Quick answer: 48 native Utah plants have a recorded bloom range that includes April.
48 species
- Alderleaf mountain mahogany Cercocarpus montanus · 15 states
- American plum Prunus americana · 37 states
- Antelope bitterbrush Purshia tridentata · 12 states
- Arrowleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata · 12 states
- Banana yucca Yucca baccata · 8 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Brittlebush Encelia farinosa · 4 states
- Broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia · 39 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Colorado four o'clock Mirabilis multiflora · 7 states
- Common juniper Juniperus communis · 39 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Creeping Oregon grape Mahonia repens · 15 states
- Creosote bush Larrea tridentata · 6 states
- Desert sand verbena Abronia villosa · 4 states
- Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii · 12 states
- Downy serviceberry Amelanchier arborea · 37 states
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · 42 states
- Feathery false Solomon's seal Maianthemum racemosum · 45 states
- Fremont cottonwood Populus fremontii · 7 states
- Gambel oak Quercus gambelii · 8 states
- Golden currant Ribes aureum · 3 states
- Gray alder Alnus incana · 26 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 43 states
- Greenleaf manzanita Arctostaphylos patula · 9 states
- Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides · 17 states
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · 37 states
- Old man's whiskers Geum triflorum · 9 states
- Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha · 29 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra · 29 states
- Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia · 14 states
- Scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea · 12 states
- Scarlet monkeyflower Erythranthe cardinalis · 7 states
- Seep monkeyflower Erythranthe guttata · 15 states
- Silver buffaloberry Shepherdia argentea · 17 states
- Tidy tips Layia platyglossa · 3 states
- Tufted evening primrose Oenothera caespitosa · 15 states
- Upland larkspur Delphinium nuttallianum · 13 states
- Utah serviceberry Amelanchier utahensis · 5 states
- Utah sweetvetch Hedysarum boreale · 3 states
- Wax currant Ribes cereum · 2 states
- Western redbud Cercis occidentalis · 4 states
- Winecup Callirhoe involucrata · 16 states
- Winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata · 12 states
- Woolly paperflower Psilostrophe tagetina · 7 states
April in an Utah native garden
April is a quieter month in Utah: 48 of the state's 104 native plants flower in April, compared with 79 at the June peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
31 start blooming in April, including Alderleaf mountain mahogany, American plum and Antelope bitterbrush. 3 finish in April, including Eastern cottonwood, Fremont cottonwood and Western redbud, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
43 of them grow in full or partial sun and 14 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Arrowleaf balsamroot and Buffalograss to trees such as Alderleaf mountain mahogany and American plum. For wildlife, 32 support pollinators, 27 provide food or cover for birds and 10 are caterpillar host plants.
31 of the 48 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Common yarrow: common listings for it 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
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Feb-Apr