Native Plants

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Tuesday - May 16, 2006

From: Round Rock, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Water Gardens
Title: Native plants for seasonal poor drainage
Answered by: Dean Garrett

QUESTION:

I have an area in my front yard that has a drainage ditch running through it. When it rains, that area stays very wet. What kind of plants available for sale will work in this situation?

ANSWER:

There are several plants native to Central Texas that do well in seasonal poor drainage. Some of these require sun and some require dappled shade. Click on the links to learn more about them.

Large Trees

Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum)

Small Trees/Large Shrubs

Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor)
Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria)
Possumhaw (Ilex decidua)
Carolina Buckthorn (Frangula caroliniana)
Roughleaf Dogwood (Cornus drummondii)

Small, Flowering Shrubs

Shrubby White Mistflower (Ageratina havanensis)

Perennial Flowers

Spring Obedient Plant (Physostegia intermedia
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Big Red Sage (Salvia penstemonoides)
Tall Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

Annual Flowers

Texas Bluebells (Eustoma exaltata var. grandiflora)
Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)

Bunchgrasses

Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
Bushy Bluestem (Andropogon glomeratum)

Ferns

River Fern (Thelypteris kunthii)

The trees, shrubs, and several of the others plants listed here are seasonally available at Barton Springs Nursery in Austin and Natives of Texas nursery in Medina. Seeds of the flowers and grasses are seasonally available from Native American Seed in Junction. Check our National Suppliers Directory for additional sources.