Hardy Plant Recommendations for Moist Soils

The following is a list of plants that are recommended for moist soils. This list includes both native and non-native perennials, trees, shrubs, and grasses that will tolerate varying degrees of soil moisture.  

Perennials

Goatsbeard - Aruncus dioicus
Astilbe 
Swamp Milkweed  -
Asclepias incarnata
Pink Turtlehead - Chelone
Joe-Pye Weed - Eupatorium
Ferns 
Lenten Rose -
Helleborus orientalis
Sneezeweed - Helenium
Swamp Sunflower - Helinthus
Hemerocallis-Daylily 
Rosemallow -
Hibiscus coccineus; H. moscheutos
Hosta 
Blue Flag Iris -
Iris versiclor 
Cardinal Flower - Lobelia 
Creeping Jenny -
Lysmachia 
Bee Balm - Monarda
Obedient Plant - Physostegia virginiana 
Blackeyed Susan- Rudbeckia sp.
Lady’s Tresses - Spirtanthes
Foam Flower - Tiarella cordifolia
Spiderwort - Tradescantia virginiana; T. Subaspera
Toad Lily - Tricyrtis
Culver’s Root - Veronicastrum virginicum

Grasses

Sweetflag - Acornus 
Reed Grass -
Calamagrostis 
Sedges -
Carex 
Rush -
Juncus effusus 
Ornamental - Miscanthus 
Switchgrass - Panicum

Trees and Shrubs

Red Maple - Acer rubrum 
Bottlebrush Buckeye -
Aesculus parviflora 
Serviceberry -
Amelanchier
Devil’s Walking Stick - Aralia spinosa 
River Birch -
Betula nigra
Buttonbush - Cephalanthus occidentalis 
Compact Sweetshrub -
Clethra alnifolia 
Dogwood (Silky) -
Cornus amomum 
Dogwood (Gray) -
Cornus racemosa
Dogwood, Redosier - Cornus sericea 
Thornless Honeylocust -
Gleditsia tricanthes 
Winterberry Holly -
Itea verticillata 
Sweetspire -
Itea virginica 
Sweetgum -
Liquidambar styraciflua 
Dawn Redwood -
Metasequoia glyptostoboides 
Bayberry -
Myrica pensylvanica 
Black Tupelo -
Nyssa sylvatica 
Ninebark -
Physocarpus opulifolius 
Sycamore -
Plantanus occidentalis 
Swamp White Oak -
Quercus bicolor 
Pin Oak -
Quercus plustris 
Elderberry -
Sambucus canadensis 
Bald Cypress -
Taxodium distichum 
Arrowwood Viburnum -
Viburnum dentatum 
Smooth Witherrod Viburnum -
Viburnum nudum 
Yellowroot -
Xanthorhiza simplicissima