Quick answer: 42 native Oklahoma plants have a recorded bloom range that includes October.
42 species
- Apache plume Fallugia paradoxa · 8 states
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 41 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blackfoot daisy Melampodium leucanthum · 6 states
- Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis · 19 states
- Blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum · 32 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Chocolate flower Berlandiera lyrata · 6 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Common sunflower Helianthus annuus · 18 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 43 states
- Desert willow Chilopsis linearis · 5 states
- Dotted blazing star Liatris punctata · 17 states
- Flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata · 29 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Gulf muhly Muhlenbergia capillaris · 16 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 37 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Maximilian sunflower Helianthus maximiliani · 3 states
- Maypop passionflower Passiflora incarnata · 21 states
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae · 29 states
- Orange coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida · 23 states
- Partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata · 30 states
- Partridgeberry Mitchella repens · 31 states
- Pink-scale blazing star Liatris elegans · 9 states
- Prairie blazing star Liatris pycnostachya · 19 states
- Rocky Mountain zinnia Zinnia grandiflora · 6 states
- Rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa · 17 states
- Scarlet gilia Ipomopsis aggregata · 13 states
- Scarlet sage Salvia coccinea · 3 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 38 states
- Spotted beebalm Monarda punctata · 29 states
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 37 states
- Swamp sunflower Helianthus angustifolius · 21 states
- Switchgrass Panicum virgatum · 43 states
- Western ironweed Vernonia baldwinii · 1 states
- White heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides var. ericoides · 26 states
- White snakeroot Ageratina altissima · 23 states
- Witch-hazel Hamamelis virginiana · 33 states
- Woolly paperflower Psilostrophe tagetina · 7 states
October in an Oklahoma native garden
October is a quieter month in Oklahoma: 42 of the state's 247 native plants flower in October, compared with 159 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
26 finish in October, including Black-eyed Susan, Blue grama and Cardinal flower, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
35 of them grow in full or partial sun and 12 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Black-eyed Susan and Buffalograss to trees such as Desert willow and Maypop passionflower. For wildlife, 38 support pollinators, 25 provide food or cover for birds and 14 are caterpillar host plants.
33 of the 42 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Apache plume, Black-eyed Susan, Gulf muhly: 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
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Aug-Nov