Plants for Moist Soils
Don’t let a wet site limit your gardening options. Here are our top plants for wet soils.
Summer snowflake (Leucojum sp.)
Soil can be wet because it is compacted or because of a high water table. Clay soils are wet in winter and baked dry in summer. Unless you improve drainage, you will need to work with your soil and choose plants adapted to wet conditions. Jump to our plants for moist soils list here.
How do I know if I have wet soil?
Many yards have areas that are wet over the winter, but if your ground remains wet year-round you have wet soil. Wet soils are often a characteristic of clay soil. Assessing you drainage will help you to determine if you have wet soil. The best way to do this is with a drainage test.
Dig hole 12 inches wide by 12-18 inches deep.
Fill the hole with water and let it drain. This could take a short period or full day.
Fill the hole with water again.
Analyzing the results: Soils that drain less than one inch per hour are poorly drained and it’s important to improve drainage or select plants that tolerate wet growing conditions.
Gardening with wet soils
More often than not, soil condition can be improved by adding organic matter. Also, planting trees and shrubs on raised mounds help to protect them from becoming waterlogged in wet soil.
If you garden somewhere there is a high water table or there isn’t the option of improving drainage, there are plants that can thrive in these conditions. It is important to recognize the difference between soils that are:
Waterlogged and flooded versus Permanently moist but have oxygen in the soil
Soils that are waterlogged and flooded can grow aquatic plants that are adapted to those growing conditions. Soils that are permanently moist, but still have oxygen circulating, can grow a variety of garden plants.
Problems
Certain root rots and root diseases can be more common with wet soils, Phytophthora root rot is a common example. Japanese maples and rhododendrons are susceptible to root rot and should not be planted in poorly drained soils.
Our Top Plant Picks for Moist Soils
Trees
Katsura Tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)
Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
Niobe Golden Weeping Willow (Salix alba 'Tristis')
Shrubs
Bog Rosemary (Andromeda polifolia)
Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
Red Twigged Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera)
Itea (Itea virginica)
Perennials
Astilbe
Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium sp.)
Hosta
Burnet (Sanguisorba sp.)
Plants for Moist Soil
| Plant Name | Common Name | Plant Type | Native |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acer glabrum | Douglas Maple | Tree | Yes |
| Acer griseum | Paperbark Maple | Tree | No |
| Acer macrophyllum | Bigleaf Maple | Tree | Yes |
| Acer rubrum | Red maple | Tree | No |
| Actaea | Bugbane | Perennial | No |
| Ajuga sp. | Bugleweed | Perennial | No |
| Alnus rubra | Red alder | Tree | Yes |
| Amelanchier alnifolia | Saskatoon Berry | Shrub | Yes |
| Andromeda polifolia | Bog Rosemary | Shrub | No |
| Arisaema triphyllum | Jack-in-the-pulpit | Perennial | No |
| Aronia sp. | Chokeberry | Shrub | No |
| Asclepias sp. | Milkweed | Perennial | No |
| Asplenium scolopendrium | Hart's tongue fern | Fern | No |
| Astilbe sp. | Astilbe | Perennial | No |
| Athyrium filix- femina | Lady Fern | Fern | Yes |
| Betula nigra | River birch | Tree | No |
| Calycanthus floridus | Sweetshrub | Shrub | No |
| Camassia sp. | Camas | Bulb | Yes |
| Carex elata 'Aurea' | Bowles' Golden Sedge | Grass | No |
| Carex obnupta | Slough Sedge | Grass | Yes |
| Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' | Evergold Variegated Jap. Sedge | Grass | No |
| Cephalanthus occidentalis | Buttonbush | Shrub | No |
| Cercidiphyllum japonicum | Katsura Tree | Tree | No |
