Quick answer: 45 native Kansas plants have a recorded bloom range that includes March.
45 species
- American elm Ulmus americana · 31 states
- American sycamore Platanus occidentalis · 28 states
- Birdfoot violet Viola pedata · 34 states
- Black cherry Prunus serotina · 35 states
- Black oak Quercus velutina · 30 states
- Blackfoot daisy Melampodium leucanthum · 6 states
- Blackjack oak Quercus marilandica · 24 states
- Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis · 34 states
- Bur oak Quercus macrocarpa · 33 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Chinkapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii · 30 states
- Common blue violet Viola sororia · 37 states
- Common hoptree Ptelea trifoliata · 28 states
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · 42 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
- Flowering dogwood Cornus florida · 31 states
- Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum · 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
- Pin oak Quercus palustris · 27 states
- Possumhaw Ilex decidua · 17 states
- Post oak Quercus stellata · 28 states
- Purple meadow-rue Thalictrum dasycarpum · 17 states
- River birch Betula nigra · 28 states
- Shagbark hickory Carya ovata · 34 states
- Shumard oak Quercus shumardii · 22 states
- Silver maple Acer saccharinum · 37 states
- Slippery elm Ulmus rubra · 30 states
- Smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum · 34 states
- Swamp white oak Quercus bicolor · 23 states
- Three-flower melic grass Melica nitens · 17 states
- White oak Quercus alba · 33 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
March in a Kansas native garden
March is a quieter month in Kansas: 45 of the state's 183 native plants flower in March, compared with 113 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
38 start blooming in March, including American sycamore, Birdfoot violet and Black cherry. 1 finishes in March, including River birch, so this is the last chance to see it in flower.
29 of them grow in full or partial sun and 30 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 American elm and American sycamore. For wildlife, 34 support pollinators, 32 provide food or cover for birds and 24 are caterpillar host plants.
38 of the 45 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Wild blue phlox: 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.
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Feb-Apr
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Mar-Jun
- Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Mar-May