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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.

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

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Friday - July 30, 2010

From: Peoria, IL
Region: Midwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Tree for wet area in Central Illinois
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I live in Central Illinois. When it rains I get a lot of water in my backyard. What kind of tree would be best to plant in this wet area?

ANSWER:

Here is a way you can do the research yourself.  Go to our Native Plant Database and do a COMBINATION SEARCH choosing 'Illinois' from the Select State or Province option, 'Tree' from Habit (general appearance) and 'Wet - soil is saturated with water' from Soil moisture.  This will give you more than 40 trees to choose from that meet those criteria. You can check the other GROWING CONDITIONS for each species to determine if they are also compatible with your site.

Here are few possibilities from that list:

Betula populifolia (gray birch)

Carya aquatica (water hickory) and here are photos and more information.

Acer rubrum var. drummondii (Drummond's maple)

Crataegus viridis (green hawthorn)

Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash)

Ilex verticillata (common winterberry)

Nyssa aquatica (water tupelo)

Quercus nigra (water oak)

Quercus palustris (pin oak)

Here are photos from our Image Gallery:


Betula populifolia

Acer rubrum var. drummondii

Crataegus viridis

Fraxinus pennsylvanica

Ilex verticillata

Nyssa aquatica

Quercus nigra

Quercus palustris

 
 

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