Quick answer: 62 native Wisconsin plants have a recorded bloom range that includes August.
62 species
- American bellflower Campanulastrum americanum · 34 states
- Arctic brome (Kalm's brome) Bromus kalmii · 15 states
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 41 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis · 19 states
- Blue vervain Verbena hastata · 34 states
- Bunchberry Cornus canadensis · 18 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Closed bottle gentian Gentiana andrewsii · 23 states
- Common buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis · 29 states
- Common evening primrose Oenothera biennis · 30 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Compass plant Silphium laciniatum · 20 states
- Culver's root Veronicastrum virginicum · 32 states
- Cup plant Silphium perfoliatum · 27 states
- Eastern purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea · 24 states
- Fall obedient plant Physostegia virginiana · 37 states
- Fireweed Chamerion angustifolium · 37 states
- Flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata · 29 states
- Golden alexanders Zizia aurea · 35 states
- Grayhead coneflower Ratibida pinnata · 26 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia · 35 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 37 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- Michigan lily Lilium michiganense · 16 states
- New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae · 29 states
- New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus · 35 states
- Northern bush honeysuckle Diervilla lonicera · 18 states
- Ontario blazing star Liatris cylindracea · 8 states
- Partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata · 30 states
- Partridgeberry Mitchella repens · 31 states
- Prairie blazing star Liatris pycnostachya · 19 states
- Prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis · 19 states
- Prairie ironweed Vernonia fasciculata · 14 states
- Prairie tickseed Coreopsis palmata · 10 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 26 states
- Roundhead lespedeza Lespedeza capitata · 30 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 states
- Showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa · 28 states
- Showy tick trefoil Desmodium canadense · 29 states
- Shrubby St. John's-wort Hypericum prolificum · 33 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
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 37 states
- Sweet Joe-Pye Eutrochium purpureum · 33 states
- Sweet coneflower Rudbeckia subtomentosa · 11 states
- Switchgrass Panicum virgatum · 43 states
- Tall blazing star Liatris aspera · 26 states
- Trumpet vine Campsis radicans · 33 states
- Virginia mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum · 27 states
- White meadowsweet Spiraea alba · 22 states
- White turtlehead Chelone glabra · 22 states
- Wholeleaf rosinweed Silphium integrifolium · 16 states
- Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata · 30 states
- Wood lily Lilium philadelphicum · 28 states
August in a Wisconsin native garden
August is a quieter month in Wisconsin: 62 of the state's 177 native plants flower in August, compared with 104 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
8 start blooming in August, including Big bluestem, Closed bottle gentian and Indiangrass. 13 finish in August, including American bellflower, Arctic brome (Kalm's brome) and Golden alexanders, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
51 of them grow in full or partial sun and 25 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Black-eyed Susan and Butterflyweed to trees such as Smooth sumac and Trumpet vine. For wildlife, 58 support pollinators, 36 provide food or cover for birds and 23 are caterpillar host plants.
55 of the 62 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.
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Jun-Dec
- Smooth sumac Rhus glabra · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms May-Aug
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Aug-Nov