Native Plants
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Sunday - January 06, 2008
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Rain Gardens
Title: Plants for a bioswale or rain garden
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, What plants do you recommend for a bioswale or rain garden in Austin, Texas?ANSWER:
Rain garden plants need to be able to tolerate growing in standing water, but also need to be able to thrive when the water dries up. The plants below should meet those criteria and will do well in sun or partial shade (2 to 6 hours sun per day).GRASSES/GRASS-LIKE:
Chasmanthium latifolium (Inland sea oats)
Tripsacum dactyloides (eastern gamagrass)
Carex cherokeensis (Cherokee sedge)
Rhynchospora colorata (starrush whitetop)
Equisetum hyemale var. affine (scouringrush horsetail)
Cephalanthus occidentalis (common buttonbush)
Cornus drummondii (roughleaf dogwood)
Amorpha fruticosa (desert false indigo)
Hibiscus laevis (halberdleaf rosemallow)
Hibiscus moscheutos (crimsoneyed rosemallow)
Baccharis halimifolia (eastern baccharis)
TALL HERBACEOUS:
Justicia americana (American water-willow)
Lobelia cardinalis (cardinalflower)
Physostegia intermedia (slender false dragonhead)
Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed)
Hydrolea ovata (ovate false fiddleleaf)
Teucrium canadense (Canada germander)
LOW HERBACEOUS:
Viola sororia (common blue violet)
Phyla nodiflora (turkey tangle fogfruit)
Marsilea vestita (hairy waterclover)
More Rain Gardens Questions
Plants for a bioswale in TX
February 18, 2011 - Dear Mr.Smarty Plants, What kind of plants are best suited for a bioswale in Edinburg, Texas?
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July 07, 2016 - We are designing a rain garden to catch overflow from two large rain cisterns. We need it to be filled with plants that can live with dry and wet conditions. The garden is about 500 to 1,000 square ...
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Rain garden plants at the April Plant Sale
March 31, 2015 - In answering the question about "rain garden" plants on March 20, 2010, you offered a list of plants. Which of these will be offered at the spring sale coming up on April 10-12? Thanks.
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plants for a rain garden's moist area in Central Texas
January 15, 2015 - I am looking for local natives to plant in the wet portion of a rain garden/bioswale. Can you help, please?
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Plants for a wet area in Ohio
March 30, 2010 - I have a lot of water in my front yard are there any kind of plants that I can plant to drink up some of the water? I live in North East Ohio
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