Georgia Gardener Newsletter Design Tip: February 22, 2007
Plants for Wet Soil
Swamp Hibiscus with its 8-inch flowers is a real show-stopper in summer
If you have an area in your landscape that never seems to dry out, don't keep putting unsuitable plants in that location that end up
dying and don't kill yourself trying to amend the soil, raise the area or put in drains. Go with the flow and use plants that
thrive in such spaces.
Plants for Wet Sun
There are many plants that grow beautifully in wet soil that's in full sun. These plants are great for the sunny edges of
lakes, ponds and streams. Be careful as some are prolific spreaders (*) while others can get quite tall.
There are several trees and shrubs that perform well in the wet soil, full sun environment. These include
Female Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata),
Summer sweet (Clethra alnifolia) and
Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica).
All of these Georgia natives should be available from many retain nurseries.
Other trees and shrubs that do well in wet soil and full sun include:
Buttonbush* (Cephalanthus occidentalis),
Winterthur Viburnum (Viburnum nudum 'Winterthur')
Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis*),
Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) and
River Birch (Betula nigra).
|
|
|
| Winterberry Holly | Summersweet (Clethra) | Virginia Sweetspire (Itea) |
If trees and shrubs are not want you want for your wet sunny area, there are plenty of perennials that will do the job also. These also
do well on the sunny banks of lakes, ponds and streams and like their woody companions, can spread quickly (*).
These include
Swamp Sunflower* (Helianthus angustifolius),
Joe-pye Weed* (Eupatorium purpureum)and
Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis).
You should be able to find most of these in nurseries this spring. If not, they are readily available from many mail order catalogs.
Other perennials that do well in wet soil and full sun include:
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata),
Swamp Hibiscus pictured above (Hibiscus coccineus) and
Sweetflag (Acorus gramineus).
|
|
|
| Swamp Sunflower | Joe-pye Weed | Ironweed |
Plants for Wet Shade/Part Shade
As with a sunny location, there are plenty of plants that do well in wet soils that are in the shade or part shade. Often these plants
are used along woodland creeks, ponds or low-lying areas that never seem to dry out.
There are several shrubs that perform well in the wet soil, shade environment. These include
Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus),
Pipestem (Agarista populifolia) and
Wax Myrtle (Morella or Myrica cerifera), although it will be somewhat open and loose.
Other shrubs that do well in wet soil and shade include:
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) and
Swamp Native Azalea (Rhododendron viscosum).
|
|
|
| Sweetshrub | Pipestem | Wax Myrtle |
Once again, there are many perennials that love wet soil in the shade and can be planted with the shrubs mentioned above.
These include
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis),
White Turtlehead (Celone glabra) and
Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis).
You should be able to find most of these in nurseries this spring. If not, they are readily available from many mail order catalogs.
Other perennials that do well in wet soil and shade include:
Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea),
Obedient Plant* (Physostegia virginiana) and
Common Rush (Juncus effusus).
|
|
|
| Cardinal Flower | Turtlehead | Royal Fern |
Copyright © 2007 by Theresa Schrum - All rights reserved
No part of this website may be reproduced without the expressed written permission of Theresa Schrum
