Quick answer: 30 native Maine plants have a recorded bloom range that includes August.
30 species
- American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum · 34 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum · 32 states
- Bog Labrador tea Ledum groenlandicum · 11 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 43 states
- Eastern teaberry Gaultheria procumbens · 23 states
- Fall obedient plant Physostegia virginiana · 37 states
- Fireweed Chamerion angustifolium · 37 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Great laurel Rhododendron maximum · 20 states
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia · 35 states
- Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus · 26 states
- New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae · 29 states
- New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus · 35 states
- Partridgeberry Mitchella repens · 31 states
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · 38 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 states
- Sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis · 26 states
- Showy tick trefoil Desmodium canadense · 29 states
- Shrubby St. John's-wort Hypericum prolificum · 33 states
- Shrubby five-fingers Sibbaldiopsis tridentata · 15 states
- Swamp rose Rosa palustris · 27 states
- Sweet Joe-Pye Eutrochium purpureum · 33 states
- Trumpet vine Campsis radicans · 33 states
- Virgin's bower Clematis virginiana · 27 states
- Virginia chain fern Woodwardia virginica · 24 states
- Winged sumac Rhus copallinum · 30 states
August in a Maine native garden
August is a quieter month in Maine: 30 of the state's 125 native plants flower in August, compared with 74 at the April peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
2 start blooming in August, including Jerusalem artichoke and New England aster. 9 finish in August, including American bellflower, Bog Labrador tea and Eastern teaberry, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
22 of them grow in full or partial sun and 16 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Black-eyed Susan and Butterflyweed to trees such as Great laurel and Trumpet vine. For wildlife, 23 support pollinators, 19 provide food or cover for birds and 9 are caterpillar host plants.
26 of the 30 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
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms May-Oct
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · Sun · blooms May-Sep