17 Native Plant Seeds You Can Direct Sow in November

November is the perfect time to sow seeds directly in the ground. Many plants, especially natives, benefit from direct seeding this time of year. The moderate conditions give way to chill periods necessary for springtime germination. This natural cold stratification (a chill time in temperatures near 35-40°F or 2-4°C) is from one up to a few months, depending on the species.

Sowing native plant seeds in November means earlier root establishment and flowering come spring. Sturdy plants result from the long growing season, leading to years of perennial color and ecosystem services. Seeds this time of year are easy to sow, generally without much digging or fuss. This is when faded blooms and seed heads naturally disperse by dropping, taking to the wind, or distributing through birds and wildlife. 

Indian Paintbrush

	common name Indian Paintbrush
	botanical name Castilleja coccinea
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 9-24”
	hardiness zones 4-8

Indian paintbrush has a distinctive scarlet bloom that pops up across woodlands, prairies, and sagebrush thickets from April through July. Its bright, brushy bloom spike stands out amongst other greens.

Divided bracts create the brush look that appears on the ends of stems. The red petals draw hummingbirds for pollination.

Indian paintbrush is a biennial that produces flowers and seeds in its second year. It reseeds naturally and germinates more easily with cold stratification. These are hemiparasitic, absorbing part of their nutrients from the roots of other plants like sage and perennial grasses while also photosynthesizing.

Joe Pye Weed

	common name Joe Pye Weed
	botanical name Eutrochium purpureum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 5-7’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Joe Pye weed, with massive domed bloom clusters on towering stems, is ideal for naturalized areas or the back of the border. They’re not weeds, but they do grow in challenging situations like roadside ditches. 

Their clouds of purple-pink flowers in summer and fall attract beneficial insects. Coarse, long leaves are dark green with purple-hued leaf nodes. Long seed pods last into winter and extend the interest.

Joe Pye weed thrives in rich, moist, well-drained soils. It also tolerates poor soils, including clay. They make good rain garden specimens growing across varying conditions.

Blue-Eyed Grass

	common name Blue-eyed Grass
	botanical name Sisyrinchium montanum
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 6-24’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Blue-eyed grass, is not really grass at all, but a blooming annual or perennial, depending on the species. Its upright blades lend a grassy texture and give foliar contrast to other leaf shapes. Its blue, starry blooms provide a soft look to the stiff habit.

Sisyrinchium species are numerous and native to North and South America. Sisyrinchium montanum, strict blue-eyed grass, is winter hardy and naturally found in midwestern prairies and widespread across the U.S. It has slightly broader leaves than other species and one-inch violet blooms.

S. idahoense is a western species with narrow, dark green leaves. Purple-blue flowers appear in summer.

Cardinal Flower

	common name Cardinal Flower
	botanical name Lobelia cardinalis
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3-6’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Cardinal flower is a showy species that occurs naturally from southeastern Canada to the eastern U.S. and northern South America. It prefers moist areas, from streambanks to wet woodlands and meadows to marshes.

The basal leaves give way to massive flower stalks lined with brilliant red, tubular flowers from midsummer to fall. The flowers open from the bottom to the top for a long-lasting display. Narrow lobes surround each tubular center for a strappy look, which act like flags for pollinators.

Cardinal flower does best with regular moisture and naturalizes in optimal situations. Scatter seeds on the surface without coverage to allow plenty of light exposure. While this plant doesn’t need cold stratification for germination, it does improve rates of germination.

Bluebells

	common name Bluebells
	botanical name Mertensia spp.
	sun requirements Partial shade
	height 1-3’
	hardiness zones 3-7

Bluebells bring sweet, bell-shaped flowers that suspend gracefully from leafy, arching stems in spring and summer.

Mertensia ciliata, or mountain bluebell, is a western U.S. native and the tallest of the bluebells. It also tolerates drought and temperature extremes. M. ciliata forms pink buds that open to rich purple-blue and turn pink as flowers age.

In the east, the ephemeral Virginia bluebell appears in the spring, gracing the woodland garden in sky-blue for several weeks. Mertensia virginica is a threatened native species in its range due to habitat changes, but in the right spot, it naturalizes well.

Bluebell seeds benefit from scarification to germinate. Rub seeds with a medium-grit sandpaper before sowing. They grow best in moist conditions, with a natural habitat of stream banks, wet meadows, and moist woodlands. However, they need good air circulation to prevent mildew diseases.

