Recommended Rain Garden Plants

Grasses • Perennials • Shrubs

Grasses

Korean Feather Reedgrass Calamagrostis brachytricha

Height: 3.5'

Spread: 2.5'

Description: Native to woodland edge in Asia. Glossy foliage with feathery pink flowerheads in September. Prefers consistent moisture. Easy to grow in most soils. Excellent in containers.

Native: No

Longhair Sedge Carex comosa

Height: 1-2'

Description: Grass-like plant with coarse-textured, bright green foliage. It prefers moist conditions making it perfect for a rain garden or water garden. It's also deer-resistant.

Native: Yes

Gray's Sedge Carex grayi

Height: 2-3'

Spread: 2'

Description: This Midwestern native forms a dense clump of bright green leaves; known for its unique pale green mace-like flower heads; easy to grow in any moist soil; ideal for rain gardens.

Native: Yes

Porcupine Sedge Carex hystericina

Description: Prefers wet habitat such as wetlands or riverbanks. In right conditions can spread aggressively. Interesting, prickly seedheads.

Native: Yes

Ice Dance Sedge Carex morrowii

Height: 1'

Spread: 1-2'

Description: Grass-like leaves are dark green with white edges, with the color often persisting through winter. Prefers moist soils with part to full shade. Slowly spreads and looks nice in a container.

Native: No

Palm Sedge Carex muskingumensis

Height: 2.5'

Spread: 2-3'

Description: Grass-like leaves radiate out from the stem. Light green foliage turns yellow with frost. Full to part sun, moist soil.

Native: Yes

Plaintain-Leaved Sedge Carex plantaginea

Height: 1'

Spread: 1'

Description: Clump-forming sedge with broad, 1" shiny evergreen leaves. Best growth in moist soils and part shade, but tolerates dry soils.

Native: No

Long-Beaked Sedge Carex sprengelii

Height: 2-3'

Spread: 18"

Description: An attractive fountain-like mound of bright green foliage with loose, pendant flower spikes. Grows best in part to full shade and moist soil, but tolerates dry shade. Remains green well into winter. Excellent in containers.

Native: Yes

Canada Wildrye Elymus canadensis

Height: 3'

Spread: 3-4'

Description: Attractive nodding seedheads remain attractive well into winter. Blue-green foliage turns tan in fall. A fast growing, somewhat short-lived cool season prairie grass. Full sun, adaptable, naturalizing.

Native: Yes

Common Rush Juncus effusus

Height: 3-4'

Spread: 18"

Description: A native clump-forming wetland plant with very dark green foliage; excellent for its fine textural contrast to bold perennials; prefers low spots or boggy soils; ideal for rain gardens.

Native: Yes

Autumn Red Miscanthus Miscanthus

Height: 3-4'

Spread: 2'

Description: Reddish tinged flowers become white seed plumes and last well into winter. Foliage turns dazzling shades of orange and red in fall that also persist. Full sun to part shade, site adaptable.

Native: No

Dewey Blue Switchgrass Panicum amarum

Height: 3'

Spread: 4'

Description: An excellent selection of a native grass with silvery blue foliage. Airy flowering plumes in late summer give way to beige seedheads that last through winter. Plant in full sun with well-drained soil.

Native: No

Prairie Wind Panicum Panicum

Height: 7'

Description: An extra tall version of switchgrass. Leaves and seedheads sway in the wind. Full to part sun in average soil.

Native: No

Dallas Blues Switchgrass Panicum virgatum

Height: 6-7'

Spread: 2-3'

Description: This selection is noted for its wide, blue-green leaves and upright vase shape; long, upright seed heads are dusted in pink, blooming in August; easy to grow and dependable in sunny location.

Native: Yes

Northwind Switchgrass Panicum virgatum

Height: 4-5'

Spread: 2'3'

Description: Great Panicum for the landscape. Upright blue selection with wide bluish leaves turning golden yellow in fall. Vigorous and rust-resistant.

Native: Yes

Shenandoah Switchgrass Panicum virgatum

Height: 4'

Spread: 4'

Description: Foliage emerges blue-green in spring and quickly becomes red. Reddish pink flowering plumes become beige seedheads. Grows best in full sun with moist soils.

Native: Yes

Indian Steel Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans

Height: 5-6'

Spread: 2-3'

Description: Blue-green foliage turns yellow in fall. Golden flower plumes become bronze seedheads in fall. Grows upright in full sun and dry soil.

