Quick answer: 39 native California plants have a recorded bloom range that includes September.
39 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
- California poppy Eschscholzia californica · 6 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Coast redwood Sequoia sempervirens · 1 states
- Colorado four o'clock Mirabilis multiflora · 7 states
- Common selfheal Prunella vulgaris · 25 states
- Common sunflower Helianthus annuus · 18 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Creosote bush Larrea tridentata · 6 states
- Deergrass Muhlenbergia rigens · 5 states
- Desert globemallow Sphaeralcea ambigua · 2 states
- Desert marigold Baileya multiradiata · 4 states
- Desert willow Chilopsis linearis · 5 states
- Fireweed Chamerion angustifolium · 37 states
- Giant red paintbrush Castilleja miniata · 13 states
- Great Valley gumweed Grindelia camporum · 2 states
- Honey mesquite Prosopis glandulosa · 4 states
- Hooker's evening primrose Oenothera elata · 14 states
- Jojoba Simmondsia chinensis · 2 states
- Narrowleaf milkweed Asclepias fascicularis · 6 states
- Nettleleaf giant hyssop Agastache urticifolia · 9 states
- Pacific aster Symphyotrichum chilense · 3 states
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · 38 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 26 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
- Seep monkeyflower Erythranthe guttata · 15 states
- Shrubby cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda · 23 states
- Sulphur-flower buckwheat Eriogonum umbellatum · 10 states
- Toyon Heteromeles arbutifolia · 1 states
- Western yarrow Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis · 18 states
- Wyoming Indian paintbrush Castilleja linariifolia · 9 states
September in a California native garden
September is a quieter month in California: 39 of the state's 131 native plants flower in September, compared with 105 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
Coast redwood starts blooming in September. 17 finish in September, including California poppy, Colorado four o'clock and Common selfheal, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
33 of them grow in full or partial sun and 8 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, 29 support pollinators, 14 provide food or cover for birds and 7 are caterpillar host plants.
20 of the 39 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Apache plume, Black-eyed Susan, Common yarrow: 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
- Fireweed Chamerion angustifolium · Sun · blooms Jun-Sep