Butterfly Milkweed

	common name Butterfly Milkweed
	botanical name Asclepias tuberosa
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 2-3’
	hardiness zones 3-10

More milkweed means more support for monarchs and added vibrance from its red-orange bloom clusters. Asclepias tuberosa also provides nectar for important pollinators and beneficial insects.

As a food source for monarch caterpillars and shelter for their chrysalis, milkweed is a significant host plant. Aphids often accompany the population but usually don’t impact overall health. Luckily, predatory insects like wasps, lacewings, and ladybugs help manage the aphids.

Butterfly milkweed is a heat-loving bloomer. When it finishes flowering, let the large seed pods mature to a brown color and collect seeds to scatter and share, or let them drop naturally to expand the colony.

Columbine

	common name Columbine
	botanical name Aquilegia spp.
	sun requirements Part sun
	height 3 feet
	hardiness zones 3-8

Columbine’s graceful nodding blooms range from vibrant red and yellow to cooling blues, purples, and pinks. Hummingbirds appreciate the nectar from the tubular blooms, and birds feed on the seeds in fall.

Eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) brings origami-like red and yellow bell flowers. Aquilegia coerulea, Rocky Mountain blue columbine, brings heirloom violet and white looms with yellow stamens. Aquilegia formosa, western red columbine, has red sepals and spurs with yellow blades.

With a natural habitat along woodland edges, clearings, and riverbanks, columbine grows best in moderately moist, well-drained soils. Be sure to protect it from hot afternoon sun in summer months. It enters dormancy during hot or cold temperatures, reemerging when they level off.

Gaillardia

	common name Gaillardia
	botanical name Gaillardia aristata
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 24-30”
	hardiness zones 3-9

Gaillardia, or blanketflower, glows with its whirling ray flowers in gold, orange, red, or bi-color with brown central discs. Early to flower and late to fade, blanketflower has a long bloom season from early summer through frost.

Gaillardia aristata boasts yellow, red, and purple tones and is a butterfly favorite. It’s also a carefree performer that tolerates hot and dry spells, and poor, sandy soils. To prolong bloom time, supplement with additional water during dry periods.

While this is another plant that doesn’t require cold stratification to break dormancy, it doesn’t hurt to give it at least a 30-day cold period for better germination.

Globe Gilia

	common name Globe Gilia
	botanical name Gilia capitata
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 6″-2’
	hardiness zones 7-10

Gilia pops into color with clusters of deep blue flowers in small, neat globes. It dots the landscape with its floating orbs that hold 50 to 100 petite flowers.  

Gilia capitata is the most popular species and grows naturally throughout the American West. Pink, white, lavender, and powder blue flowers emerge in early spring and continue through fall. They attract numerous insects, including butterflies, moths, and caterpillars.

It does best in well-drained soils, especially sandy or rocky sites. The low-maintenance wildflower self-seeds and establishes easily. While it’s not required, give it two weeks of cold and moist conditions to improve germination.

Shooting Star

	common name Shooting Star
	botanical name Dodecatheon meadia
	sun requirements Partial shade
	height 9-18”
	hardiness zones 4-8

The Dodecatheon genus is native to North America, and D. meadia is the most commonly grown ornamental. The spring ephemeral wildflower produces slender stems of clustered, nodding blooms.

In pink to white, the unique petals point upward and gently trail behind a central, downfacing point, like stars descending. The flowers resemble their cyclamen relatives, and they, too, enter summer dormancy. Pair them with other woodland ephemerals like trillium, woodland phlox, bluebells, and geum.

D. meadia received the Royal Horticulture Society Award of Garden Merit for its show and performance. It is slow to establish and bloom from seed, taking up to a few years, but worth doing if you have seeds available and don’t mind the wait.

Heliopsis

	common name Heliopsis
	botanical name Heliopsis helianthoides
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2-5’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Heliopsis (oxeye or false sunflower) is native to the central and eastern United States. Golden ray petals with fuzzy, yellow buttons rise above deep green leaves in summer through fall.

Heliopsis’ showy flowers attract bees and butterflies. Birds eat the seeds post-bloom, and leftovers will self-seed.

Stiff, sturdy stems grow tall and vigorously. Heliopsis adapts to various soil conditions and is an easy-care grower.

