May Flowering Plants

USDA Zone 2

• The American cranberry bush form called Hahs grows to 8 feet in most soil types, except for dry ones. Blooming in May, it generates edible berries and its fall color is outstanding in the landscape. This deciduous shrub grows in USDA zone 2. Sweetfern is an aromatic shrub still in bloom during May in this zone. The woodland white violet, common fleabane and thimbleweed, all perennial plants, bloom during May. Chokecherry, hackberry and white willow are cold hardy trees in zone 2 with May blooming periods.

USDA Zone 4

• A slight decrease in the potential harshness of winter found in colder regions makes a world of difference; USDA zone 4 has a mass of May flowering plants. Among them is mountain laurel, a broadleaf evergreen growing to 15 feet with many clusters of flowers in May. It complements species such as azaleas and rhododendrons, notes the Missouri Botanical Garden. Partridge berry is a much smaller evergreen with May flowers growing to just 3 inches; it is useful as a ground cover in zone 4. Other May flowering plants for zone 4 include types of tulips and daffodils, which grow from bulbs, and vines like trumpet honeysuckle, sarsaparilla plant and clematis.

USDA Zone 6

• Camass, ornamental onion, golden garlic, chives and foxtail lilies -- all plants grown from bulbs -- flower in May throughout USDA zone 6. Broadleaf evergreens with May flowers include many kinds of rhododendrons and azaleas, such as Mist Maiden, a type of rhododendron with white flowers that by the end of May have a pinkish hue. Zone 6 is warm enough to support plenty of May flowering tree possibilities, such as Ohio buckeye, catalpa, hickories, serviceberry, pawpaw and the flowering dogwood. This tree gives the landscaper two solid weeks of May blooms and stays small enough, at 30 feet high, for many uses.

USDA Zone 8

• Abelias, butterfly bushes, Carolina allspice, barberries, gray dogwoods and slender deutzias are deciduous shrubs suitable for the warmth of USDA zone 8 with May flowering effect. Large fothergilla is a shrub with many appealing features, including white flowers in May, handsome summer leaves and fall foliage colors such as yellow, red and orange. Flowering fruit trees, especially dwarf apple types like Jonafree, feature May flowers. Persimmon, sugarberry, Kentucky coffee tree, silver bell, tulip tree, magnolias and black gum are landscaping tree options for zone 8 that provide you with flowers in May.