Evergreen Plants for a Wet Area

Giant Arborvitae

• Use the evergreen giant arborvitae (Thuja plicata), native to the West Coast from northern California to Alaska, as a hedge, screen, specimen plant or windbreak. Giant arborvitae handles damp soil and even grows in what the University of Connecticut Plant Database calls "somewhat wet" ground. Giant arborvitae grows to 70 feet and has dark green foliage resembling scales. Giant arborvitae is cold-hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 5. Its smaller cultivars, including Whipcord and Cuprea, work as foundation plants in wet spots.

Loblolly Pine

• Loblolly is a slang term for mud puddle or mud hole, which tells you all you need to know about the preference of the loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) for damp areas. Growing in the Southeastern states, loblolly pine has a reputation for developing a straight trunk, which loses most of the lower branches as the tree ages. Use loblolly pine as a specimen tree in open, wet areas or to form screens. The tree, which grows to 90 feet, requires full sun and it will not grow in shade. Loblolly pine is among the fastest-growing of all Southern pine tree species, notes the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Inkberry

• Inkberry (Ilex glabra) is a medium-sized, broadleaf evergreen shrub, growing between 5 and 8 feet tall in zones 4-9. Landscapers know inkberry will grow where it is wet, using this species near ponds, streams and swamps, along with other spots where the ground remains moist. Inkberry's foliage is shiny and green, while its flowers produce black fruit eaten by birds. Inkberry works as a foundation plant, a hedge, in mass plantings and in shrub borders, and is shade-tolerant.

Trailing Arbutus

• Thick, dark green leaves, aromatic, white flowers and white berries are trademarks of the trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens), an evergreen shrub native from New England to Florida. Trailing arbutus grows in shady, damp sites, maturing to between 4 and 6 inches high, so it's suitable as a ground cover. It can be difficult to grow, since it will not withstand drought and develops slowly. The plant forms dense mats of evergreen leaves when mature, a quality that is a good fit in damp, woodland gardens.