Quick answer: 30 native Kansas plants have a recorded bloom range that includes October.
30 species
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 41 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blackfoot daisy Melampodium leucanthum · 6 states
- Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis · 19 states
- Blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum · 32 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Chocolate flower Berlandiera lyrata · 6 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Common sunflower Helianthus annuus · 18 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
- Maypop passionflower Passiflora incarnata · 21 states
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- Partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata · 30 states
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · 38 states
- Prairie blazing star Liatris pycnostachya · 19 states
- Prairie goldenrod Solidago nemoralis · 7 states
- Rocky Mountain zinnia Zinnia grandiflora · 6 states
- Rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa · 17 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
- Woolly paperflower Psilostrophe tagetina · 7 states
October in a Kansas native garden
October is a quieter month in Kansas: 30 of the state's 183 native plants flower in October, compared with 113 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.
30 of them grow in full or partial sun and 5 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. For wildlife, 30 support pollinators, 18 provide food or cover for birds and 13 are caterpillar host plants.
25 of the 30 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Black-eyed Susan, Indiangrass, Switchgrass: 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