The following list is for approximate bloom times of some of the flowering plants of the southern Appalachians. Bloom times are affected by a variety of factors, including elevation. The southern Appalachian mountain region varies in elevation from about 1500 ft. above sea level to over 6000 ft. and generally at higher elevations plants will bloom later and possibly for longer periods of time. Some of the plants below are linked to pages with more information.
FEB
- Skunk Cabbage Symplocarpus foetidas
- Dandelion Taraxacum offincinale
MARCH
- Trout Lily Erythromium americanum
- Boodroot Sanguinaria canadensis (into April)
- Jack In The Pulpit Arisaema triphyllum (’til June)
- Windflower Thalictrum thalictroides
- Columbine Aquilegia canadensis (’til May, but ’til frost at higher locations.)
- Dwarf Iris Iris verna (into April)
- Larkspur Delphinium tricorne (into April)
- Dutchman’s Breeches Dicentra circullaria (into April)
- Toothwort Dentaria laciniata (into May)
- Red Bud Cercis canadensis (into April)
- Birdfoot Violet Viola pedata (into May)
- Halberd Leaved Yellow violet (into May)
- Dogwood Cornus florida (into April)
- Pinxter Rhododendron nudiflorum (into May)
- Oconee Bells Shortia galicifolia (into April)
- Wild Strawberry Fraginaria virginiana (into June)
- Spring Beauty Claytonia caroliniana
- Buttercups Ranunculus hispidis
- Yellow Star-Grass Hypoxis hirsuta (into June)
- Blue-Eyed Grass Sisyrinchium augustifolium (into June)
- Sweet Shrub Calycanthus floridus (into June)
- Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis (into April)
APRIL
- Leucothue Luecothue spp. (into June)
- Shooting Star Dodecatheon meadia (into May)
- Nodding Trillium Trillium cernuum (into May)
- Catesby’s Trillium Trillium catesbaei (into May)
- Wake Robin Trillium erectum (into May)
- Painted Trillium Trillium undulatum (into May)
- Large Flowered Trillium Trillium grandiflorum (into May)
- Indian Cucumber Root Medeola virginiana
- Bellwort Uvalaria grandiflora
- Crested Dwarf Iris Iris cristata (into May)
- False Solomon’s Seal Smilacina racemosa (’til June)
- Nodding Mandarin Disporum maculatum (into May)
- Twisted Stalk Streptopus roseus (’til June)
- Solomon’s Seal Polygonatum biflorum (into June at higher elevations)
- Lily of the Valley Convallaria montana (into May)
- Wild Ginger Asaram canadense (into May)
- Pink Ladyslipper Cyprepedium acaule (into June)
- Yellow Ladyslipper Cyprepedium calceaolus var. pubescens (into June)
- Showy Orchid Orchis spectablis (into May)
- Giant Chickweed Stellaria pubera (into June)
- Fire Pink Silene virginica (into July)
- Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum (into May)
- Bleeding Heart Dicentra exima (into June)
- Squirrel Corn Dicentra canadensis (into May)
- Foam Flower Tiarella cordifolia (into June)
- Blackberry Rubus argustus (into May)
- Wild Geranium Geranium maculatum (into June)
- Phacelia Phacelia bipinnatifida (into May)
- Fringed Phacelia Phacelia fimbriata (into May)
- Lyre Leaved Sage Salvia lyrata (into May)
- Indian Paintbrush Castilleja coccinea (into May)
- Squaw Root Conopholus americana (into June)
- Golden Groundsel Senecio aureus (into June)
- Pinxter Flower Rhododendron nudiflorum (into May)
- Heal All Prunella vulgaris (till frost)
- Redbud Tree Cercia canadensis (into May)
- Dogwood Cornus florida
- Blazing Star Chamaelirium luteum (into June)
- Blue Cohosh Caulophyllum thalictroides (into May)
- Umbrella Leaf Diphylleia cymosa (into June)
- Pink Wood Sorrel Oxalis violacea (into July)
- Robins-Plantain Erigeron pulchellus (into June)
MAY
- Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia (into June)
- Catawba Rhododendron Rhododendron catawbiense (into June)
- Bowman’s Root Gillenia trifoliata (into July)
- Phlox Phlox carolina (into August at high elevations)
- Clinton’s Lily Clintonia borealis (into June)
- Blue Bead Lily Clintonia umbellulata (into June)
- False Lily of the Valley Maianthemum canadense (into June)
- Heart Leaf Ginger Hexastylus shuttleworthi (into July)
- Meadow Rue Thalictrum revolutum (into July)
- Umbrella Leaf Diphylleia cymosa (into June)
- Sweet Shrub Calycanthus floridus (into june)
- Wild Hydrangea Hydrangia arborescens (into July)
- Mountain Lettuce Saxifraga micranthidifolia (into June)
- Goats Beard Aruncas dioicus (into June)
- Sundrops Oenothera tetragorna (into Aug.)
