Quick answer: 75 native South Dakota plants have a recorded bloom range that includes July.
75 species
- American basswood Tilia americana · 37 states
- American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum · 34 states
- Arctic brome (Kalm's brome) Bromus kalmii · 15 states
- Arrowleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata · 12 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis · 19 states
- Blue vervain Verbena hastata · 34 states
- Bluebunch wheatgrass Pseudoroegneria spicata · 16 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Bunchberry Cornus canadensis · 18 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Colorado blue columbine Aquilegia coerulea · 9 states
- Common evening primrose Oenothera biennis · 30 states
- Common gaillardia (blanketflower) Gaillardia aristata · 11 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Common snowberry Symphoricarpos albus · 21 states
- Common sunflower Helianthus annuus · 18 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Compass plant Silphium laciniatum · 20 states
- Coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus · 30 states
- Creeping Oregon grape Mahonia repens · 15 states
- Culver's root Veronicastrum virginicum · 32 states
- Cup plant Silphium perfoliatum · 27 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 43 states
- Eastern red columbine Aquilegia canadensis · 36 states
- Fall obedient plant Physostegia virginiana · 37 states
- Fireweed Chamerion angustifolium · 37 states
- Flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata · 29 states
- Foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis · 35 states
- Golden alexanders Zizia aurea · 35 states
- Gray dogwood Cornus racemosa · 19 states
- Grayhead coneflower Ratibida pinnata · 26 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia · 35 states
- Highbush cranberry Viburnum opulus var. americanum · 22 states
- Idaho fescue Festuca idahoensis · 12 states
- Leadplant Amorpha canescens · 16 states
- Lewis flax (blue flax) Linum lewisii · 17 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Low prickly pear Opuntia humifusa · 31 states
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- Michigan lily Lilium michiganense · 16 states
- Narrow-leaf coneflower Echinacea angustifolia · 11 states
- Partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata · 30 states
- Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea · 38 states
- Prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis · 19 states
- Prairie goldenrod Solidago nemoralis · 7 states
- Prairie ironweed Vernonia fasciculata · 14 states
- Prairie tickseed Coreopsis palmata · 10 states
- Purple meadow-rue Thalictrum dasycarpum · 17 states
- Purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea · 18 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 26 states
- Roundhead lespedeza Lespedeza capitata · 30 states
- Scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea · 12 states
- Seep monkeyflower Erythranthe guttata · 15 states
- Showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa · 17 states
- Showy tick trefoil Desmodium canadense · 29 states
- Shrubby cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda · 23 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 38 states
- Smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides · 30 states
- Smooth rose Rosa blanda · 17 states
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · 42 states
- Snowbrush ceanothus Ceanothus velutinus · 10 states
- Staghorn sumac Rhus typhina · 28 states
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 37 states
- Tufted evening primrose Oenothera caespitosa · 15 states
- Upland larkspur Delphinium nuttallianum · 13 states
- Virginia mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum · 27 states
- Western yarrow Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis · 18 states
- White meadowsweet Spiraea alba · 22 states
- Wholeleaf rosinweed Silphium integrifolium · 16 states
- Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata · 30 states
- Wild geranium Geranium maculatum · 33 states
- Wood lily Lilium philadelphicum · 28 states
July in a South Dakota native garden
July is one of South Dakota's busiest bloom months, with 75 of the state's 146 native plants flowering (the peak is June).
18 start blooming in July, including Blue grama, Common evening primrose and Common gaillardia (blanketflower). 20 finish in July, including American basswood, Arrowleaf balsamroot and Bluebunch wheatgrass, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
66 of them grow in full or partial sun and 27 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Arrowleaf balsamroot and Black-eyed Susan to trees such as American basswood and Chokecherry. For wildlife, 66 support pollinators, 42 provide food or cover for birds and 23 are caterpillar host plants.
63 of the 75 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Black-eyed Susan, Common yarrow, Harebell: 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