Native Perennials for Rain Gardens

SUN Botanical Name Common Name Image Other Name Height Growth Rate Bloom Color Season of Interest Wildlife Value Deer Tolerance Salt Tolerance Conservation Status Notes Seeds and tubers food for water birds and muskrats; SAT Sagittaria latifolia Common Arrowhead click here Duck Potato, Wapato 24-42" Medium White Summer flowers attract pollinators No -- Edible tubers Nectar and food for butterflies, especially the Monarch OBL Asclepias incarnata Swamp Milkweed click here Pink Milkweed 24-48" Medium Pink Summer butterfly Yes No -- Tolerates flooding & drought

Hibiscus moscheutos Swamp Rose Mallow click here Crimsoneyed Rosemallow 36-90" Fast White-red Summer Flowers attract hummingbirds Yes Yes -- Square-stemmed Mimulus ringens Allegheny Monkeyflower click here Monkeyflower 12-36" Fast Pink, Purple Summer Flowers attract bumblebees Yes --

Symphyotrichum puniceum Purple-stemmed Aster click here Swamp Aster 48-72" Fast Purple Summer Nectar source for butterflies; seeds eaten by songbirds No No Threatened Tolerates flooding & drought Hollow-stemmed Joe Pye Important nectar source for swallowtail FACW Eupatoriadelphus fistulosum Joe-Pye Weed click here Weed 60-96" Medium Pink Summer-Fall Flowers attract pollinators No -- butterfly

Eupatorium perfoliatum Boneset click here 36-72" Medium White Summer-Fall Flowers attract pollinators No --

Helenium autumnale Common Sneezeweed click here 24-60" Fast Yellow Summer Flowers attract pollinators Yes -- Also rabbit resistant

Helianthus giganteus Tall Sunflower click here 36-72" Medium Yellow Summer Flowers attract pollinators No --

Rudbeckia laciniata Green-headed Coneflower click here Cutleaf Coneflower 36-144" Medium Yellow Summer-Fall Flowers attract pollinators; seeds attract birds No -- Tolerates Black Walnut Host for Pearl Crescent & Checkerspot butterflies; nectar tolerates Black Walnut & both flooding & Symphyotrichum novae-angliae New England Aster click here 36-72" Fast Purple Summer source for Monarchs & other butterflies No No -- drought

Verbena hastata Blue Vervain click here Swamp Verbena 48-72" Medium Purple, Blue Summer-Fall Flowers attract pollinators Yes --

Vernonia novaeboracensis New York Ironweed click here 48-84" Fast Purple Summer Flowers attract pollinators No --

FAC Agastache foeniculum Blue Giant Hyssop click here Anise Hyssop 36-72" Medium Blue, Purple Summer-Fall Flowers attract pollinators and hummingbirds Yes -- Host plant for Monarch butterfly; nectar source for Tolerates drought, compaction, & moist soil; Asclepias syriaca Common Milkweed click here 36-60" Medium Pink Summer butterflies & beneficial insects Yes No -- forms colonies

Coreopsis tripteris Tall Tickseed click here 24-96" Medium Yellow Summer-Fall Flowers attract pollinators Yes --

Echinacea purpurea Purple Coneflower click here 24-36" Medium Purple Summer Flowers attract pollinators No --

Liatris spicata Dense Blazing Star click here Spike Gayfeather 36-60" Medium Purple Summer Flowers attract pollinators Yes -- fairly resistant to powdery mildew; available at Monarda didyma Scarlet Bee-balm click here 36-60" Medium Red Summer Flowers attract pollinators and hummingbirds Yes -- retail nurseries; tolerates Black Walnut Smooth White Penstemon digitalis White Beardtongue click here Penstemon 36-60" Medium White Late Spring-Summer Flowers attract pollinators Yes --

Solidago rugosa Rough-stemmed Goldenrod click here Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod 24-60" Medium Yellow Early Fall Flowers attract pollinators Yes -- Tolerates Black Walnut Host plant for Monarch butterfly; nectar source for Tolerates some shade & drought but not FACU Asclepias purpurascens Purple Milkweed click here 24-36" Medium Purple-pink Late Spring-Summer butterflies & beneficial insects Yes No -- flooding Host plant for Monarch butterfly; nectar source for Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly Milkweed click here Butterfly Weed 18-24" Slow Orange Summer butterflies & beneficial insects Yes No -- Tolerates Black Walnut; very drought tolerant drought and powdery mildew resistant; Monarda fistulosa Wild Bergamot click here Lavender Bee Balm 24-60" Medium Pink Summer Flowers attract pollinators and hummingbirds Yes -- tolerates Black Walnut Tolerates black walnut; many cultivars Phlox paniculata Summer Phlox click here Garden Phlox 36-48" Medium Pink Summer-Fall Flowers attract pollinators and hummingbirds No -- commercially available

