The Challenge of Finding Plants for Sunny Wet Sites
The difficulty, of course, is not the sun. Most plants thrive in full sun or a little bit of shade. What’s challenging is finding plants that tolerate or even relish wet, soggy soil. Many plants will rot and decay if you put them in a location with soil that stays moist or even pools water. The kinds of plants that will grow in these wet conditions are those that do so naturally. These are plants that grow in marshes and wetlands, along streams, and in bogs or along the edges of ponds. There are more than you probably realize, from trees and shrubs to perennials, and even annuals.
The Best Plants for Full Sun and Wet Soil
If you need to anchor a soggy site, choose bigger wet soil, full sun plants, like these trees and shrubs:
American cranberry bush viburnum American elderberry American Holly Arrowood viburnum Birch Black willow Buttonbush Chokecherry Dogwood Eastern cottonwood Green ash Highbush blueberry Mountain laurel Ninebark Pin oak Red and silver maple Swamp azalea Swamp rose Sweetgum Swamp white oak Weeping willow Winterberry
Perennial plants for wet soil and full sun are great for soggy beds and rain gardens:
Bee balm Big bluestem Canada anemone Cardinal flower Fox sedge Gray’s sedge Joe Pye weed New England and New York aster Prairie cordgrass Queen of the prairie Rose mallow Southern blue flag iris Swamp milkweed Switch grass White Turtlehead
Also consider putting in some sun-loving annuals that tolerate or thrive in wet soils:
Flowering tobacco Forget-me-not Nasturtium Shrubby perilla Spider flower Sweet pea Wishbone flower
Embrace your soggy soils and use some of these plants that not only tolerate but thrive in wetter conditions.
