How to Select Perennials for Wet Soil

All it takes is one look at a local marsh or swamp to realize that many perennials thrive in wet soil. While such planting may require additional attention to soil management, such as extensive use of peat moss, perennials that are native to such conditions may bring color and character to the muddiest of gardens.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Peat moss or vermiculite
• Perennials suited for wet soil
• Horticulturist

1. Determine the reason for your wet-soil conditions before you select and plant perennials in your garden. If your soil is wet due to the natural climate conditions, you should stick to perennials that are native to your region. If your wet-soil conditions are due to standing water deposits in the ground, you may need to render the ground more porous with peat moss or vermiculite, since stagnant water pockets can cause fungus problems in even the most resilient of plants.

2. Work your wet soil thoroughly to accommodate the planting of water-loving perennials. Use a hoe or cultivator to break up excessive mud and clumpy soil and to distribute the moisture evenly throughout your flowerbeds and planters. Be careful not to disturb the muddy soil around established plants, since it is very easy to disturb delicate root systems through the shifting of the mud.

3. Select perennials that thrive in wet-soil conditions. These include astilbe, bleeding heart, clustered bellflower, white boltonia, black snakeroot, yellow loosestrife, ostrich fern, bee balm, Virginia spiderwort, goat's beard and yellowflag. You can group these perennials according to their size, bloom schedule and overall tolerance to muddy conditions.

4. Recreate a native marsh garden by choosing perennials that are normally found in such locations. These plants include swamp milkweed, swamp saxifrage and a variety of ferns, such as cinnamon ferns, sensitive ferns and royal ferns. Marsh gardens are often self-sufficient and rarely require any aftercare.

5. Visit a local outdoor nursery, and ask the horticulturist on duty about perennials that do well in wet-soil conditions. An expert can give you tips about which perennials are most popular in your region, and which ones respond favorably to local soil conditions. In addition, the horticulturist can instruct you on how to render your soil properly so that you can select a greater variety of perennials for your garden.

Tips & Warnings

• Check your perennials regularly for signs that they may be receiving too much water, such as yellowing leaves, poor blossom production, defoliation and limited or stunted foliage.