Quick answer: 133 native Michigan plants have a recorded bloom range that includes May.
133 species
- Adam's needle Yucca filamentosa · 21 states
- Allegheny serviceberry Amelanchier laevis · 17 states
- American alumroot Heuchera americana · 20 states
- American basswood Tilia americana · 37 states
- American beech Fagus grandifolia · 31 states
- American bittersweet Celastrus scandens · 33 states
- American bladdernut Staphylea trifolia · 28 states
- American hazelnut Corylus americana · 34 states
- American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana · 33 states
- American plum Prunus americana · 37 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
- Black walnut Juglans nigra · 33 states
- Black willow Salix nigra · 24 states
- Blue wild indigo Baptisia australis · 23 states
- Broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia · 39 states
- Bunchberry Cornus canadensis · 18 states
- Bur oak Quercus macrocarpa · 33 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Butternut Juglans cinerea · 26 states
- Canada anemone Anemone canadensis · 29 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Canada yew Taxus canadensis · 18 states
- Canadian wild ginger Asarum canadense · 30 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Carolina springbeauty Claytonia caroliniana · 20 states
- Chinkapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii · 30 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Cinnamon fern Osmunda cinnamomea · 32 states
- Climbing prairie rose Rosa setigera · 27 states
- Cockspur hawthorn Crataegus crus-galli · 25 states
- Common blue violet Viola sororia · 37 states
- Common elderberry Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis · 36 states
- Common hackberry Celtis occidentalis · 33 states
- Common hoptree Ptelea trifoliata · 28 states
- Common ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius · 30 states
- Common selfheal Prunella vulgaris · 25 states
- Common winterberry Ilex verticillata · 32 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus · 30 states
- Creeping juniper Juniperus horizontalis · 12 states
- Creeping phlox Phlox subulata · 23 states
- Downy hawthorn Crataegus mollis · 24 states
- Downy serviceberry Amelanchier arborea · 37 states
- Dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria · 32 states
- Eastern hop-hornbeam Ostrya virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern leatherwood Dirca palustris · 25 states
- Eastern purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea · 24 states
- Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern red columbine Aquilegia canadensis · 36 states
- Eastern redbud Cercis canadensis · 32 states
- Eastern white pine Pinus strobus · 28 states
- Fire pink Silene virginica · 26 states
- Flowering dogwood Cornus florida · 31 states
- Foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis · 35 states
- Fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica · 30 states
- Golden alexanders Zizia aurea · 35 states
- Gray alder Alnus incana · 26 states
- Gray dogwood Cornus racemosa · 19 states
- Grayhead coneflower Ratibida pinnata · 26 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 43 states
- Heart-leaved meadow parsnip Zizia aptera · 30 states
- Highbush blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum · 25 states
- Highbush cranberry Viburnum opulus var. americanum · 22 states
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · 37 states
- Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum · 35 states
- Jacob's ladder Polemonium reptans · 31 states
- Lanceleaf coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata · 35 states
- Large-flowered bellwort Uvularia grandiflora · 27 states
- Largeflower tickseed Coreopsis grandiflora · 25 states
- Low prickly pear Opuntia humifusa · 31 states
- Lowbush blueberry Vaccinium angustifolium · 22 states
- Mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium · 27 states
- Marsh marigold Caltha palustris · 28 states
- Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum · 35 states
- Nannyberry Viburnum lentago · 25 states
- Narrowleaf blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium angustifolium · 21 states
- New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus · 35 states
- Northern red oak Quercus rubra · 33 states
- Northern spicebush Lindera benzoin · 31 states
- Ohio buckeye Aesculus glabra · 20 states
- Pagoda dogwood Cornus alternifolia · 30 states
- Partridgeberry Mitchella repens · 31 states
- Pawpaw Asimina triloba · 29 states
- Pin cherry Prunus pensylvanica · 20 states
- Pin oak Quercus palustris · 27 states
- Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha · 29 states
- Prairie crabapple Malus ioensis · 15 states
- Purple milkweed Asclepias purpurascens · 20 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra · 29 states
- Red pine Pinus resinosa · 13 states
- Red-osier dogwood Cornus sericea · 36 states
- Riverbank grape Vitis riparia · 20 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 26 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
- Shingle oak Quercus imbricaria · 18 states
- Shumard oak Quercus shumardii · 22 states
- Smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum · 34 states
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · 42 states
- Starry false Solomon's seal Maianthemum stellatum · 19 states
- Sugar maple Acer saccharum · 34 states
- Sundial lupine Lupinus perennis · 28 states
- Swamp rose Rosa palustris · 27 states
- Swamp white oak Quercus bicolor · 23 states
- Sweet crabapple Malus coronaria · 20 states
- Sweet-fern Comptonia peregrina · 21 states
- Trailing arbutus Epigaea repens · 24 states
- Tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera · 27 states
- Twinleaf Jeffersonia diphylla · 15 states
- Twoleaf miterwort Mitella diphylla · 25 states
- Virginia bluebells Mertensia virginica · 23 states
- Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia · 40 states
- Virginia iris Iris virginica · 26 states
- Virginia spiderwort Tradescantia virginiana · 24 states
- Virginia springbeauty Claytonia virginica · 28 states
- Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana · 30 states
- White ash Fraxinus americana · 35 states
- White baneberry Actaea pachypoda · 33 states
- White oak Quercus alba · 33 states
- White wild indigo Baptisia alba · 23 states
- Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata · 30 states
- Wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata · 36 states
- Wild geranium Geranium maculatum · 33 states
- Wild hyacinth (Atlantic camas) Camassia scilloides · 20 states
- Yellow birch Betula alleghaniensis · 21 states
May in a Michigan native garden
May is Michigan's peak bloom month: 133 of the state's 230 native plants in this directory flower in May, more than in any other month.
33 start blooming in May, including American bittersweet, Black huckleberry and Bunchberry. 40 finish in May, including American beech, American hornbeam and Black oak, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
93 of them grow in full or partial sun and 95 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like American alumroot and Birdfoot violet to trees such as Allegheny serviceberry and American basswood. For wildlife, 95 support pollinators, 85 provide food or cover for birds and 52 are caterpillar host plants.
113 of the 133 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying American alumroot, Common yarrow, Creeping phlox: 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
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms May-Aug