19 Plants That Like Wet Soil: List of Water Lovers 

Plants that like wet soil are the greens that would thrive if you are located in an area with a higher water table or a marsh, them in wet soil. Certain plants do well in moist environments, although very few do.

Some water-loving plants can survive portions of your garden that are damp and poorly drained, while others can thrive in standing water.

This article will provide you with some names of well-suited plants to your soil type, so read on.

List of Plants That Are Satisfied With Wet Soil

1. Iris 

The erect grassy foliage plant bears tall green stalks with six-lobed blue flower heads. The Japanese and Siberian cultivars benefit from direct and indirect sunlight and moist soil. The genus Iris contains more than 250 species. 

However, the tall bearded irises or the Iris germanica, as it is known scientifically, is one that would extend to a height of two to three feet, are the most well-known iris species.

Three outer hanging petals, or falls, and three interior upright petals, or “standards,” make up their characteristic six petaled flowers.

Bearded or crested, are at times called the “beardless” iris, these varieties are prone to exist in wet areas. The name, however, “bearded iris,” refers to the silky hairs that run along the middle of the falls of these flowers. 

On crested species, such as the Siberian iris, the hairs create a comb or ridge instead. Full daylight, or at least six to eight hours of sunlight daily, is ideal for iris blooming.

Although it’s not perfect, they can endure up to half a day of sun exposure. They will only blossom if there is enough light. Other plants should not shadow bearded irises; many thrive on their own in a designated bed.

2. Turtlehead

Turtlehead or Chelone is a clump-forming perennial with lance-shaped, toothed foliage and two-lipped flowers in the spring. However, there are variations of this thick herbaceous plant that enjoy standing in moist soil near shallow water. 

Eastern North America is the natural habitat of the perennial clump-forming wildflower known as turtlehead in addition, they can also be called the Chelone obliqua, in botany. Its hooded blossoms have a snapdragon-like appearance.

The flower’s popular name comes from the fact that it resembles a turtle’s head, although the genus name Chelone has roots in Greek mythology.

According to legend, a nymph named Chelone chose not to attend Zeus and Hera’s wedding. As a result, she and her home were cast into a river, where she changed into a tortoise. 

3. Joe Pye Weed

Several species of the Eutrochium genus, including Eutrochium purpuream, commonly, it is known as the purple Joe Pye weed or even the sweet Joe Pye weed. These plants are grown as ornamental plants, which makes it significant to its characteristics. 

The late-blooming wildflower Eutrochium purpureum is indigenous to eastern and central North America. It typically forms erect clusters that can be up to seven feet tall, when of course, it receives proper care, and the soil would be soggy so that it thrives. 

The native range of E. maculatum, which has somewhat more violet blooms, stretches further west to the Great Plains. However, these species are sometimes mistaken for one another because of their striking similarities.

4. Siberian Iris

The vast iris genus’s Siberian iris group or the Iris sibirica, receives considerably less attention than the more well-known and well-liked bearded irises. However, it has several advantages over that group. All irises have strappy, sword-like foliage, and Siberian iris leaves are no exception. 

On the other hand, you should note that the Siberian iris leaves retain their beauty long after the flowers have gone, and they have a texture akin to that of ornamental grass.

Compared to most bearded iris, Siberian irises are also slightly more cold-hardy, happily living in gardens as far north as USDA Hardiness Zone 3.

Siberian iris is also highly resistant to borer worms and rot, which can make bearded iris a hassle to manage, which is another benefit.

Siberian iris may be less showy than other varieties because of its smaller, beardless flowers, but it makes up for this by being simpler to grow and it would thrive when the soil is wet, which is why the leaves have an enhanced mode.

The blooms on species forms are often blue or blue-violet, although there are also cultivars with yellow, white, pink, and red flowers. Although the flowers are small by iris standards, they are vibrant and beautiful in shape.

5. Cardinal Flower

Native to North, South, and Central America, the cardinal flower is typically found in wet soils like streams, marshes, and low-lying forested regions. This flower is a loved one, which is called the Lobelia cardinalis in botany.

It is a clump-forming type of perennial plants with tall flower stalks that bear clusters of tubular blooms from July to early fall and lance-shaped, dark green leaves that form basal clumps.

Although there are cultivars with white and rose-pink flowers, the natural species bears crimson red blossoms. These are all top-notch landscape plants for damp soil gardens, meaning if you live close by to a lake or a river, and abundant water would reach to the roots of this plant, you will see it thriving. 

Like other plants in the Lobelia genus, the Cardinal flower is highly harmful to people and animals. The plant includes several poisonous alkaloid substances, including lobelamine and loeline, which can result in various symptoms, from upset stomach to convulsions and even death.