Liatris

	common name Liatris
	botanical name Liatris spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to part shade
	height 1-5 feet
	hardiness zones 3-9

Blazing star, or gayfeather, has concentrated flowers on upright stalks in purples, pinks, and whites. Arching, fine-bladed foliage clumps beneath the leafy stems. They serve as host plants for butterflies and moths.

Rough blazing star (Liatris aspera) ranges from Canada south to Florida and thrives in dry, sandy conditions. Magenta-purple pompon blooms open in late summer on two to four-foot stems. 

Liatris spicata, or marsh blazing star, is native to the eastern U.S. and grows naturally in moist meadows and marshy areas. Densely packed blooms line two to five feet tall stalks.

Liatris punctata, dotted gayfeather, offers long-lasting purples in late summer and into fall. The foot-tall spikes produce seeds for lasting interest into winter.

Lupine

	common name Lupine
	botanical name Lupinus spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1-5’
	hardiness zones 3-8

Lupine, a rugged performer, enchants with lovely bell-shaped blooms in blues, purples, pinks, whites, yellows, and bicolors. These graceful ornamentals grow in various site conditions, withstanding moisture fluctuations and lean soils.

Lupinus perennis, or wild lupine, is native to eastern North America. Sky-blue flowers are often in two tones: purple and blue or blue and white. Attractive palmate leaves are handsome even when not in flower.

Meadow lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) is one of the showiest species, with violet bloom spikes atop a cushion of pretty blue-green leaves. It’s a robust three to five feet tall and a vigorous, adaptable perennial. It shows invasive qualities outside its native Western range, particularly in the northeastern U.S. In the West, it plays a vital role in ecosystem management providing erosion control, soil improvement, and pollinator food sources.

Sow lupine seeds by scattering them in fall or winter. Snowfall provides insulation for overwintering.

Penstemon

	common name Penstemon
	botanical name Penstemon spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2-3’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Penstemon is bold with tall spikes loaded with bells. Many species of penstemon, or beardtongue, are native to the U.S., with brilliant blooms and dark green foliage.

Rocky Mountain blue penstemon (Penstemon strictus) is a long-lived, reliable heirloom with striking violet-blue bloom spikes in early summer. It tolerates varying soil conditions. Firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatonii) features scarlet bell-shaped blooms on tall spikes in spring through summer.

Both of these species are cold hardy and drought-tolerant once established. They’ll do best in dry, light, well-drained soils.

Cutleaf Coneflower

	common name Cutleaf Coneflower
	botanical name Rudbeckia laciniata
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3-9’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Cutleaf, or green-headed coneflower, sends up wanding sprays of ray flowers in sunny yellow. The central discs leading the petals are green and sometimes brown, depending on the population. 

The cheery flowers rise above mounding leaves that are deeply cut and serrated. In dark green, they’re attractive and full. The perennials also spread through rhizomes to form dense colonies, easily divided. 

Deadhead spent flowers to encourage reblooming but it’s best to leave some toward the end of summer. Goldfinches and other songbirds forage on persisting seeds in fall.

Mistflower

	common name Mistflower
	botanical name Conoclinium coelestinum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 18-36”
	hardiness zones 5-10

Mistflower features soft tufts of purple-blue flowers. The feathery clusters on tall, upright stems create a dreamy haze and fuzzy appeal.

The sky-blue clusters show from July through October (and even later in mild climates), providing late-season color and insect resources. Beautiful among silver, deep purple, or chartreuse foliage, mistflower offers textural contrast.

Mistflower is somewhat drought-tolerant but performs best in moist, well-drained soil. However, it can spread aggressively by seed and rhizomes. Divide the colony to keep it in check. Seeds benefit from three months of cold stratification.

Blue Flax

	common name Blue Flax
	botanical name Linum lewisii
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1-3’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Blue flax grows across elevations and climates with cheerful blue flowers in summer. The flowers open in the morning and close or fade in the bright afternoon sun. Native bees and honeybees visit each five-petaled blossom.

Each stem produces multiple flowers. The lower blooms produce seeds, while the upper continues to grow and bloom.

L. lewisii is named after explorer Meriwether Lewis, who collected plants on his westward journey. The low-maintenance perennials thrive in dry, disturbed sites and work well on slopes and as erosion control.

This is another species that doesn’t need cold and moist conditions for germination. But cold stratification will improve rates.