Quick answer: 50 native Rhode Island plants have a recorded bloom range that includes March.
50 species
- American elm Ulmus americana · 31 states
- American holly Ilex opaca · 28 states
- American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana · 33 states
- Atlantic white cedar Chamaecyparis thyoides · 17 states
- Bear oak Quercus ilicifolia · 13 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Birdfoot violet Viola pedata · 34 states
- Black ash Fraxinus nigra · 19 states
- Black cherry Prunus serotina · 35 states
- Black oak Quercus velutina · 30 states
- Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis · 34 states
- Bur oak Quercus macrocarpa · 33 states
- Canada yew Taxus canadensis · 18 states
- Carolina springbeauty Claytonia caroliniana · 20 states
- Common blue violet Viola sororia · 37 states
- Creeping phlox Phlox subulata · 23 states
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · 42 states
- Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern red columbine Aquilegia canadensis · 36 states
- Flowering dogwood Cornus florida · 31 states
- Gray alder Alnus incana · 26 states
- Heartleaf foamflower Tiarella cordifolia · 18 states
- Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum · 35 states
- Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum · 35 states
- Mountain maple Acer spicatum · 18 states
- New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus · 35 states
- Northern red oak Quercus rubra · 33 states
- Northern spicebush Lindera benzoin · 31 states
- Pin oak Quercus palustris · 27 states
- Pitch pine Pinus rigida · 12 states
- Post oak Quercus stellata · 28 states
- Purple clematis Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis · 15 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red maple Acer rubrum · 33 states
- Red pine Pinus resinosa · 13 states
- Sassafras Sassafras albidum · 22 states
- Scarlet oak Quercus coccinea · 28 states
- Shagbark hickory Carya ovata · 34 states
- Silver maple Acer saccharinum · 37 states
- Slippery elm Ulmus rubra · 30 states
- Smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum · 34 states
- Smooth alder Alnus serrulata · 23 states
- Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua · 26 states
- Trailing arbutus Epigaea repens · 24 states
- Virginia spiderwort Tradescantia virginiana · 24 states
- Virginia springbeauty Claytonia virginica · 28 states
- White oak Quercus alba · 33 states
- Wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata · 36 states
- Wild geranium Geranium maculatum · 33 states
- Willow oak Quercus phellos · 23 states
March in a Rhode Island native garden
March is a quieter month in Rhode Island: 50 of the state's 181 native plants flower in March, compared with 108 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
44 start blooming in March, including American holly, American hornbeam and Atlantic white cedar.
34 of them grow in full or partial sun and 37 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Birdfoot violet and Bloodroot to trees such as American elm and American holly. For wildlife, 35 support pollinators, 34 provide food or cover for birds and 26 are caterpillar host plants.
40 of the 50 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Creeping phlox, Pitch pine, Wild blue 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.
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Feb-Apr
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Mar-Jun
- Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Mar-May