- Queen Anne’s Lace Daucus carota (into Sept.)
- Flame Azalea Rhododendron calendulaceum (into June)
- Galax Galax aphylla (into July)
- Whorled Loostrife Lysimachea quadrifolia (into Aug.)
- Butterfly Weed Asclepius tuberosa (into Aug.)
- Variagated Milkweed Asclepius variagata (into June)
- Bluets Houstonia spp (into August)
- Wood Sorrel Oxalis acetosella (into September)
- Allegheny Blackberry Rubus alleghensis (into June)
- Fly Poison Amianthium muscaetoxicum (into July)
- PokePhytolacca americana
- Butterfly Weed Asclepius tuberosa (into August)
- Wood Betony Pedicularis canadensis (into July)
- Houstonia Houstonia purpurea (into July)
JUNE
- Spiderwort Tradescantia subaspera (into July)
- Turk’s Cap Lily Lilium superbum (into August)
- Carolina Lily Lilium michauxii (into August)
- Rattlesnake Plantain Goodyear pubescens (into August)
- Black Cohosh Cimicifuga racemosa (into July)
- Saxifrage Saxifraga michauxi (into Aug.)
- Brook Saxifrage Boykinia aconitifolia (into July)
- Mountain Lettuce Saxifraga micranthidifolia (into June)
- Flowering Raspberry Rubus odoratus (into Aug.)
- Indian Pipes Monotropa uniflora (into Oct.)
- Rosebay Rhododendron maximum (into July)
- Sourwood Oxydendrum arboreum (into July)
- Wintergreen Gaultheria procumbens (into Aug.)
- Queen Anne’s Lace Daucus carota (into September)
- Bush Honeysuckle Diervilla sessifolia (into August)
- Beard Tongue Penstemon spp (into July)
- Mountain Ash Sorbus americana (into July)
- False Hellebore Veratrum viride (into August)
- Coreopsis Coreopsis pubescens (into August)
- Mullein Verbascum thapsus (into September)
- Bull Thistle Carduus lanceolatus (till frost)
- Tall Meadow Rue Thalictrum polygamum (until July)
- Fleabane Erigeron strigosis (until july)
- Hypericum Hypericum spp (into August)
- Wintergreen Gaultheria procumbens (into August)
- Whorled Loosestrife Lysimachia quadrifolia (into July)
JULY
- Starry Campion Silene stellata (into Sept.)
- St. John’s Wort Hypericum prolificum (into Aug.)
- Pale Jewel Weed Impatiens pallida (into Sept.)
- Jewel Weed Impatiens capensis (into Sept.)
- Black-Eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta
- Common Milkweed Asclepius syriaca (into August)
- BeeBalm Monarda spp. (into August)
- Tall Coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata (into August)
- Bellflower Campanula americana (into September)
- White Snakeroot Eupatorium rugosum (into October)
- Turtlehead Chelone cuthbertii (into September)
AUGUST
- Campion Silene ovata (into Sept.)
- Dodder Coscuta rostrata (into Sept.)
- Ironweed Venonia noveboracensis (into September)
- Joe-Pye Weed Eupatorium purpureum (into September)
- Obedient Plant Dracocephalum virginianum (into September)
- Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis
- Virgin’s Bower Clematis virginiana
- Blazing Star Liatris spicata (into September)
- Sneezeweed Helenium autumnale (into September)
- Angelica Angelica triquinata (into September)
- Rabbit Tobacco Gnaphalium obtusifolium (into October)
SEPTEMBER
- Stiff Gentian Gentiana quinquefolia (into Oct.)
- Sampson’s Snakeroot Gentiana villosa (into Oct.)
- Soapwort Gentian Gentiana saponaria (into Oct.)
- Goldenrod Solidago spp
- Aster Aster spp
- Witch Hazel Hamamelis virginiana (into December)