Native: Yes

Tomahawk Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans

Height: 4-5'

Description: Wider light green leaf turns reddish-yellow in fall and persists through winter. Golden seedheads are another attractive characteristic of this warm season grass. Full sun, drought-tolerant.

Native: Yes

Perennials

Sweet Flag Acorus calamus

Height: 3'

Spread: 2'

Description: Long, sword-like leaves similar to iris foliage; tolerates wet, boggy soils; spreads by rhizomes; bruised foliage emits fragrant scent.

Native: Yes

Nodding Pink Onion Allium cernuum

Height: 18"

Spread: 15"

Description: Clumps of grasslike leaves; blooms spring to fall; grows best in full sun with well-drained garden soil; especially nice in rock gardens. Nodding flowers in shades of pink to white.

Native: Yes

Asclepias incarnata

Height: 2-4'

Spread: 2'

Description: Native with light pink flowers. Full sun, attracts butterflies & hummingbirds.

Native: Yes

Sweet Indian Plantain Cacalia suaveolens

Height: 5'

Description: Spreading plant from aster family that prefers moist soils in sun to part shade. Many white flowers July-September above triangular leaves. Great for bog or water garden.

Native: No

Bluebell Bellflower Campanula rotundifolia

Height: 1'

Spread: 1'

Description: Clusters of bright blue bells in early spring. Woodland native along the Niobrara valley in Nebraska; prefers rich, moist soil and shade.

Native: Yes

Turtlehead Chelone lyonii

Height: 2-4'

Spread: 2'

Description: Upright 2-4' clump-forming plant with hooded, snapdragon-like pink flowers in spike-like racemes late summer to fall. Prefers rich, moist soils.

Native: Yes

Prairie Jewel Eupatorium Eupatorium altissimum

Height: 3'

Spread: 2-3'

Description: Native prairie plant with mottled foliage and clusters of small white flowers in fall. Well-drained, moderately dry soils and full sun. Zone 4

Native: Yes

Little Joe Coastal Plain Joe-Pye Plant Eupatorium dubium

Height: 3-4'

Spread: 2'

Description: This eastern U.S. native has a bushy, compact habit, topped with clusters of purple-pink flowers in late summer; a favorite of butterflies.

Native: No

Gateway Joe-Pye Plant Eupatorium purpureum

Height: 4-5'

Spread: 3'

Description: Choice selection with large clusters of lavendar-pink flowers in late summer; butterfly magnet; prefers rich, moist soils so ideal for rain gardens; GreatPlants Perennial of the Year

Native: Yes

Meadowsweet Filipendula rubra

Height: 4-5'

Spread: 3'

Description: Very large pink flowers through summer, vigorous. Sun to part shade

Native: No

Queen of the Meadow Filipendula ulmaria

Height: 3-4'

Spread: 3-4'

Description: Creamy-white, asilbe-like, fragrant flowers in crowded clusters summer till fall. Full to part sun.

Native: No

Prairie Smoke Geum triflorum

Height: 1'

Spread: 1'

Description: Nodding pink flowers and feathery seedheads on 12-15" native. Full sun.

Native: Yes

Pink Clouds Hibiscus Hibiscus

Height: 4-5'

Spread: 3'

Description: Large, pink flowers with long bloom and leaves similar to Norway maple. Best in rich soil & good air circulation; tolerates light shade, but flowers more in full sun. Periodic deep watering helpful.

Native: No

Meadow Blazing Star Liatris ligulistylis

Height: 4'

Spread: 18"

Description: Great Plains native with showy, crimson buds opening to reveal purplish-pink flowers; a Monarch magnet in late summer; tolerates moist soils; ideal for rain gardens.

Native: Yes

Eureka Gayfeather Liatris pycnostachya

Height: 5'

Spread: 4'

Description: Rosy-purple flower spikes on 3-4' stalks. Full sun and combine with tall prairie grasses to reduce flopping; Fine for cut flowers. GreatPlants release!

Native: Yes

Blue Select Lobelia Lobelia siphilitica

Height: 3'

Spread: 2'

Description: A Nebraska woodland native. Dark blue tubular flowers in late summer. Light green, lance-shaped foliage. Part to full sun.

Native: Yes

Gooseneck Loosestrife Lysimachia clethroides

Height: 2'

Spread: 2'

Description: Attractive clean foliage topped with arching white flowers in late spring; long bloom season on this aggressive spreading plant; needs confined root space; great as a cut flower.

