Quick answer: 64 native North Dakota plants have a recorded bloom range that includes May.
64 species
- American basswood Tilia americana · 37 states
- American bittersweet Celastrus scandens · 33 states
- American hazelnut Corylus americana · 34 states
- American plum Prunus americana · 37 states
- Arrowleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata · 12 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Bluebunch wheatgrass Pseudoroegneria spicata · 16 states
- Broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia · 39 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Bunchberry Cornus canadensis · 18 states
- Bur oak Quercus macrocarpa · 33 states
- Canada anemone Anemone canadensis · 29 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Canadian wild ginger Asarum canadense · 30 states
- Candle anemone (thimbleweed) Anemone cylindrica · 12 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Common blue violet Viola sororia · 37 states
- Common hackberry Celtis occidentalis · 33 states
- Common ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius · 30 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Creeping Oregon grape Mahonia repens · 15 states
- Creeping juniper Juniperus horizontalis · 12 states
- Downy hawthorn Crataegus mollis · 24 states
- Dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria · 32 states
- Eastern hop-hornbeam Ostrya virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern red columbine Aquilegia canadensis · 36 states
- Golden alexanders Zizia aurea · 35 states
- Gray alder Alnus incana · 26 states
- Gray dogwood Cornus racemosa · 19 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 43 states
- Heart-leaved meadow parsnip Zizia aptera · 30 states
- Highbush cranberry Viburnum opulus var. americanum · 22 states
- Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides · 17 states
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · 37 states
- Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum · 35 states
- Large penstemon (shell-leaf beardtongue) Penstemon grandiflorus · 12 states
- Large-flowered bellwort Uvularia grandiflora · 27 states
- Lewis flax (blue flax) Linum lewisii · 17 states
- Marsh marigold Caltha palustris · 28 states
- Nannyberry Viburnum lentago · 25 states
- Narrow-leaf coneflower Echinacea angustifolia · 11 states
- Old man's whiskers Geum triflorum · 9 states
- Ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa · 16 states
- Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha · 29 states
- Purple meadow-rue Thalictrum dasycarpum · 17 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra · 29 states
- Red-osier dogwood Cornus sericea · 36 states
- Richardson's alumroot Heuchera richardsonii · 11 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 26 states
- Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia · 14 states
- Scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea · 12 states
- Seep monkeyflower Erythranthe guttata · 15 states
- Showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa · 17 states
- Silver buffaloberry Shepherdia argentea · 17 states
- Smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum · 34 states
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · 42 states
- Sugar maple Acer saccharum · 34 states
- Tufted evening primrose Oenothera caespitosa · 15 states
- Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana · 30 states
- Western yarrow Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis · 18 states
- Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata · 30 states
- Wild geranium Geranium maculatum · 33 states
May in a North Dakota native garden
May is one of North Dakota's busiest bloom months, with 64 of the state's 119 native plants flowering (the peak is June).
19 start blooming in May, including American bittersweet, Bluebunch wheatgrass and Bunchberry. 12 finish in May, including Bur oak, Common blue violet and Common hackberry, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
53 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 Arrowleaf balsamroot and Bluebunch wheatgrass to trees such as American basswood and American bittersweet. For wildlife, 45 support pollinators, 37 provide food or cover for birds and 20 are caterpillar host plants.
57 of the 64 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Common yarrow, 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
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms May-Aug