Quick answer: 23 native Alaska plants have a recorded bloom range that includes May.
23 species
- Balsam poplar Populus balsamifera · 8 states
- Beach strawberry Fragaria chiloensis · 1 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Bluebunch wheatgrass Pseudoroegneria spicata · 16 states
- Bog Labrador tea Ledum groenlandicum · 11 states
- Bog laurel Kalmia polifolia · 13 states
- Broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia · 39 states
- Bunchberry Cornus canadensis · 18 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Engelmann spruce Picea engelmannii · 1 states
- Marsh marigold Caltha palustris · 28 states
- Nootka rose Rosa nutkana · 1 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium · 1 states
- Red-osier dogwood Cornus sericea · 36 states
- Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis · 1 states
- Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia · 14 states
- Seep monkeyflower Erythranthe guttata · 15 states
- Sitka spruce Picea sitchensis · 1 states
- Water birch Betula occidentalis · 1 states
- Western columbine Aquilegia formosa · 1 states
- Western yarrow Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis · 18 states
- Winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata · 12 states
May in an Alaska native garden
May is one of Alaska's busiest bloom months, with 23 of the state's 40 native plants flowering (the peak is June).
9 start blooming in May, including Bluebunch wheatgrass, Bog Labrador tea and Bog laurel. 5 finish in May, including Balsam poplar, Engelmann spruce and Marsh marigold, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
21 of them grow in full or partial sun and 13 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Bluebunch wheatgrass and Bog laurel to trees such as Balsam poplar and Bearberry. For wildlife, 14 support pollinators, 15 provide food or cover for birds and 7 are caterpillar host plants.
13 of the 23 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Engelmann spruce: common listings for it are often a bred variety or a different species.
Good places to start
Verified wild-species listings that take sun and are widely native, so they are forgiving first plants.
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Mar-Jun
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Mar-Jun
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Mar-Jun