Quick answer: 31 native Idaho plants have a recorded bloom range that includes April.
31 species
- Alderleaf mountain mahogany Cercocarpus montanus · 15 states
- American plum Prunus americana · 37 states
- Antelope bitterbrush Purshia tridentata · 12 states
- Arrowleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata · 12 states
- Banana yucca Yucca baccata · 8 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia · 39 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Common juniper Juniperus communis · 39 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Creeping Oregon grape Mahonia repens · 15 states
- Creeping juniper Juniperus horizontalis · 12 states
- Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii · 12 states
- Feathery false Solomon's seal Maianthemum racemosum · 45 states
- Globe gilia Gilia capitata · 5 states
- Gray alder Alnus incana · 26 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 43 states
- Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides · 17 states
- Paper birch Betula papyrifera · 28 states
- Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha · 29 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra · 29 states
- Red-flowering currant Ribes sanguineum · 4 states
- Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia · 14 states
- Scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea · 12 states
- Seep monkeyflower Erythranthe guttata · 15 states
- Silver buffaloberry Shepherdia argentea · 17 states
- Tufted evening primrose Oenothera caespitosa · 15 states
- Upland larkspur Delphinium nuttallianum · 13 states
- Winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata · 12 states
April in an Idaho native garden
April is a quieter month in Idaho: 31 of the state's 79 native plants flower in April, compared with 59 at the June peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
21 start blooming in April, including Alderleaf mountain mahogany, American plum and Antelope bitterbrush.
29 of them grow in full or partial sun and 9 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Arrowleaf balsamroot and Common yarrow to trees such as Alderleaf mountain mahogany and American plum. For wildlife, 18 support pollinators, 20 provide food or cover for birds and 6 are caterpillar host plants.
23 of the 31 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
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Apr-Jun
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Mar-Jun