6. Japanese Primrose

A little perennial forest plant called Japanese primrose which may also be known as the Primula japonica, is frequently grown in colder areas. It is common in gardens throughout Western and Southern Europe. It comes in various colors, including red, white, and yellow. 

As long as it is cultivated in some shade and the soil is maintained moist, the Japanese Primrose is a lovely flowering plant that doesn’t need much attention. This beautiful Primrose is ideal for individuals new to gardening because it is deceptively tricky and has beautiful blooms.

As long as it is cultivated in some shade, Japanese primrose, native to mountainous areas of the temperate and subtropical Northern Hemisphere, will flourish in temperatures between 35 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Furthermore, you should remember that it will begin to wilt and eventually die if the temperature rises above 78 degrees Fahrenheit; however, it can survive happily whenever the temperature provided is below the given. Due to its extreme hardiness, it is very likely to endure even the most brutal winters.

7. Marsh Marigold

Caltha palustris, often known as Caltha cowslip or marsh cup, is a member of the buttercup family and is not a marigold. It grows compactly and mound-like, reaching a height of one to two feet. Each waxy, deciduous leaf is heart-shaped, kidney-shaped, or rounded with two lobes and is a deep green color.

The half-inch yellow blossoms of the flowers usually bloom in April and May. However, flowers may last until August in certain areas. These colorful perennials, which sprout from rhizomes that spread each spring, draw the first hummingbirds, butterflies, and birds of the season. 

In order to see this plant have a prosperous growth, you must remember to provide it a soggy and a wet soil, hence the name says it all, and remember to fertilize it properly as well. In addition, you must also locate it in a place where it will see full sun or even partial shades or fun. 

8. Swamp Milkweed

The Greek god of medicine, Asklepios, inspired the name of swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata. Incarnata is derived from the Latin words carn, which means flesh, and atus, which means like because its color can occasionally resemble meat or dusty rose. 

Swamp milkweed is a tall herbaceous perennial that likes moisture; it prefers sunny openings in swamps, marshes, bogs, and fens, as well as open spaces along stream banks and ditches. Like its common milkweed cousin, this sturdy and upright stemmed plant grows three to five feet tall and releases a milky fluid when crushed. 

Smooth, elongated leaves of swamp milkweed are paired, lance-shaped, and have pointed. Occasionally, a leaf’s edges will curve upward and inward, resembling the prow of a ship, and when the right growth requirements are provided, this is when the plant will show you its best features and characteristics. 

9. Hardy Hibiscus

Try cultivating a tough hibiscus plant with enormous, beautiful blossoms if you want a taste of the tropics in your cold region. The vast North American natives have tissue-thin, ruffled petals in pink, red, magenta, and white hues. 

However, at times some cultivars result in flowers with dark centers, and this would occasionally happen. Hardy hibiscus can be planted when there is no chance of frost in the spring. The plants will spread out swiftly and produce flowers the size of dinner plates every summer.

Hardy hibiscus blossoms give color to your summer garden and draw hummingbirds, dragonflies, and butterflies. Each bloom barely lasts a day or two, but fresh flowers are soon added in their place. 

Although you might be tempted, resist the urge to cut a bouquet because hibiscus blossoms are better suited to the landscape than being cut and placed in a vase, where they will endure only a few days.

Since this is one of the plants that would grow at its utmost when it sees full sun, and a moist or a wet soil. In addition to this, during summer time, when the weather is warmer than usual, and sun is very bright, you should provide some shades for the flowers, so that they wouldn’t change their growth pace.  

10. Swamp Sunflower

A close relative of the well-known garden sunflower, the swamp sunflower is a large, luminous plant that enjoys exposure to sunlight.

Swamp sunflower requires damp soil, as its name implies, and even grows well in clay-based or poorly drained soil, near a place that the habitat is already soggy.

This makes swamp sunflowers in the garden an excellent choice for moist environments, such as perpetually soggy bogs. 

11. Calla Lily

Long thought of a representation of new life and resurrection, calla lilies are closely linked to the Easter season. Modern hybrids occur in various hues in addition to the primary species’ all-white blossoms. 

The long-blooming flowers commonly referred to as spathes, provide enduring color to pots, borders, mass plantings, and cut flower bouquets. This tropical plant, grown from rhizomes, is also offered as a houseplant at flower shops and looks exceptional in a home, but you must provide it with the right requirements.

12. Royal Fern

Royal ferns give shady places a unique texture and color in the garden. The royal fern, Osmunda regalis, is a massive plant with twice-cut leaves that offers elegance when planted in shady settings among plants with contrasting foliage. 

When cultivating a royal fern plant in the proper area, royal fern maintenance is easy. Large leaves that occasionally produce beads-like sori or the spores, that it has at the tips are another name for old-world royal ferns.

