Quick answer: 37 native Illinois plants have a recorded bloom range that includes October.
37 species
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 41 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis · 19 states
- Blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum · 32 states
- Brown-eyed Susan Rudbeckia triloba · 21 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Canadian burnet Sanguisorba canadensis · 20 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Closed bottle gentian Gentiana andrewsii · 23 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 43 states
- Dotted blazing star Liatris punctata · 17 states
- Fewleaf sunflower Helianthus occidentalis · 16 states
- Flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata · 29 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 37 states
- Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus · 26 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Maypop passionflower Passiflora incarnata · 21 states
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae · 29 states
- Orange coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida · 23 states
- Partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata · 30 states
- Partridgeberry Mitchella repens · 31 states
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · 38 states
- Prairie blazing star Liatris pycnostachya · 19 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 states
- Sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis · 26 states
- Shrubby cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda · 23 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 38 states
- Spotted beebalm Monarda punctata · 29 states
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 37 states
- Swamp sunflower Helianthus angustifolius · 21 states
- Switchgrass Panicum virgatum · 43 states
- White heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides var. ericoides · 26 states
- White snakeroot Ageratina altissima · 23 states
- Witch-hazel Hamamelis virginiana · 33 states
October in an Illinois native garden
October is a quieter month in Illinois: 37 of the state's 289 native plants flower in October, compared with 174 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
23 finish in October, including Black-eyed Susan, Blue grama and Brown-eyed Susan, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
29 of them grow in full or partial sun and 11 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Black-eyed Susan and Buffalograss to trees such as Maypop passionflower and Witch-hazel. For wildlife, 32 support pollinators, 24 provide food or cover for birds and 14 are caterpillar host plants.
34 of the 37 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Black-eyed Susan, Indiangrass, 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.
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Jul-Oct
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Jun-Dec
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Aug-Nov