Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, good through zone 8, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Arkansas · Zones 6–8
Native Rain Garden Plants in Arkansas
Moisture-loving natives for rain gardens, pond edges, downspout basins, and the low spots that stay soggy after a storm. For Arkansas, the right natives are shaped by Ozark Highlands & Mississippi Alluvial Plain and a humid subtropical climate. Every species below, from Spotted Joe-Pye Weed and Scarlet Beebalm to the rest of the list, is genuinely native to Arkansas and the wider flora of the Southeast and hardy through zones 6–8. A rain garden catches roof and driveway runoff and lets it soak in instead of rushing to the storm drain, and these natives are built for that boom-and-bust of flood then dry. Put the most water-tolerant species in the wet center and the merely moisture-loving ones up on the sloped edges. Once established they handle both the standing water and the dry weeks between storms.
The plants
26 native species for Arkansas
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 6–8 · see this collection in other states.
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, happy in clay and loam soil, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, hardy in zones 4–9, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, white candelabra flowers, where it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, good through zone 9, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, 6–10 ft wide, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, royal purple flowers, where it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, spreading 12–18 in, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, cold-hardy to zone 3, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, pink flowers, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, 1.5–2.5 ft tall, where it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, 5–10 ft tall, where it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, 15–25 ft tall, where it flowers in Apr and May.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, spreading 4–8 ft, where it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, cold-hardy to zone 3, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Virginia Bluebells
Mertensia virginica
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, for loam ground, where it blooms Mar through May.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 1–2 ft
- Blooms Mar–May
Common Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, cold-hardy to zone 3, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Inkberry Holly
Ilex glabra
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, reaching 4–8 ft, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–8 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Blue Vervain
Verbena hastata
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, 3–5 ft tall, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, white to pink flowers, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, good through zone 9, where it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Red-Twig Dogwood
Cornus sericea
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, white, white berries flowers, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–9 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, happy in clay and loam soil, where it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Cinnamon Fern
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, 2–4 ft tall.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Foliage
2 more also qualify: Big Bluestem, Switchgrass.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Arkansas
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
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