Rudbeckia triloba Brown-eyed Susan click here Three-lobed Coneflower 24-36" Medium Yellow Summer Flowers attract pollinators No -- Tolerates Black Walnut Veronicastrum virginicum Culver's Root click here 48-72" Medium White Summer Flowers attract pollinators Yes --

PART SHADE Flowers attract pollinators; host plant for Baltimore OBL Chelone glabra White Turtlehead click here 24-60" Medium White Summer-Fall Checkerspot butterfly Yes -- disturbance allows seed to sprout; tolerates FACW Lobelia cardinalis Cardinal Flower click here 24-48" Medium Red Summer Flowers attract pollinators and hummingbirds No -- Black Walnut

Lobelia siphilitica Great Blue Lobelia click here 24-36" Medium Blue Summer Flowers attract pollinators and hummingbirds Yes -- Tolerates Black Walnut Cultivars are commercially available; tolerates Phlox maculata Meadow Phlox click here 24-36" Medium Pink Summer-Fall Flowers attract pollinators and hummingbirds No -- Black Walnut Flowers attract pollinators; seeds eaten by cardinals & Sisyrinchium angustifolium Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass click here 10-12" Medium Blue Late Spring-Summer song sparrows Yes -- Semi-evergreen foliage

FAC Heliopsis helianthoides Oxeye Sunflower click here 48-72" Medium Yellow Summer Flowers attract pollinators; seeds attract birds No -- Cultivars are commercially available Flowers important for native pollinators; seeds eaten by FACU Geranium maculatum Wild Geranium click here American Cranesbill 8-12" Medium Lavender Late Spring-Summer Mourning Doves Yes -- Tolerates dry shade

UPL Helianthus divaricatus Woodland Sunflower click here 48-72" Medium Yellow Summer Flowers attract pollinators No --

SHADE Tolerates flooding & some drought but will die OBL Caltha palustris Marsh Marigold click here Cowslip 10-12" Slow Yellow Early Spring Flowers attract pollinators Yes No -- back and return next year

Iris versicolor Northern Blue Flag click here 24-36" Fast Blue Late Spring-Summer Flowers attract hummingbirds Yes -- Flowers important early season nectar source for FACW Mertensia virginica Virginia Bluebells click here 18-24" Fast Blue Early Spring pollinators No -- Spring ephemeral will fade in summer Packera aurea; Golden Senecio aureus Golden Groundsel click here Ragwort 12" Medium Yellow Late Spring-Summer Provides cover for small mammals & amphibians Yes -- 36"-72"; up to 96" with Thalictrum pubescens King of the Meadow click here flowers Medium-Fast White Summer Flowers eagerly sought after by pollinators No No -- Attractive foliage Cimifuga racemosa; Host plant for Spring Azure & Appalachian Azure FACU Actaea racemosa var. racemosa Black Cohosh click here Bugbane 36-96" Medium White Summer butterflies; nectar source for beneficial insects Yes No -- Tolerates both flooding & drought

Polemonium reptans Spreading Jacob's Ladder click here Greek Valerian 12-18" Medium Blue Late Spring-Summer Nectar source for butterflies & native bees Yes Endangered in NJ Tolerates Black Walnut

Tradescantia virginiana Spiderwort click here 24-36" Medium Purple, Blue Spring-Summer Nectar source for butterflies & native bees No --

NOTE: Wetland Indicator Status Codes These codes are used to denote plant species' preferences for wetland vs. upland soil conditions. They are used by the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service for Clean Water Act, Swamp Buster, and National Wetland Inventory programs.

Indicator Code Indicator Status Description OBL Obligate Wetland Almost always occurs in wet soils, rarely in upland conditions FACW Facultative Wetland Usually occurs in wet soils, occasionally in uplands FAC Facultative Commonly found in wet and upland areas FACU Facultative Upland Occasionally occurs in wet soils but usually found in uplands UPL Obligate Upland Rarely occurs in wet soils, almost always in uplands

Source: Interpreting Wetland Indicator Status, USDA PLANTS Database. Natural Resources Conservation Service. United States Department of Agriculture. http://plants.usda.gov/wetinfo.html