Quick answer: 73 native Iowa plants have a recorded bloom range that includes August.
73 species
- American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum · 34 states
- Arctic brome (Kalm's brome) Bromus kalmii · 15 states
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 41 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis · 19 states
- Blue vervain Verbena hastata · 34 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Bunchberry Cornus canadensis · 18 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Closed bottle gentian Gentiana andrewsii · 23 states
- Common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis · 29 states
- Common evening primrose Oenothera biennis · 30 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Compass plant Silphium laciniatum · 20 states
- Culver's root Veronicastrum virginicum · 32 states
- Cup plant Silphium perfoliatum · 27 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 43 states
- Dotted blazing star Liatris punctata · 17 states
- Eastern purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea · 24 states
- Fall obedient plant Physostegia virginiana · 37 states
- Fireweed Chamerion angustifolium · 37 states
- Flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata · 29 states
- Golden alexanders Zizia aurea · 35 states
- Grayhead coneflower Ratibida pinnata · 26 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia · 35 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 37 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- Michigan lily Lilium michiganense · 16 states
- New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae · 29 states
- New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus · 35 states
- Northern bush honeysuckle Diervilla lonicera · 18 states
- Ontario blazing star Liatris cylindracea · 8 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
- Prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis · 19 states
- Prairie goldenrod Solidago nemoralis · 7 states
- Prairie ironweed Vernonia fasciculata · 14 states
- Prairie rosinweed (prairie dock) Silphium terebinthinaceum · 4 states
- Prairie tickseed Coreopsis palmata · 10 states
- Purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea · 18 states
- Rattlesnake master Eryngium yuccifolium · 20 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 26 states
- Roundhead lespedeza Lespedeza capitata · 30 states
- Scaly blazing star Liatris squarrosa · 22 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 states
- Showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa · 28 states
- Showy tick trefoil Desmodium canadense · 29 states
- Shrubby St. John's-wort Hypericum prolificum · 33 states
- Shrubby cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda · 23 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 38 states
- Smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides · 30 states
- Smooth rose Rosa blanda · 17 states
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · 42 states
- Spotted beebalm Monarda punctata · 29 states
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 37 states
- Sweet Joe-Pye Eutrochium purpureum · 33 states
- Sweet coneflower Rudbeckia subtomentosa · 11 states
- Switchgrass Panicum virgatum · 43 states
- Tall blazing star Liatris aspera · 26 states
- Trumpet vine Campsis radicans · 33 states
- Virginia mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum · 27 states
- White meadowsweet Spiraea alba · 22 states
- White snakeroot Ageratina altissima · 23 states
- White turtlehead Chelone glabra · 22 states
- Wholeleaf rosinweed Silphium integrifolium · 16 states
- Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata · 30 states
- Wood lily Lilium philadelphicum · 28 states
August in an Iowa native garden
August is a quieter month in Iowa: 73 of the state's 196 native plants flower in August, compared with 116 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
10 start blooming in August, including Big bluestem, Closed bottle gentian and Dotted blazing star. 14 finish in August, including American bellflower, Arctic brome (Kalm's brome) and Golden alexanders, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
61 of them grow in full or partial sun and 28 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 Smooth sumac and Trumpet vine. For wildlife, 68 support pollinators, 42 provide food or cover for birds and 25 are caterpillar host plants.
64 of the 73 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Black-eyed Susan, Common yarrow, Harebell: 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
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms May-Aug