Quick answer: 79 native California plants have a recorded bloom range that includes April.
79 species
- Alderleaf mountain mahogany Cercocarpus montanus · 15 states
- Antelope bitterbrush Purshia tridentata · 12 states
- Arrowleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata · 12 states
- Arroyo lupine Lupinus succulentus · 2 states
- Baby blue eyes Nemophila menziesii · 3 states
- Banana yucca Yucca baccata · 8 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Bigleaf maple Acer macrophyllum · 3 states
- Black sage Salvia mellifera · 1 states
- Blue palo verde Parkinsonia florida · 3 states
- Blueblossom Ceanothus thyrsiflorus · 1 states
- Brittlebush Encelia farinosa · 4 states
- California bay laurel Umbellularia californica · 3 states
- California coffeeberry Rhamnus californica · 1 states
- California flannelbush Fremontodendron californicum · 3 states
- California poppy Eschscholzia californica · 6 states
- Chaparral yucca Hesperoyucca whipplei · 2 states
- Checker lily Fritillaria affinis · 3 states
- Chinese houses Collinsia heterophylla · 1 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Coast live oak Quercus agrifolia · 1 states
- Colorado four o'clock Mirabilis multiflora · 7 states
- Common camas Camassia quamash · 3 states
- Common juniper Juniperus communis · 39 states
- Common manzanita Arctostaphylos manzanita · 1 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Creeping Oregon grape Mahonia repens · 15 states
- Creosote bush Larrea tridentata · 6 states
- Desert bluebells Phacelia campanularia · 2 states
- Desert globemallow Sphaeralcea ambigua · 2 states
- Desert marigold Baileya multiradiata · 4 states
- Desert sand verbena Abronia villosa · 4 states
- Desert willow Chilopsis linearis · 5 states
- Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii · 12 states
- Douglas iris Iris douglasiana · 3 states
- Elegant clarkia Clarkia unguiculata · 1 states
- Feathery false Solomon's seal Maianthemum racemosum · 45 states
- Foothill penstemon Penstemon heterophyllus · 1 states
- Fremont cottonwood Populus fremontii · 7 states
- Globe gilia Gilia capitata · 5 states
- Golden currant Ribes aureum · 3 states
- Greenleaf manzanita Arctostaphylos patula · 9 states
- Henderson's shooting star Dodecatheon hendersonii · 3 states
- Honey mesquite Prosopis glandulosa · 4 states
- Hummingbird sage Salvia spathacea · 1 states
- Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides · 17 states
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · 37 states
- Jojoba Simmondsia chinensis · 2 states
- Joshua tree Yucca brevifolia · 3 states
- Lacy phacelia Phacelia tanacetifolia · 3 states
- Miniature lupine Lupinus bicolor · 4 states
- Oregon white oak Quercus garryana · 3 states
- Pacific madrone Arbutus menziesii · 3 states
- Pacific trillium Trillium ovatum · 3 states
- Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha · 29 states
- Purple needlegrass Stipa pulchra · 1 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red-flowering currant Ribes sanguineum · 4 states
- Rush milkweed Asclepias subulata · 3 states
- Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia · 14 states
- Scarlet monkeyflower Erythranthe cardinalis · 7 states
- Seaside daisy Erigeron glaucus · 2 states
- Seep monkeyflower Erythranthe guttata · 15 states
- Silver buffaloberry Shepherdia argentea · 17 states
- Silver lupine Lupinus albifrons · 1 states
- Sticky monkeyflower Mimulus aurantiacus · 2 states
- Tall Oregon grape Mahonia aquifolium · 3 states
- Tidy tips Layia platyglossa · 3 states
- Toyon Heteromeles arbutifolia · 1 states
- Tufted evening primrose Oenothera caespitosa · 15 states
- Upland larkspur Delphinium nuttallianum · 13 states
- Valley oak Quercus lobata · 1 states
- Velvet mesquite Prosopis velutina · 3 states
- Vine maple Acer circinatum · 3 states
- Western azalea Rhododendron occidentale · 3 states
- Western blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium bellum · 2 states
- Western redbud Cercis occidentalis · 4 states
- White sage Salvia apiana · 1 states
- Winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata · 12 states
April in a California native garden
April is one of California's busiest bloom months, with 79 of the state's 131 native plants flowering (the peak is May).
35 start blooming in April, including Alderleaf mountain mahogany, Antelope bitterbrush and Arrowleaf balsamroot. 3 finish in April, including Common manzanita, Fremont cottonwood and Western redbud, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
64 of them grow in full or partial sun and 17 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Arrowleaf balsamroot and Arroyo lupine to trees such as Alderleaf mountain mahogany and Bearberry. For wildlife, 54 support pollinators, 32 provide food or cover for birds and 7 are caterpillar host plants.
45 of the 79 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Common yarrow: 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.
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Apr-Jul
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Mar-Jun
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Apr-Jun