Quick answer: 29 native Iowa plants have a recorded bloom range that includes October.
29 species
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 41 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis · 19 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 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
- Flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata · 29 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 37 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae · 29 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 goldenrod Solidago nemoralis · 7 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 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
- 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 Iowa native garden
October is a quieter month in Iowa: 29 of the state's 196 native plants flower in October, compared with 116 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
20 finish in October, including Black-eyed Susan, Blue grama and Cardinal flower, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
24 of them grow in full or partial sun and 10 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 Witch-hazel. For wildlife, 26 support pollinators, 19 provide food or cover for birds and 13 are caterpillar host plants.
28 of the 29 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