Quick answer: 92 native Kansas plants have a recorded bloom range that includes April.
92 species
- Alderleaf mountain mahogany Cercocarpus montanus · 15 states
- American basswood Tilia americana · 37 states
- American bladdernut Staphylea trifolia · 28 states
- American elm Ulmus americana · 31 states
- American hazelnut Corylus americana · 34 states
- American plum Prunus americana · 37 states
- American sycamore Platanus occidentalis · 28 states
- Birdfoot violet Viola pedata · 34 states
- Bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis · 28 states
- Black cherry Prunus serotina · 35 states
- Black oak Quercus velutina · 30 states
- Black tupelo Nyssa sylvatica · 31 states
- Black walnut Juglans nigra · 33 states
- Blackfoot daisy Melampodium leucanthum · 6 states
- Blackhaw Viburnum prunifolium · 12 states
- Blackjack oak Quercus marilandica · 24 states
- Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis · 34 states
- Blue wild indigo Baptisia australis · 23 states
- Broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia · 39 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Bur oak Quercus macrocarpa · 33 states
- Canada anemone Anemone canadensis · 29 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Chinkapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii · 30 states
- Chocolate flower Berlandiera lyrata · 6 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Clasping coneflower Dracopis amplexicaulis · 7 states
- Common blue violet Viola sororia · 37 states
- Common hackberry Celtis occidentalis · 33 states
- Common hoptree Ptelea trifoliata · 28 states
- Common persimmon Diospyros virginiana · 26 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus · 30 states
- Downy serviceberry Amelanchier arborea · 37 states
- Dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria · 32 states
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · 42 states
- Eastern hop-hornbeam Ostrya virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea · 24 states
- Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern red columbine Aquilegia canadensis · 36 states
- Eastern redbud Cercis canadensis · 32 states
- Farkleberry Vaccinium arboreum · 16 states
- Feathery false Solomon's seal Maianthemum racemosum · 45 states
- Fire pink Silene virginica · 26 states
- Flowering dogwood Cornus florida · 31 states
- Fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica · 30 states
- Golden alexanders Zizia aurea · 35 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 43 states
- Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides · 17 states
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · 37 states
- Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum · 35 states
- Jacob's ladder Polemonium reptans · 31 states
- Lanceleaf coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata · 35 states
- Longbract wild indigo (cream false indigo) Baptisia bracteata var. leucophaea · 19 states
- Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum · 35 states
- Maypop passionflower Passiflora incarnata · 21 states
- Mexican plum Prunus mexicana · 10 states
- New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus · 35 states
- Northern red oak Quercus rubra · 33 states
- Northern spicebush Lindera benzoin · 31 states
- Ohio buckeye Aesculus glabra · 20 states
- Pawpaw Asimina triloba · 29 states
- Pignut hickory Carya glabra · 31 states
- Pin oak Quercus palustris · 27 states
- Possumhaw Ilex decidua · 17 states
- Post oak Quercus stellata · 28 states
- Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha · 29 states
- Purple meadow-rue Thalictrum dasycarpum · 17 states
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra · 29 states
- Richardson's alumroot Heuchera richardsonii · 11 states
- Roughleaf dogwood Cornus drummondii · 11 states
- Rusty blackhaw viburnum Viburnum rufidulum · 18 states
- Shagbark hickory Carya ovata · 34 states
- Shumard oak Quercus shumardii · 22 states
- Silver buffaloberry Shepherdia argentea · 17 states
- Silver maple Acer saccharinum · 37 states
- Slippery elm Ulmus rubra · 30 states
- Smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum · 34 states
- Spotted beebalm Monarda punctata · 29 states
- Sugar maple Acer saccharum · 34 states
- Swamp white oak Quercus bicolor · 23 states
- Three-flower melic grass Melica nitens · 17 states
- Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana · 30 states
- White ash Fraxinus americana · 35 states
- White baneberry Actaea pachypoda · 33 states
- White oak Quercus alba · 33 states
- White wild indigo Baptisia alba · 23 states
- Wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata · 36 states
- Wild geranium Geranium maculatum · 33 states
- Wild hyacinth (Atlantic camas) Camassia scilloides · 20 states
- Winecup Callirhoe involucrata · 16 states
- Woolly paperflower Psilostrophe tagetina · 7 states
April in a Kansas native garden
April is one of Kansas's busiest bloom months, with 92 of the state's 183 native plants flowering (the peak is May).
45 start blooming in April, including Alderleaf mountain mahogany, American basswood and American bladdernut. 7 finish in April, including American elm, American sycamore and Bloodroot, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
65 of them grow in full or partial sun and 57 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Birdfoot violet and Bloodroot to trees such as Alderleaf mountain mahogany and American basswood. For wildlife, 72 support pollinators, 58 provide food or cover for birds and 36 are caterpillar host plants.
76 of the 92 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Common yarrow, Eastern hop-hornbeam, Wild blue phlox: 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
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Feb-Apr