Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, for clay and loam ground, where it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Virginia · Zones 6–8
Native Rain Garden Plants in Virginia
Moisture-loving natives for rain gardens, pond edges, downspout basins, and the low spots that stay soggy after a storm. Virginia sits in a landscape of Blue Ridge, Piedmont & Tidewater, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its humid, four-season character. The list below — led by Buttonbush and Cardinal Flower — is filtered to species genuinely native to Virginia and the wider flora of the Mid-Atlantic 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 Virginia
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 6–8 · see this collection in other states.
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, electric scarlet flowers, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, 12–18 in wide, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, white spring lace flowers, where it flowers in Apr and May.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, white candelabra flowers, where it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, spreading 2–3 ft, where it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, cold-hardy to zone 4, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, for clay and loam ground, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
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 blooms Apr through Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, 2–4 ft wide, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, hardy in zones 3–9, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, creamy white flowers, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Virginia Bluebells
Mertensia virginica
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, reaching 1–2 ft, where it blooms Mar through May.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 1–2 ft
- Blooms Mar–May
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, reaching 3–4 ft, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, for clay and loam ground, where it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, reaching 2–4 ft, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, 5–10 ft wide, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Common Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, reaching 3–5 ft, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, chartreuse-gold flowers, where it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Blue Vervain
Verbena hastata
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, for clay and loam ground, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Red-Twig Dogwood
Cornus sericea
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, 6–10 ft wide, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–9 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, happy in clay and loam soil, where it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Inkberry Holly
Ilex glabra
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, good through zone 9, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–8 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, for sand, clay, and loam ground.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 3–6 ft
- Fall color
2 more also qualify: Cinnamon Fern, Big Bluestem.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Virginia
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
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