Quick answer: 69 native Massachusetts plants have a recorded bloom range that includes July.
69 species
- American basswood Tilia americana · 37 states
- American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum · 34 states
- American cranberry Vaccinium macrocarpon · 15 states
- Black huckleberry Gaylussacia baccata · 25 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum · 32 states
- Blue vervain Verbena hastata · 34 states
- Bog Labrador tea Ledum groenlandicum · 11 states
- Bog rosemary Andromeda polifolia · 9 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Canadian burnet Sanguisorba canadensis · 20 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Common winterberry Ilex verticillata · 32 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Crimson-eyed rose-mallow Hibiscus moscheutos · 28 states
- Culver's root Veronicastrum virginicum · 32 states
- Cup plant Silphium perfoliatum · 27 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 43 states
- Dense blazing star Liatris spicata · 24 states
- Eastern red columbine Aquilegia canadensis · 36 states
- Eastern teaberry Gaultheria procumbens · 23 states
- Fall obedient plant Physostegia virginiana · 37 states
- Fire pink Silene virginica · 26 states
- Fireweed Chamerion angustifolium · 37 states
- Foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis · 35 states
- Golden alexanders Zizia aurea · 35 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Great laurel Rhododendron maximum · 20 states
- Hairy beardtongue Penstemon hirsutus · 19 states
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia · 35 states
- Heartleaf foamflower Tiarella cordifolia · 18 states
- Inkberry Ilex glabra · 14 states
- King of the meadow Thalictrum pubescens · 21 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Low prickly pear Opuntia humifusa · 31 states
- Mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium · 27 states
- Mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia · 23 states
- New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus · 35 states
- Northern blue flag Iris versicolor · 10 states
- Partridgeberry Mitchella repens · 31 states
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · 38 states
- Plumleaf azalea Rhododendron prunifolium · 3 states
- Purple milkweed Asclepias purpurascens · 20 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 26 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 states
- Sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis · 26 states
- Sheep laurel Kalmia angustifolia · 13 states
- Showy tick trefoil Desmodium canadense · 29 states
- Shrubby St. John's-wort Hypericum prolificum · 33 states
- Shrubby five-fingers Sibbaldiopsis tridentata · 15 states
- Smooth azalea Rhododendron arborescens · 13 states
- Southern arrowwood Viburnum dentatum · 28 states
- Spotted beebalm Monarda punctata · 29 states
- Staghorn sumac Rhus typhina · 28 states
- Steeplebush Spiraea tomentosa · 22 states
- Sundial lupine Lupinus perennis · 28 states
- Swamp rose Rosa palustris · 27 states
- Sweet Joe-Pye Eutrochium purpureum · 33 states
- Sweet-fern Comptonia peregrina · 21 states
- Trumpet vine Campsis radicans · 33 states
- Virgin's bower Clematis virginiana · 27 states
- Virginia chain fern Woodwardia virginica · 24 states
- Virginia spiderwort Tradescantia virginiana · 24 states
- Wild geranium Geranium maculatum · 33 states
- Winged sumac Rhus copallinum · 30 states
- Witherod viburnum Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides · 24 states
- Wood lily Lilium philadelphicum · 28 states
July in a Massachusetts native garden
July is a quieter month in Massachusetts: 69 of the state's 190 native plants flower in July, compared with 114 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
14 start blooming in July, including Blue mistflower, Common sneezeweed and Crimson-eyed rose-mallow. 20 finish in July, including American basswood, American cranberry and Black huckleberry, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
50 of them grow in full or partial sun and 41 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Black-eyed Susan and Bog rosemary to trees such as American basswood and Chokecherry. For wildlife, 60 support pollinators, 44 provide food or cover for birds and 22 are caterpillar host plants.
55 of the 69 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Black-eyed Susan, Bog rosemary, Common yarrow: 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
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Jul-Oct
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Jun-Dec