Quick answer: 88 native New Hampshire plants have a recorded bloom range that includes May.
88 species
- American basswood Tilia americana · 37 states
- American beech Fagus grandifolia · 31 states
- American cranberry Vaccinium macrocarpon · 15 states
- American hazelnut Corylus americana · 34 states
- American holly Ilex opaca · 28 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
- Black walnut Juglans nigra · 33 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
- Coral honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens · 16 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
- Gray alder Alnus incana · 26 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 43 states
- Heartleaf foamflower Tiarella cordifolia · 18 states
- Highbush blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum · 25 states
- Hobblebush Viburnum lantanoides · 17 states
- Jacob's ladder Polemonium reptans · 31 states
- Lanceleaf coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata · 35 states
- Lowbush blueberry Vaccinium angustifolium · 22 states
- Mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium · 27 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
- Northern spicebush Lindera benzoin · 31 states
- Pagoda dogwood Cornus alternifolia · 30 states
- Partridgeberry Mitchella repens · 31 states
- Pin cherry Prunus pensylvanica · 20 states
- Pitch pine Pinus rigida · 12 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
- Red-osier dogwood Cornus sericea · 36 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
- Sweet-fern Comptonia peregrina · 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
- White spruce Picea glauca · 1 states
- Wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata · 36 states
- Yellow birch Betula alleghaniensis · 21 states
May in a New Hampshire native garden
May is New Hampshire's peak bloom month: 88 of the state's 141 native plants in this directory flower in May, more than in any other month.
20 start blooming in May, including American cranberry, Black huckleberry and Bog Labrador tea. 35 finish in May, including American beech, American hornbeam and Atlantic white cedar, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
59 of them grow in full or partial sun and 71 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, 62 support pollinators, 61 provide food or cover for birds and 37 are caterpillar host plants.
68 of the 88 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