Quick answer: 84 native Michigan plants have a recorded bloom range that includes August.
84 species
- Adam's needle Yucca filamentosa · 21 states
- American alumroot Heuchera americana · 20 states
- American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum · 34 states
- Arctic brome (Kalm's brome) Bromus kalmii · 15 states
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 41 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum · 32 states
- Blue vervain Verbena hastata · 34 states
- Brown-eyed Susan Rudbeckia triloba · 21 states
- Bunchberry Cornus canadensis · 18 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Canadian burnet Sanguisorba canadensis · 20 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Closed bottle gentian Gentiana andrewsii · 23 states
- Common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis · 29 states
- Common evening primrose Oenothera biennis · 30 states
- Common selfheal Prunella vulgaris · 25 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Compass plant Silphium laciniatum · 20 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 purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea · 24 states
- Eastern teaberry Gaultheria procumbens · 23 states
- Fall obedient plant Physostegia virginiana · 37 states
- Fewleaf sunflower Helianthus occidentalis · 16 states
- Fire pink Silene virginica · 26 states
- Fireweed Chamerion angustifolium · 37 states
- Flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata · 29 states
- Golden alexanders Zizia aurea · 35 states
- Grayhead coneflower Ratibida pinnata · 26 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Groundnut Apios americana · 21 states
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia · 35 states
- Hollow Joe-pye weed Eutrochium fistulosum · 24 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 37 states
- Jerusalem artichoke Helianthus tuberosus · 26 states
- King of the meadow Thalictrum pubescens · 21 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium · 27 states
- Michigan lily Lilium michiganense · 16 states
- New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae · 29 states
- New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus · 35 states
- Northern bush honeysuckle Diervilla lonicera · 18 states
- Orange coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida · 23 states
- Partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata · 30 states
- Partridgeberry Mitchella repens · 31 states
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · 38 states
- Prairie blazing star Liatris pycnostachya · 19 states
- Prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis · 19 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 26 states
- Roundhead lespedeza Lespedeza capitata · 30 states
- Scaly blazing star Liatris squarrosa · 22 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 states
- Sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis · 26 states
- Showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa · 28 states
- Showy tick trefoil Desmodium canadense · 29 states
- Shrubby St. John's-wort Hypericum prolificum · 33 states
- Shrubby cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda · 23 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 38 states
- Smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides · 30 states
- Smooth rose Rosa blanda · 17 states
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · 42 states
- Steeplebush Spiraea tomentosa · 22 states
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 37 states
- Swamp rose Rosa palustris · 27 states
- Sweet Joe-Pye Eutrochium purpureum · 33 states
- Sweet-fern Comptonia peregrina · 21 states
- Switchgrass Panicum virgatum · 43 states
- Tall blazing star Liatris aspera · 26 states
- Trumpet vine Campsis radicans · 33 states
- Virgin's bower Clematis virginiana · 27 states
- Virginia chain fern Woodwardia virginica · 24 states
- Virginia mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum · 27 states
- Virginia spiderwort Tradescantia virginiana · 24 states
- White meadowsweet Spiraea alba · 22 states
- White snakeroot Ageratina altissima · 23 states
- White turtlehead Chelone glabra · 22 states
- Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata · 30 states
- Winged sumac Rhus copallinum · 30 states
- Wood lily Lilium philadelphicum · 28 states
August in a Michigan native garden
August is a quieter month in Michigan: 84 of the state's 230 native plants flower in August, compared with 133 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
10 start blooming in August, including Big bluestem, Closed bottle gentian and Indiangrass. 22 finish in August, including Adam's needle, American alumroot and American bellflower, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
66 of them grow in full or partial sun and 36 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like American alumroot and Black-eyed Susan to trees such as Smooth sumac and Trumpet vine. For wildlife, 74 support pollinators, 51 provide food or cover for birds and 28 are caterpillar host plants.
71 of the 84 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying American alumroot, Black-eyed Susan, 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.
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Jul-Oct
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Jun-Dec
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms May-Aug