Trees & Shrubs for Marshy Areas

Tips for Choosing Plants

• Whenever possible, choose trees and shrubs that are native to your area, since they're well adapted to the existing conditions. Test the soil pH before selecting plants. It's difficult to adjust the pH in wet areas, so only choose plants that thrive in the natural pH range of your soil. Even with plants well suited to marshy areas, always start with small specimens, since their smaller root systems establish faster than those of larger plants.

Trees

• Trees that tolerate standing water include bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), pin and swamp oaks (Quercus palustris and Q. bicolor), river birch (Betula nigra) and water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica). For areas with wet soil but only sporadic flooding, larches (Larix spp.), sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), willows (Salix spp.) and southern and sweetbay magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora and M. virginiana) are all good choices. Evergreens that thrive in wet soil include giant and eastern arborvitae (Thuja plicata and T. occidentalis), loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides).

Shrubs

• For marshes with extended periods of standing water, consider button bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), Yaupon holly and winterberry (Ilex vomitoria and I. verticillata) and Tartarian and red osier dogwoods (Cornus alba and C. sericea). Shrubs that tolerate wet soil with occasional flooding include swamp and pinkshell azaleas (Rhododendron viscosum and R. vaseyi), summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) and red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia). Water-loving shrubs that are fully or partially evergreen include leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana), inkberry (I. glabra) and bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica).

Plants for Salt Marshes

• Wax myrtle (Myrica certifera), Yaupon holly and Palmetto palm (Serenoa repens) are all suitable for marshes where fresh groundwater mixes with the saltwater to reduce salinity. Other good choices are willows and red osier dogwood. Marsh hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) is shrubby in the South but a herbaceous perennial in cold-winter areas.

A Precaution

• Always check with your local government before making any changes, including planting trees and shrubs, to your marshy landscape. Many marshes, especially wetlands near streams and lakes, are considered protected areas and are subject to strict rules regarding the removal or relocation of plants, as well as the types of trees and shrubs that can be introduced.