Quick answer: 22 native California plants have a recorded bloom range that includes October.
22 species
- Apache plume Fallugia paradoxa · 8 states
- Big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata · 14 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- California bay laurel Umbellularia californica · 3 states
- California buckwheat Eriogonum fasciculatum · 2 states
- California fuchsia Epilobium canum · 8 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Coast redwood Sequoia sempervirens · 1 states
- Common sunflower Helianthus annuus · 18 states
- Desert globemallow Sphaeralcea ambigua · 2 states
- Desert marigold Baileya multiradiata · 4 states
- Desert willow Chilopsis linearis · 5 states
- Great Valley gumweed Grindelia camporum · 2 states
- Jojoba Simmondsia chinensis · 2 states
- Pacific aster Symphyotrichum chilense · 3 states
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · 38 states
- Rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa · 17 states
- Rush milkweed Asclepias subulata · 3 states
- Scarlet gilia Ipomopsis aggregata · 13 states
- Scarlet monkeyflower Erythranthe cardinalis · 7 states
- Shrubby cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda · 23 states
- Wyoming Indian paintbrush Castilleja linariifolia · 9 states
October in a California native garden
October is a quieter month in California: 22 of the state's 131 native plants flower in October, compared with 105 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
14 finish in October, including Big sagebrush, Black-eyed Susan and California buckwheat, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
17 of them grow in full or partial sun and 6 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Black-eyed Susan and California fuchsia to trees such as California bay laurel and Coast redwood. For wildlife, 16 support pollinators, 7 provide food or cover for birds and 3 are caterpillar host plants.
11 of the 22 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Apache plume, Black-eyed Susan, Shrubby cinquefoil: common listings for these 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.
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms May-Oct
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Jun-Oct
- Rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa · Sun · blooms Aug-Oct