Native: No

Monkey Flower Mimulus ringens

Height: 3'

Spread: 18"

Description: Nebraska lowland native; bushy, upright plants with shiny foliage; blooms profusely with lavendar-blue spikes in summer; best for moist soils, rain gardens and water gardens.

Native: Yes

Lemon-Scented Beebalm Monarda fistulosa

Height: 4'

Spread: 2'

Description: Spidery, lavender flowers bloom mid to late summer, are fragrant and attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. Needs good air circulation in full sun.

Native: Yes

Prairie Gypsy Beebalm Monarda

Height: 1.5-2'

Spread: 1.5'

Description: Raspberry-pink floral tubes, and colorful lines of narrow spots. Clean, mildew-resistant foliage, shade-tolerant, compact and early blooom time. Zone 4

Native: No

Vivid Obedient Plant Physostegia virginiana

Height: 3'

Spread: 2'

Description: This adaptable, dependable native plant is topped with showy, bright pink spikes in late summer; can be aggressive spreader; plant in confined space; ideal for rain gardens.

Native: Yes

Pickerel Rush Pontederia cordata

Height: 2'

Spread: 18"

Description: This Midwestern native is ideal for water gardens, bog gardens or rain gardens; shiny, attractive foliage; spikes of blue flowers in late spring; a favorite of butterflies;

Native: No

Cabbage-Leaf Coneflower Rudbeckia maxima

Height: 5-7'

Spread: 3'

Description: Blue-gray paddle-shaped basal leaves 1-2' long and 8-10" across. Drooping yellow petals and jutting conical disk. Well-drained soil, full sun, drought and deer-tolerant. Zone 4

Native: No

Zigzag Goldenrod Solidago flexicaulis

Height: 1-3'

Spread: 1-3'

Description: Distinctive crooked stems bend at 45° angles. Starry, medium-yellow flowers. Deadhead to limit self-seeding.

Native: Yes

Fireworks Goldenrod Solidago rugosa

Height: 2-4'

Spread: 2-3'

Description: Delicate, lacy spikes from mid-Sept to late Oct.

Native: No

Solidaster Solidaster luteus

Height: 1.5-2'

Spread: 1.5'

Description: Mix of goldenrod/white aster. Yellow clusters of daisy-like flowers in late summer attract butterflies. Deer-resistant; needs good air circulation to avoid diseases.

Native: No

Nodding Ladies Tresses Spiranthes cernua var. odorata

Height: 3-4"

Spread: 6"

Description: Basal rosette of narrow, dark green leaves up to 8" long with white flowers arranged on a wand in a twisting spiral; fragrance similar to vanilla or jasmine. Easy to grow in damp, organic soils.

Native: Yes

Stoke's Aster Stokesia laevis

Height: 1.5'

Spread: 1'

Description: Large disc flowers are lilac/blue. Plant in full sun. Good cutting flower.

Native: No

Purple Meadow Rue Thalictrum dasycarpum

Height: 5'

Description: Attractive columbine-like foliage in spring give rise to "purple" colored hollow stems topped by a cloud of snowy white flowers in early summer. It can be cut back after flowering. Grows best in rich, moist soils and in full sun to part shade.

Native: Yes

Culver's Root Veronicastrum virginicum

Height: 4-5'

Description: Pink-white tubular flowers in July-August.

Native: Yes

Shrubs

Bottlebrush Buckeye Aesculus parviflora

Height: 8-12'

Spread: 8-12'

Description: Showy, white bottlebrush-like flowers in June-July. Large, handsome dark green leaves turn yellow in fall. Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Prefers rich, moist, well-drained soil in dappled shade.

Native: No

Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis

Height: 10'

Spread: 10'

Description: White, pincushion-like flower clusters appear in early summer. The honey-scented blooms attract butterflies and bees. Grows in full to part sun and prefers moist soils--even standing water.

Native: Yes

Silky Dogwood Cornus amomum

Height: 10'

Spread: 10'

Description: Full sun to part shade. Flowers cream in late spring followed by showy blue fruit.

Native: Yes

Spicebush Lindera benzoin

Height: 6-12'

Spread: 6-12'

Description: Small yellow flowers bloom in early spring. Light green leaves turn yellow to gold in fall. Prefers moist soils in full sun or partial shade.

Native: No