Quick answer: 108 native Rhode Island plants have a recorded bloom range that includes May.
108 species
- American basswood Tilia americana · 37 states
- American beech Fagus grandifolia · 31 states
- American bittersweet Celastrus scandens · 33 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
- Beach plum Prunus maritima · 8 states
- Bear oak Quercus ilicifolia · 13 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
- Bluebead Clintonia borealis · 14 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 yew Taxus canadensis · 18 states
- Canadian serviceberry Amelanchier canadensis · 21 states
- Canadian wild ginger Asarum canadense · 30 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
- Creeping phlox Phlox subulata · 23 states
- Creeping snowberry Gaultheria hispidula · 12 states
- Downy serviceberry Amelanchier arborea · 37 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
- Eastern white pine Pinus strobus · 28 states
- Fire pink Silene virginica · 26 states
- Flowering dogwood Cornus florida · 31 states
- Foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis · 35 states
- Golden alexanders Zizia aurea · 35 states
- Gray alder Alnus incana · 26 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 43 states
- Heart-leaved meadow parsnip Zizia aptera · 30 states
- Heartleaf foamflower Tiarella cordifolia · 18 states
- Highbush blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum · 25 states
- Hobblebush Viburnum lantanoides · 17 states
- Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum · 35 states
- Jacob's ladder Polemonium reptans · 31 states
- Lanceleaf coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata · 35 states
- Low prickly pear Opuntia humifusa · 31 states
- Lowbush blueberry Vaccinium angustifolium · 22 states
- Mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium · 27 states
- Marsh marigold Caltha palustris · 28 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 blue flag Iris versicolor · 10 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
- 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
- Purple milkweed Asclepias purpurascens · 20 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra · 29 states
- Red chokeberry Aronia arbutifolia · 22 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
- Sassafras Sassafras albidum · 22 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 states
- Scarlet oak Quercus coccinea · 28 states
- Shagbark hickory Carya ovata · 34 states
- Smooth Solomon's seal Polygonatum biflorum · 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
- Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua · 26 states
- Trailing arbutus Epigaea repens · 24 states
- Tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera · 27 states
- Twoleaf miterwort Mitella diphylla · 25 states
- Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia · 40 states
- Virginia spiderwort Tradescantia virginiana · 24 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
- Wild blue phlox Phlox divaricata · 36 states
- Wild geranium Geranium maculatum · 33 states
- Willow oak Quercus phellos · 23 states
- Yellow birch Betula alleghaniensis · 21 states
May in a Rhode Island native garden
May is Rhode Island's peak bloom month: 108 of the state's 181 native plants in this directory flower in May, more than in any other month.
25 start blooming in May, including American bittersweet, American cranberry and Black huckleberry. 41 finish in May, including American beech, American hornbeam and Atlantic white cedar, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
72 of them grow in full or partial sun and 84 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, 76 support pollinators, 72 provide food or cover for birds and 42 are caterpillar host plants.
87 of the 108 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