13. BIlex Verticillata

The deciduous plant known as winterberry holly which is also known as the Ilex verticillata. This beautiful plant is actually indigenous to the eastern United States. 

Due to the fact that it produces beautiful red berries that last throughout winter and spring, making it an excellent addition to the landscape.

Due to their dioecious nature, these shrubs only produce either male or female offspring. For the female plant to be pollinated and produce berries, the appropriate male variety must be placed close by.

When these plants are growing, their soil needs to be one that is acidic, and the region should be in the zones of three till nine. Moreover, the soil should be soggy for it to grow well, in addition to the location of the plant, should be in a place where it sees full to partial shades.

14. Clethra Alnifolia

Simple to grow in full sun to partial shade and ordinary, medium to damp soils. Prefers sandy, acidic, continuously moist soils in partial shade. It is essential to prevent dirt from drying out. Accepts clay-based soils. 

This soggy-soil loving plant would surely accept being under full shade. On the other hand, it has some root suckers that should be promptly removed unless a natural appearance is desired.

You can always use the cutting propagation method to multiply, and during the arrival of late winter, is when you have the perfect time to prune.

A native of swampy forests, wet marshes, stream banks, and seashores, generally in the sandy earth, Clethra alnifolia, often known as summersweet, is a deciduous shrub.

It is a densely branching, rounded, suckering, deciduous shrub that usually reaches heights of three to six feet, but rarely eight feet. It is well known for its mid to late-summer bloom of fragrant, sweet-smelling white flowers.

15. Cornus Alba

Best cultivated in full sun to partial shade, fertile, continuously moist soils with high organic content. This plant however, is capable of producing in a variety of soils. 

Established bushes may withstand some dry dirt and the sporadic presence of standing water. If the colonial spread is undesirable, trim roots with a spade and rapidly remove root suckers. 

On young stems, the best stem color is seen. Although pruning is unnecessary, many gardeners choose to cut 20 to 25 percent of the oldest branches in the first few weeks of spring each year to encourage the growth of new stems that will exhibit the best color.

16. Caltha Palustris

A succulent with glossy, kidney- or heart-shaped leaves and a thick, hollow stem with branching leaves that bears beautiful, bright yellow flowers. A mounded perennial with thick stems, broadly heart-shaped leaves, and clusters of brilliant, buttercup-like yellow blooms, yellow marsh marigold grows to a height of one to two feet tall. 

Instead of marigolds, this spectacular spring plant’s blossoms resemble giant buttercups. The leaves can occasionally be utilized as a pot herb, but this requires numerous quick boiling sessions separated by water changes. 

Therefore, they must not be consumed raw. Small white or pinkish blooms, kidney-shaped leaves, and stems that frequently float are characteristics of the smaller species known as the floating marsh marigold, which can be found from Alaska’s southeast to northern Minnesota.

17. Flag Iris

Consider adding a flag iris to your garden if you’re searching for an eye-catching, moisture-loving plant. Flag iris maintenance and growth conditions are relatively simple tasks that repay you with lovely flowers each year. 

In general, flag irises bloom in the spring and early summer and are highly hardy perennials that can thrive with little maintenance.

On the other hand, this variety of irises thrive in settings similar to those in the home garden because they are most frequently found in a wet soil and a low-lying location.

18. River Birch

The most widely adapted of all birches, river birch or the Betula nigra, is found all over South Carolina. USDA hardiness zones four to nine are suitable for it. 

Many people credit the river birch’s widespread appeal to the year-round appeal of its two-toned, flaking bark. The pinkish to light brown outer bark curls and peels off in thin papery sheets on younger trunks and branches.

To reveal the lighter, creamy tan to the reddish-brown inner bark. The bark loses its ornamental qualities on aged trees and develops scaly reddish, gray, or nearly black bark.

19. Rose Mallow

Like tropical hibiscus, rose mallow has enormous, vividly colored flowers, some of which can reach dinner plate size.

But once your resilient hibiscus blooms, it will carry on until the first frost and then come back the following spring to repeat the feat.

Although it can withstand freezing temperatures, however it would also enjoy the heat and thrives in warm southern regions.

Like tropical hibiscus rose mallow has enormous, vividly colored flowers, some of which can reach dinner plate size.

But once your resilient hibiscus blooms, it will carry on until the first frost and then come back the following spring to repeat the feat. Although it can withstand freezing temperatures, rose mallow also enjoys the heat and thrives in warm southern regions.

Conclusion 

Many plants like to grow in marshy and wet conditions if you know where to look. Just make sure you do the following:

• Provide enough water to keep the roots moist.
• Adding leaf mulch around these plants helps in the growth.
• Make sure these plants have plenty of sunlight to bloom. 

All in all, planting plants can be rewarding, so be wary of their requirements.

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