Where Did All The Daisies Go?

Visitors were left disappointed as this year’s Daisy bloom did not materialize. But because of recent heavy rains, there might be some late-bloomers. 

September in the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area is the time to go crazy for daisies. Usually. In 2024, however, the bright yellow Porter’s sunflower or daisy (Helianthus porteri) is seemingly absent, especially compared to last year’s super-bloom-like event. Growing on roadsides, rocky outcrops, and Arabia and Panola Mountains, themselves, the daisies are an endemic species of the Southeast and usually have no trouble populating almost any crevice of the Heritage Area (rock outcrop, in fact, being their preferred habitat). But not this year. Many visitors began voicing confusion and concern: What happened to the daisies?

“The key words are: sustained heat,” said Robby Astrove, Manager of the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve (DAMNP). According to Astrove, this is the first time in 13 years that there’s been a dearth of tall golden daisies at Arabia. “We’ve had researchers from Georgia Tech here all year,” said Astrove. “They sent me an update this past June that our max surface temperature on the outcrop was 140 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s insane, that’s like Death Valley!”

While that number alone is impressive (and scary), sustained heat and prolonged drought over the summer and early fall are the likely culprits that killed off an estimated 96 percent of this year’s Porter’s daisy population at DAMNP. Although the daisies are known to be drought tolerant, they can withstand only so much. Overheating and a lack of precipitation can adversely affect them and many other plants. Deciduous (leaf-dropping) trees, for example, may shed their leaves early due to heat and drought before their foliage changes colors to the vibrant oranges, yellows and reds that define fall.

Since this is the first time in more than a dozen years that a daisy bloom hasn’t occurred at Arabia, one has to ask: Is climate change to blame? Astrove seems to think so. “The ten hottest years on record were all in the last decade,” he says. “And there have been more wildfires, warmer summers, more intense storms—it’s all the narrative of climate change. And we’re going to see more challenges and pressures, unfortunately.”

The climate as a concept is very complex. Effects of climate change appear gradually, stretch broadly and manifest in surprising ways that we don’t yet fully understand. The flora and fauna can also respond in surprising ways that we don’t expect. Because of the recent hellish deluge from Hurricane Helene, DAMNP Rangers say there might be a delayed bloom event in a week or two, but nothing compared to previous years.

There is hope for a future in the “seed bank” buried in the soils and many cracks and crags at Arabia Mountain. “I think the mountain has seen everything,” says Astrove. The daisies might have died off this year, but Astrove recently noted a hopeful sign: early germination of the mountain’s other signature blossoming plant: elf orpine or Sedum smalli (formerly Diamorpha smallii). “The mountain’s seen freezing cold and ice, and it’s seen fire and heat, and lots of flowers and no flowers so, we’re seeing its range. This wasn’t the year for the daisy bloom. We’ll see what happens next year.”