low-desert bajadas as the Sonoran spring accelerates.
- Turkey Vultures drift back north and the first Bell's Vireos arrive in the desert washes.
- Direct-sow beans, corn, squash, and melons late in the month in the warmest low-desert gardens.
- Along the desert rivers, Fremont cottonwoods and Goodding's willows push their first catkins and green.
Birds This Month
February keeps Arizona's winter birding strong while the first hints of spring stir. The sandhill cranes still throng Whitewater Draw through much of the month before they begin their northward drift, and the agricultural valleys of the southeast hold their full winter complement of Ferruginous Hawks, Northern Harriers, sparrows, and longspurs. Around Phoenix and Tucson, the desert residents grow vocal as days lengthen: the Cactus Wren sings more insistently, Curve-billed Thrashers are already nest-building in the cholla, and Gambel's Quail coveys begin to pair off.
This is prime time for the desert's glamour birds. The Vermilion Flycatcher is in fiery display over riparian parks and golf-course ponds, Anna's Hummingbirds dive and chirp over gardens, and Costa's Hummingbirds begin their whistling courtship in the saguaro flats. Along the lower Colorado and Salt rivers, wintering ducks, Yuma Ridgway's Rails in the marshes, and the occasional rarity reward a careful look.
The first migrants are arriving at the edges. Early Turkey Vultures drift back north, Lucy's Warblers — the desert's tiny mesquite warbler — appear in the south by late February, and Bell's Vireos are not far behind. At the southeastern feeders, wintering hummingbirds linger and the first migrant hummers begin to trickle in.
This month's tip: catch the cranes at Whitewater Draw before they leave, then bird the warming desert washes of Saguaro National Park or Catalina State Park, where resident birds are coming into full song.
What's Blooming
February is the overture to the Sonoran spring. On warm south-facing slopes in the low desert, the first Mexican gold poppies open, scattered at first and then in growing patches, joined by early desert lupine, brittlebush in full yellow flush, and desert chicory. After a wet winter, the desert floor at Picacho Peak, the Peridot Mesa, and the Sonoran bajadas is greening fast and the bloom is visibly building toward its March peak. Fairyduster studs the rocky slopes with pink powder-puffs and chuparosa keeps feeding the hummingbirds along the washes.
The desert shrubs and cacti join in. Creosote bush flushes with small yellow flowers after rain, desert lavender hums with bees, and the first ocotillo leaf out and tip their canes toward bloom. In gardens and along roadsides, globe mallow opens its apricot cups and desert marigold spreads gold.
Where to look: the warm low-desert slopes south and west of Phoenix and around Tucson lead the bloom. Drive Picacho Peak, the Apache Trail, or the bajadas of Saguaro National Park, and check the density of poppy rosettes — a green carpet now means a spectacular March.
Garden This Month
February is the great pivot of the low-desert garden — the last full month of cool-season harvest and the opening of the warm season. Keep picking lettuce, spinach, broccoli, peas, carrots, and greens, but the clock is now ticking: the desert's planting window for tomatoes and peppers opens in mid-to-late February, weeks ahead of the rest of the country, because everything must mature before the searing heat arrives in May. Set out tomato and pepper transplants on a frost-free site, and direct-sow beans, corn, squash, melons, cucumbers, and okra late in the month in the warmest gardens.
This is also the final stretch for bare-root and dormant tasks: get the last fruit trees, grapes, roses, and artichokes in the ground before they break dormancy, finish pruning deciduous fruit, and prune roses now in the low desert as they leaf out. Fertilize established citrus around Valentine's Day — the traditional first of three desert citrus feedings — and harvest the last grapefruit and oranges. Watch for a late frost on tender new transplants, keep beds mulched, and begin to lengthen watering intervals as the soil warms.
Zone 10a (Yuma, lower Colorado River): the warmest zone is already deep into spring planting — set out tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant and direct-sow warm-season crops, while the commercial winter-vegetable harvest finishes around you. Plant heat-tolerant varieties; the brutal heat is only weeks away.
Zone 6b (Flagstaff and the high country): still firmly dormant under snow — there is nothing to plant outdoors. Start onions, brassicas, and cool-season seedlings indoors under lights, prune dormant fruit on a dry day, and prepare beds for a season that won't truly begin until after the late-May frosts.
Zone 9b (Phoenix, Tucson, lower valleys): February is the pivot of the low-desert year — keep harvesting cool-season crops but start the warm season now. Set out tomato and pepper transplants in mid-to-late February to beat the heat, direct-sow beans, corn, squash, melons, and cucumbers late in the month, and finish bare-root planting of fruit trees and roses before they break dormancy.
