Quick answer: 119 native North Carolina plants have a recorded bloom range that includes July.
119 species
- Adam's needle Yucca filamentosa · 21 states
- American alumroot Heuchera americana · 20 states
- American basswood Tilia americana · 37 states
- American beautyberry Callicarpa americana · 13 states
- American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum · 34 states
- American cranberry Vaccinium macrocarpon · 15 states
- Black huckleberry Gaylussacia baccata · 25 states
- Black willow Salix nigra · 24 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum · 32 states
- Blue vervain Verbena hastata · 34 states
- Blue wild indigo Baptisia australis · 23 states
- Bristly locust Robinia hispida · 10 states
- Brown-eyed Susan Rudbeckia triloba · 21 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Cabbage palmetto Sabal palmetto · 5 states
- Canadian burnet Sanguisorba canadensis · 20 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Carolina allspice Calycanthus floridus · 17 states
- Carolina jessamine Gelsemium sempervirens · 10 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Coastal sweetpepperbush Clethra alnifolia · 13 states
- Common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis · 29 states
- Common evening primrose Oenothera biennis · 30 states
- Common hoptree Ptelea trifoliata · 28 states
- Common selfheal Prunella vulgaris · 25 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Common winterberry Ilex verticillata · 32 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus · 30 states
- Crimson-eyed rose-mallow Hibiscus moscheutos · 28 states
- Culver's root Veronicastrum virginicum · 32 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 43 states
- Dense blazing star Liatris spicata · 24 states
- Devil's walking stick Aralia spinosa · 21 states
- Eastern gray beardtongue Penstemon canescens · 13 states
- Eastern purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea · 24 states
- Eastern red columbine Aquilegia canadensis · 36 states
- Eastern smooth beardtongue Penstemon laevigatus · 15 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
- 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
- Green-and-gold Chrysogonum virginianum · 13 states
- Groundnut Apios americana · 21 states
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia · 35 states
- Heartleaf foamflower Tiarella cordifolia · 18 states
- Hollow Joe-pye weed Eutrochium fistulosum · 24 states
- Indian blanket Gaillardia pulchella · 17 states
- Inkberry Ilex glabra · 14 states
- Inland sea oats Chasmanthium latifolium · 21 states
- King of the meadow Thalictrum pubescens · 21 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Loblolly bay Gordonia lasianthus · 7 states
- Longleaf pine Pinus palustris · 10 states
- Low prickly pear Opuntia humifusa · 31 states
- Mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium · 27 states
- Maypop passionflower Passiflora incarnata · 21 states
- Mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia · 23 states
- Narrowleaf evening-primrose Oenothera fruticosa · 10 states
- New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus · 35 states
- Northern bush honeysuckle Diervilla lonicera · 18 states
- Oakleaf hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia · 9 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 dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis · 19 states
- Purple milkweed Asclepias purpurascens · 20 states
- Rattlesnake master Eryngium yuccifolium · 20 states
- Roundhead lespedeza Lespedeza capitata · 30 states
- Scaly blazing star Liatris squarrosa · 22 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 states
- Scarlet rosemallow Hibiscus coccineus · 9 states
- Sensitive fern Onoclea sensibilis · 26 states
- Shrubby St. John's-wort Hypericum prolificum · 33 states
- Shrubby five-fingers Sibbaldiopsis tridentata · 15 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 38 states
- Smooth azalea Rhododendron arborescens · 13 states
- Smooth hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens · 23 states
- Smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides · 30 states
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · 42 states
- Sourwood Oxydendrum arboreum · 17 states
- Southern arrowwood Viburnum dentatum · 28 states
- Spanish dagger Yucca aloifolia · 7 states
- Spotted beebalm Monarda punctata · 29 states
- Staghorn sumac Rhus typhina · 28 states
- Steeplebush Spiraea tomentosa · 22 states
- Stokes aster Stokesia laevis · 7 states
- Sundial lupine Lupinus perennis · 28 states
- Swamp azalea Rhododendron viscosum · 15 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
- Sweetbay magnolia Magnolia virginiana · 17 states
- Threadleaf coreopsis Coreopsis verticillata · 14 states
- Titi cyrilla Cyrilla racemiflora · 8 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 saltmarsh mallow Kosteletzkya pentacarpos · 11 states
- Virginia spiderwort Tradescantia virginiana · 24 states
- White meadowsweet Spiraea alba · 22 states
- White turtlehead Chelone glabra · 22 states
- White wild indigo Baptisia alba · 23 states
- Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata · 30 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
- Yellow passionflower Passiflora lutea · 21 states
July in a North Carolina native garden
July is a quieter month in North Carolina: 119 of the state's 315 native plants flower in July, compared with 205 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
21 start blooming in July, including Blue mistflower, Coastal sweetpepperbush and Common evening primrose. 34 finish in July, including American basswood, American beautyberry and American cranberry, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
83 of them grow in full or partial sun and 63 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 American basswood and Black willow. For wildlife, 101 support pollinators, 70 provide food or cover for birds and 35 are caterpillar host plants.
99 of the 119 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying American alumroot, Black-eyed Susan, Coastal sweetpepperbush: 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