Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

2 ratings

Tuesday - August 03, 2010

From: New York, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Rain Gardens
Title: Plants for a bioswale in New York City
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I am interested in learning about the best vegetation for planting in a bioswale in New York City. Can you help? Thanks!

ANSWER:

Bioswales, or rain gardens, require plants that must be able to tolerate growing in standing water, but also need to be able to thrive when the water dries up. Below are some that should work in your New York City bioswale. Since I don't know the other aspects of your site, such as how much sunlight it gets, you should check the GROWING CONDITIONS on each of the species pages to see if they are compatible with those of your site.

Grasses/Grass-like

Andropogon glomeratus (bushy bluestem)

Carex stipata (owlfruit sedge)

Calamagrostis canadensis (bluejoint)

Perennials

Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed)

Chelone glabra (white turtlehead)

Hibiscus moscheutos (crimsoneyed rosemallow)

Monarda didyma (scarlet beebalm)

Ferns

Athyrium filix-femina (common ladyfern)

Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)