What's at the Farmers Market
February markets still brim with the desert's winter bounty even as the first spring crops appear. Yuma lettuce and leafy greens, spinach, chard, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, and beets remain abundant and at their cold-sweetened best. The desert citrus season holds strong — Salt River Valley grapefruit, Arizona Sweet oranges, tangerines, and fragrant lemons — though it begins its slow taper as the month ends.
The first signs of spring reach the stalls. Look for early green garlic, bunched spring onions, the first tender spring greens and spinach, and crisp radishes and turnips. Choose greens with firm, unwilted leaves and store them dry and cold; pick citrus heavy for its size and keep it loose in the refrigerator.
For selection and storage: the desert's winter produce is at its peak quality now and worth stocking up on before the heat shortens the season. Trim root-vegetable tops before refrigerating, keep leafy greens dry, and use the last of the citrus while it is sweetest. By late February the markets begin their turn toward the brief, intense spring season.
Night Sky This Month
February's crisp, dry desert nights keep Arizona stargazing at its winter best, and the state's dark-sky landmarks are at their most accessible before the spring winds. Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff — the first International Dark Sky City — runs winter public programs, Kitt Peak National Observatory west of Tucson offers nightly observing, and the Grand Canyon, Oracle State Park, and the dark-sky communities of Sedona and the Verde Valley all deliver pristine horizons. The cold air holds little moisture, giving the steady, transparent skies astronomers prize.
The brilliant winter constellations still dominate the early evening. Orion rides high in the south with red Betelgeuse and blue Rigel, the great Winter Hexagon wheels around him, and Sirius blazes low and bright. As the night deepens, spring's herald Leo the Lion climbs in the east, its backward-question-mark Sickle marking the lion's mane, a sign that the season is turning.
February has no major meteor shower, but its long, clear, moonless stretches are ideal for deep-sky viewing — the Orion Nebula and the Pleiades are spectacular through binoculars. For this year's exact planet positions and the best dark nights, see the printable Arizona night-sky guide.
Butterflies & Pollinators
February stirs Arizona's butterflies awake as the desert warms. The Gulf Fritillary grows more active in Phoenix and Tucson gardens, and the first Painted Ladies may begin streaming north out of the Sonoran lowlands — in a wet desert spring this becomes a true migration, with thousands of orange butterflies pouring across the state in March. Queens reappear at the warming desert-broom and milkweed, and Pipevine Swallowtails begin to emerge in the canyon bottoms and riparian corridors of the south.
The small fast fliers are out on warm afternoons: Sleepy Orange, Dainty Sulphur, Southern Dogface, and the tiny Marine Blue and Western Pygmy-Blue work the desert flats and the new spring greens. The Checkered White and Sara Orangetip — an early spring specialist — fly along desert washes where their mustard-family host plants are sprouting.
To help them: the building desert wildflowers are the best gift — leave brittlebush, globe mallow, and desert chicory standing as nectar, and plant native milkweed and passionvine for the queens and fritillaries. As you start the warm-season garden, hold off on insecticides; the butterflies and their caterpillars are emerging in force now.
What to plant for them is in the Arizona native plants guide
Trees This Month
February brings the first stirrings to Arizona's desert trees. After winter rain, the ocotillo can leaf out within days, briefly clothing its long canes in small green leaves, and velvet mesquite and blue palo verde begin to swell their buds toward spring. The desert's evergreen oaks, jojoba, and creosote hold their leaves, and backyard citrus finishes its heavy crop. The giant saguaros stand unchanged, waiting for May, while the foothill palo verde photosynthesizes through green bark.
In the high country, winter still holds. The ponderosa pines, Douglas-firs, and white firs of the Mogollon Rim and the San Francisco Peaks remain deep in snow, and the quaking aspens and Gambel oaks are bare. Yet by month's end, in a warm spell, the lowest-elevation deciduous trees of the Verde Valley and the desert edge — Arizona ash, Fremont cottonwood, and Goodding's willow along the rivers — begin to push the first catkins and buds, the earliest green of the riparian year.
Weather & Daylight
Across Arizona, a typical February day averages a high near 59°F and a low near 33°F, with about 1.2 inches of precipitation — statewide averages from the 1991–2020 U.S. climate normals.
Still cool and dry, with afternoons stretching into the upper 50s and nights holding firm just above freezing.
| Average high | 59°F |
|---|---|
| Average low | 33°F |
| Precipitation | 1.2 in |
| Sunrise (mid-month) | 7:11 MT |
| Sunset (mid-month) | 18:10 MT |
Figures are statewide averages over the 1991–2020 U.S. climate normals; local conditions vary with elevation and distance from the coast. Sunrise and sunset are computed for a midstate point on the 15th (MT).
Next month's version of this page, by email
One short note when Arizona's next month turns — what's arriving, blooming, and worth a night outside.
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The complete Arizona birding, native-plant, and night-sky references — or the whole year, week by week, in one book.
Same month elsewhere: February in Arkansas · February in California · February in Colorado