| Clethra alnifolia | Summersweet | Shrub | No |
| Cornus alba/ sanguinea | Dogwood shrub | Shrub | No |
| Cornus stolonifera | Red Twigged Dogwood | Shrub | Yes |
| Corylus cornuta | Beaked Hazelnut | Shrub | Yes |
| Crataegus douglasii | Black Hawthorn | Tree | Yes |
| Deschampsia sp. | Tufted hair grass | Grass | No |
| Dicentra sp. | Bleeding Heart | Perennial | No |
| Erythronium revolutum | Pink Fawn Lily | Bulb | Yes |
| Eupatorium sp. | Joe Pye Weed | Perennial | No |
| Filipendula rubra 'Venusta' | Meadowsweet | Perennial | No |
| Fragaria vesca | Woodland Strawberry | Perennial | Yes |
| Galanthus elwesii | Snowdrop | Bulb | No |
| Gaultheria procumbens | Wintergreen | Perennial | No |
| Gaultheria shallon | Salal | Shrub | Yes |
| Gunnera manicata | Giant Rhubarb | Perennial | No |
| Hakonechloa sp. | Japanese forest grass | Grass | No |
| Heracleum maximum | Cow Parsnip | Perennial | Yes |
| Hesperantha coccinea | River lily | Perennial | No |
| Hosta sp. | Hosta | Perennial | No |
| Ilex verticillata | Winterberry | Shrub | No |
| Itea virginica | Itea | Shrub | No |
| Juncus effusus | Common Rush | Grass | Yes |
| Kerria japonica | Japanese Rose | Shrub | No |
| Leucojum sp | Summer Snowflake | Bulb | No |
| Leycesteria formosa | Himalayan honeysuckle | Shrub | No |
| Ligularia sp. | Leopard Plant | Perennial | No |
| Liquidambar styraciflua | Sweetgum | Tree | No |
| Lobelia cardinalis | Cardinal flower | Perennial | No |
| Lonicera involucrata | Black Twinberry | Shrub | Yes |
| Lysichiton americanus | Skunk Cabbage | Perennial | Yes |
| Maianthemum dilatatum | Falsa Lily-of-the-Valley | Perennial | Yes |
| Malus fusca | Pacific Crab Apple | Tree | Yes |
| Metasequoia glyptostroboides | Dawn Redwood | Conifer | No |
| Mimulus guttatus | Yellow Monkey-flower | Perennial | Yes |
| Myrica gale | Sweetgale | Shrub | Yes |
| Nyssa sylvatica | Sour Gum | Tree | No |
| Osmunda regalis | Royal Fern | Fern | No |
| Persicaria sp. | Persicaria | Perennial | No |
| Philadelphus lewisii | Mock Orange | Shrub | Yes |
| Physocarpus capitatus | Pacific Ninebark | Shrub | Yes |
| Pinus contorta | Shore Pine | Conifer | Yes |
| Polystichum munitum | Sword Fern | Fern | Yes |
| Populus tremuloides | Trembling Aspen | Tree | Yes |
| Primula japonica | Japanse Primrose | Perennial | No |
| Prunus emarginata | Bitter Cherry | Tree | Yes |
| Quercus palustris | Pin Oak | Tree | No |
| Rodgersia sp. | Rodgersia | Perennial | No |
| Rosa nutkana | Nootka Rose | Shrub | Yes |
| Rosa pisocarpa | Clustered Rose | Shrub | Yes |
| Rubus parviflorus | Thimbleberry | Shrub | Yes |
| Rubus spectabilis | Salmonberry | Shrub | Yes |
| Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' | Black-eyed Susan | Perennial | No |
| Salix alba 'Tristis' | Niobe Golden Weeping Willow | Tree | No |
| Salix discolor | Pussy willow | Shrub | No |
| Salix hookeriana | Hooker’s Willow | Shrub | Yes |
| Salix lucida | Pacific Willow | Perennial | Yes |
| Salix purpurea 'Nana' | Dwarf Purple Willow | Shrub | No |
| Salix scouleriana | Scouler’s Willow | Shrub | Yes |
| Salix sitchensis | Sitka Willow | Shrub | Yes |
| Sambucus racemosa | Red Elderberry | Shrub | Yes |
| Sanguisorba sp. | Burnet | Perennial | No |
| Sequoia sempervirens | Coast redwood | Conifer | No |
| Spiraea douglasii | Hardhack | Shrub | Yes |
| Stachys chamissonis | Hedge-nettle | Perennial | Yes |
| Tellima grandiflora | Tall Fringecup | Perennial | Yes |
| Thuja plicata | Western Redcedar | Conifer | Yes |
| Tiarella trifoliata | Foamflower | Perennial | Yes |
| Vaccinium corymbosum | Blueberry | Shrub | No |
| Vaccinium vitis-idaea | Lingonberry | Shrub | No |
| Veratrum viride | False Hellebore | Perennial | Yes |
| Viburnum opulus | Guelder-rose | Shrub | No |
| Viola glabella | Stream Violet | Perennial | Yes |
| Zantedeschia aethiopica | Calla Lily | Perennial | No |
