Quick answer: 75 native Colorado plants have a recorded bloom range that includes June.
75 species
- American plum Prunus americana · 37 states
- Antelope bitterbrush Purshia tridentata · 12 states
- Apache plume Fallugia paradoxa · 8 states
- Arrowleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata · 12 states
- Aspen fleabane Erigeron speciosus · 7 states
- Banana yucca Yucca baccata · 8 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blackfoot daisy Melampodium leucanthum · 6 states
- Bluebunch wheatgrass Pseudoroegneria spicata · 16 states
- Broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia · 39 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Canada anemone Anemone canadensis · 29 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Chocolate flower Berlandiera lyrata · 6 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Colorado blue columbine Aquilegia coerulea · 9 states
- Colorado four o'clock Mirabilis multiflora · 7 states
- Common elderberry Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis · 36 states
- Common ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius · 30 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Creeping Oregon grape Mahonia repens · 15 states
- Fireweed Chamerion angustifolium · 37 states
- Giant red paintbrush Castilleja miniata · 13 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 43 states
- Greenleaf manzanita Arctostaphylos patula · 9 states
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia · 35 states
- Highbush cranberry Viburnum opulus var. americanum · 22 states
- Hooker's evening primrose Oenothera elata · 14 states
- Idaho fescue Festuca idahoensis · 12 states
- Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella · 17 states
- Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides · 17 states
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · 37 states
- Lewis flax (blue flax) Linum lewisii · 17 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Littleflower penstemon Penstemon procerus · 11 states
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- Mule's ears Wyethia amplexicaulis · 8 states
- Munro's globemallow Sphaeralcea munroana · 9 states
- Nettleleaf giant hyssop Agastache urticifolia · 9 states
- Oceanspray Holodiscus discolor · 9 states
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · 38 states
- Ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa · 16 states
- Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha · 29 states
- Purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea · 18 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra · 29 states
- Red-osier dogwood Cornus sericea · 36 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 26 states
- Rocky Mountain iris Iris missouriensis · 11 states
- Rocky Mountain penstemon Penstemon strictus · 5 states
- Rocky Mountain zinnia Zinnia grandiflora · 6 states
- Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia · 14 states
- Scarlet bugler Penstemon barbatus · 2 states
- Scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea · 12 states
- Seep monkeyflower Erythranthe guttata · 15 states
- Showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa · 17 states
- Shrubby cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda · 23 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 38 states
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · 42 states
- Snowbrush ceanothus Ceanothus velutinus · 10 states
- Spotted beebalm Monarda punctata · 29 states
- Sulphur-flower buckwheat Eriogonum umbellatum · 10 states
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 37 states
- Tufted evening primrose Oenothera caespitosa · 15 states
- Upland larkspur Delphinium nuttallianum · 13 states
- Utah serviceberry Amelanchier utahensis · 5 states
- Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia · 40 states
- Western yarrow Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis · 18 states
- Winecup Callirhoe involucrata · 16 states
- Winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata · 12 states
- Woolly paperflower Psilostrophe tagetina · 7 states
- Wyoming Indian paintbrush Castilleja linariifolia · 9 states
June in a Colorado native garden
June is Colorado's peak bloom month: 75 of the state's 100 native plants in this directory flower in June, more than in any other month.
18 start blooming in June, including Aspen fleabane, Black-eyed Susan and Colorado blue columbine. 24 finish in June, including American plum, Antelope bitterbrush and Bearberry, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
64 of them grow in full or partial sun and 22 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Arrowleaf balsamroot and Aspen fleabane to trees such as American plum and Bearberry. For wildlife, 60 support pollinators, 40 provide food or cover for birds and 20 are caterpillar host plants.
51 of the 75 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.
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Apr-Jul
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Apr-Jun
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Jun-Dec