Species & Soil Types
Recommended native plant species for
various soil types
The information presented
here is provided courtesy of Sweet
Grass Gardens.
Please note that the
information given on this page is relevant only for southern Ontario (Canada).
Plants listed here may not be native to other areas. In fact, they may very well
be invasive!!
CLAY SOILS
Native plant species that can tolerate the tough
conditions of heavy clay soils. Using 2-3 inches of sand on top of the existing
clay bed will help your plants become established quicker.
| FLOWERS
Purple Giant Hyssop
Thimbleweed
Eastern Columbine
Whorled Milkweed
New England Aster
Prairie Aster
Heath Aster
Canada Milk Vetch
Blue Wild Indigo
White Wild Indigo
Ohio Spiderwort
Tall Coreopsis
Canada Tick-Trefoil
Rattlesnake Master
Early Sunflower
Pale Purple Coneflower |
Sunflower species
Evening Primrose
White Penstemon
Prairie Blazing Star
Dense Blazing Star
Rough Blazing Star
Yellow Coneflower
Sweet Black-eyed Susan
Prairie Coneflower
Rosin Weed
Cup Plant
Prairie Dock
Compass Plant
Prairie Vervain
Grey Goldenrod
Stiff Goldenrod
Purple Prairie Clover
Wild Quinine
Illinois Bundleflower |
GRASSES
Little Bluestem
Big Bluestem
Blue Grama Grass
Side Oats Grama
Eastern Bottlebrush
Canada Wild Rye
Virginia Wild Rye
Switch Grass
Tioga Deer-tongue
Cord Grass
Indian Grass |
SANDY SOIL
Xeriscaping (pronounced "zer-i-scap-ing") is a landscape concept
whose main objective is to conserve water. Ideal areas for using this type of
plant material: septic beds raised beds, gravelly poor soil & rock gardens.
|
FLOWERS
Wine Cups
Western Sunflower
Sweetvetch
Button Blazing Star
Wild Lupine
Prickly Pear Cactus
Hairy Penstemon
Prairie Clover
Colorado Four O’clock
Blue-eyed Grass
Grey Goldenrod
Cliff Goldenrod
Ohio Spiderwort
Prairie Spiderwort
Prairie Vervain
Prairie Sage |
Sand Milkweed
Butterfly Weed
Showy Milkweed
Harebell
Blanket Flower
Prairie Coreopsis
Sand Coreopsis
Wild Blue Flax
Missouri Primrose
GRASSES
Little Bluestem
Sand Bluestem
Side-Oats Grama
Blue Grama Grass
Sand Dropseed
Big Basin Wild Rye |
Purple Love Grass
Rock Mountain Fescue
Rough Fescue
Sagebrush Bluegrass
Bluebunch Wheatgrass
SHRUBS
Sagebrush species
Bearberry
Kalm's St. John's Wort
New Jersey Tea
Northern Bayberry
Bitterbrush
Soapweed
Golden Current
Rabbit-brush |
WET TO MOIST SOIL
Native plants that flourish in year round moist soil found
around ponds or low wet meadows and roadside ditches. Most like full sun. The
soil tends to be rich and may even dry up during the peak of the summer heat.
| FLOWERS
Sweet Flag
Swamp Milkweed
New England Aster
Swamp Aster
Flat-Topped Aster
Joe-Pye-Weed
Boneset
Sneezeweed
Rose Mallow
Wild Iris
Blue Lobelia
Cardinal Flower
Monkey Flower
Blue Vervain
Mountain Mint
Mad-Dog Skullcap |
Culver’s Root
Turtlehead
Fireweed
Prairie Blazing Star
Glade Mallow
Riddell’s Goldenrod
GRASSES
Fox Sedge
Bulrush species
Riverbank Wild Rye
Virginia Wild Rye
Scouring Rush
Sweetgrass
Switch Grass
Cord Grass |
SHRUBS & TREES
Button Bush
Willow species
Red Osier Dogwood
Winterberry
Tamarack
Wild Elderberry
Meadowsweet
Steeple Bush
Wild Raisin
White Cedar
Swamp Rose
Virginia Wild Rose
Red Maple |
PARTIAL SHADE AREAS
Species that occur at woodland edges or through openings
between trees. East and west facing beds, plants that require a minimum of six
hours of sun, but can also naturally occur in full sun areas.
|
FLOWERS
Anise Hyssop
Purple Giant Hyssop
Thimbleweed
Canada Anemone
Eastern Columbine
Purple Milkweed
Whorled Milkweed
Sky Blue Aster
New England Aster
Prairie Aster
Smooth Blue Aster
Canada Milk Vetch
Great Indian Plantain
Ohio Spiderwort
Tall Coreopsis
Canada Tick-Trefoil
Purple Coneflower
Pale Purple Coneflower |
Woodland Sunflower
Early Sunflower
Bush Clover
Wild Lupine
Wild Bergamot
Evening Primrose
White Penstemon
Purple Prairie Clover
White Prairie Clover
Mountain Mint
Yellow Coneflower
Sweet Black-eyed Susan
Prairie Coneflower
Royal Catchfly
Cup Plant
Stiff Goldenrod
Grey Goldenrod
Prairie Vervain
Nodding Wild Onion
Wild Licorice |
GRASSES
Little Bluestem
Big Bluestem
Blue Grama Grass
Side Oats Grama
Fox Sedge
Scouring Rush
Eastern Bottlebrush
Canada Wild Rye
Virginia Wild Rye
Silky Wild Rye
Switch Grass
Tioga Deer-tongue
Cord Grass
Indian Grass |
See also A
Landscape Design Methodology in the Naturalization
section of this website (also provided by Sweet
Grass Gardens). |
