About Shade Plants for Wet Sites

You may think finding wet-tolerant shade plants is a challenge. Often, when looking up shade plants, you will get a list of shade plants for dry areas, not shade plants for poor drainage or wet sites. But there are many, and shade plants for wet sites aren’t limiting either. There are interesting, moisture-loving plants for the shade that bloom or have unique foliage shapes and colors. A wet site might be an area with poor drainage or a natural or manmade water feature in a shaded area. In either case, the best place to start is by investigating natural areas in your USDA zone that mimic these conditions. Indigenous plants are more likely to thrive. Look for areas such as swamps, riverbanks, lakesides, or other naturally damp areas.

Shade Plants for Poor Drainage

Finding shade plants for areas of poor drainage can be difficult. These areas lack oxygenated soil. Combine this fact with shade and most plants will rot and die. Just because finding shade plants for poor drainage areas might be difficult doesn’t mean there aren’t any. For instance, many grasses make suitable wet-tolerant shade plants. Bowles’ golden sedge (Carex elata ‘Aurea’) and gold fountain sedge (Carex dolichostachya ‘Kaga Nishiki’) are two examples of moisture-loving grass plants for shade and poor drainage. Groundcovers are another consideration for shade plants that like it wet, plus they are low maintenance. Blushing Bride spiderwort and Concord Grape spiderwort are two such shade plants for wet sites. Perennials provide summer color and height but die back in many areas in the winter. Bridal Veil astilbe, with its shock of white blooms, looks terrific on a backdrop of darker green leaves, and astilbe is also available in other shades, from fire engine red to blushing pink. Rodgersia will add some height coming in at 3-5 feet (1-1.5 m.) with tall, pink flower spikes.

Other Wet Tolerant Shade Plants

Most ferns are also suited to wet sites, although many of them need well-draining soil. They bring that lush look to a site along with their varying heights and hues.

Cinnamon fern produces 4-foot (1 m.) long, blue/green fronds interspersed with cinnamon fronds.

Wood ferns grow up to 3.5 feet (1 m.) in height with a classic, vase shape and semi-evergreen fronds.

Tokyo ferns grow 18-36 inches (45.5-91.5 cm.) tall and work well as filler plants amongst taller perennials and shorter ground cover.

Of the shrubs, shade plants that like wet conditions include:

Arrowwood viburnum

Shrubby dogwood

Virginia sweetspire

Elderberries

Chokeberry

Carolina allspice

Canadian yew

Swamp azalea

Mountain pieris

Witch hazel

Bottlebrush buckeye

Groundcover wet tolerant shade plants include:

Bunchberry

Checkerberry

Japanese spurge

Yellowroot

Woodbine vine

Perennial shade plants for wet sites include:

Bee balm

Cardinal flower

False spirea

Marsh marigold

Turtlehead

Black snakeroot

Yellow wax-bells

Canada lily

Blue lobelia

Solomon’s seal

There are even trees that tolerate somewhat damp, shady sites such as:

Balsam fir

Red maple

False cypress

Arborvitae

White cedar

Basswood

Canada hemlock

To fill in any empty spaces, tuck in some shade and damp-loving annuals such as amethyst flower, forget-me-not, or nemesia.

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