Quick answer: 22 native Wisconsin plants have a recorded bloom range that includes October.
22 species
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 41 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis · 19 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Closed bottle gentian Gentiana andrewsii · 23 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata · 29 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 37 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae · 29 states
- Partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata · 30 states
- Partridgeberry Mitchella repens · 31 states
- Prairie blazing star Liatris pycnostachya · 19 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 states
- Shrubby cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda · 23 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 38 states
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 37 states
- Switchgrass Panicum virgatum · 43 states
- White heath aster Symphyotrichum ericoides var. ericoides · 26 states
- Witch-hazel Hamamelis virginiana · 33 states
October in a Wisconsin native garden
October is a quieter month in Wisconsin: 22 of the state's 177 native plants flower in October, compared with 104 at the May peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
14 finish in October, including Black-eyed Susan, Blue grama and Cardinal flower, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
18 of them grow in full or partial sun and 7 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Black-eyed Susan and Flowering spurge to trees such as Witch-hazel. For wildlife, 20 support pollinators, 14 provide food or cover for birds and 11 are caterpillar host plants.
21 of the 22 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Black-eyed Susan, Indiangrass, Shrubby cinquefoil: 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
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Aug-Nov
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms May-Oct