Quick answer: 74 native Maine plants have a recorded bloom range that includes May.
74 species
- American basswood Tilia americana · 37 states
- American beech Fagus grandifolia · 31 states
- American hazelnut Corylus americana · 34 states
- American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana · 33 states
- American mountain ash Sorbus americana · 18 states
- Atlantic white cedar Chamaecyparis thyoides · 17 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Birdfoot violet Viola pedata · 34 states
- Black cherry Prunus serotina · 35 states
- Black huckleberry Gaylussacia baccata · 25 states
- Black oak Quercus velutina · 30 states
- Black tupelo Nyssa sylvatica · 31 states
- Bog Labrador tea Ledum groenlandicum · 11 states
- Bog laurel Kalmia polifolia · 13 states
- Bur oak Quercus macrocarpa · 33 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Butternut Juglans cinerea · 26 states
- Canada anemone Anemone canadensis · 29 states
- Canada plum Prunus nigra · 3 states
- Canada yew Taxus canadensis · 18 states
- Canadian serviceberry Amelanchier canadensis · 21 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Carolina springbeauty Claytonia caroliniana · 20 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Cinnamon fern Osmunda cinnamomea · 32 states
- Common blue violet Viola sororia · 37 states
- Common winterberry Ilex verticillata · 32 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Creeping phlox Phlox subulata · 23 states
- Creeping snowberry Gaultheria hispidula · 12 states
- Downy serviceberry Amelanchier arborea · 37 states
- Eastern hop-hornbeam Ostrya virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern red columbine Aquilegia canadensis · 36 states
- Eastern white pine Pinus strobus · 28 states
- Flowering dogwood Cornus florida · 31 states
- Foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis · 35 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 43 states
- Hobblebush Viburnum lantanoides · 17 states
- Lanceleaf coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata · 35 states
- Lowbush blueberry Vaccinium angustifolium · 22 states
- Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum · 35 states
- Mountain maple Acer spicatum · 18 states
- Nannyberry Viburnum lentago · 25 states
- New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus · 35 states
- Northern red oak Quercus rubra · 33 states
- Pagoda dogwood Cornus alternifolia · 30 states
- Partridgeberry Mitchella repens · 31 states
- Pin cherry Prunus pensylvanica · 20 states
- Purple clematis Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis · 15 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra · 29 states
- Red pine Pinus resinosa · 13 states
- Riverbank grape Vitis riparia · 20 states
- Royal fern Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis · 30 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 states
- Scarlet oak Quercus coccinea · 28 states
- Shagbark hickory Carya ovata · 34 states
- Southern arrowwood Viburnum dentatum · 28 states
- Starry false Solomon's seal Maianthemum stellatum · 19 states
- Striped maple Acer pensylvanicum · 18 states
- Sugar maple Acer saccharum · 34 states
- Sundial lupine Lupinus perennis · 28 states
- Swamp rose Rosa palustris · 27 states
- Sweet birch Betula lenta · 21 states
- Trailing arbutus Epigaea repens · 24 states
- Twoleaf miterwort Mitella diphylla · 25 states
- Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia · 40 states
- Virginia springbeauty Claytonia virginica · 28 states
- White ash Fraxinus americana · 35 states
- White baneberry Actaea pachypoda · 33 states
- White oak Quercus alba · 33 states
- Wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata · 36 states
- Yellow birch Betula alleghaniensis · 21 states
May in a Maine native garden
May is Maine's peak bloom month: 74 of the state's 125 native plants in this directory flower in May, more than in any other month.
16 start blooming in May, including Black huckleberry, Bog Labrador tea and Bog laurel. 29 finish in May, including American beech, American hornbeam and Atlantic white cedar, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
50 of them grow in full or partial sun and 60 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Birdfoot violet and Bog laurel to trees such as American basswood and American beech. For wildlife, 50 support pollinators, 51 provide food or cover for birds and 28 are caterpillar host plants.
56 of the 74 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Common yarrow, Creeping phlox, Eastern hop-hornbeam: 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
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms May-Oct