What's a good plant for a low spot that collects lots of water?

Question

We have a low spot in our backyard that turns into a small pond when it rains. Aside from filling in this area, Is there a plant that sucks up a lot of water but doesn't harm underground pipes?

Forgot to mention that we are in zone 5 and the spot is in full sun.

Answer 1

Well you actually have a lot to choose from for interesting grasses, plants and shrubs that will thrive in soggy soil.


Carex elata
'Bowles Golden'
an interesting grass that will give a dramatic splash of yellow in any wet area, growing to a height of around 2 feet.

Eupatorium purpureum
'Big Umbrella'
joe pye weed
For a big perennial, you can't do better than this variety of joe pye weed. It will grow to a height of about 60 to 70 inches and bloom late in the summer with pink to purple flowers.

Astilbe cv.
Well known as a regular garden perennial, Astilbe will also do well in very wet soil, blossoming with intricate white flowers.

Clethra alnifolia
'Hummingbird'
summersweet
Shrubs are great for covering a lot of ground in a wet area, and summersweet will do just that. Flowering in midsummer, 'Hummingbird' is one of the most fragrant varieties. It will fill the area with a lovely scent similar to lilac.

Salix integra
'Hakuro Nishiki'
nishiki willow
The nishiki is a small willow shrub with interesting green leaf variegation.

Viburnum
'Moonglow'
'Moonglow' is a plant native to England that fruits with attractive blue berries.

happy planting

Answer 2

Sounds like a good candidate for a Runoff Garden. This new trend is to keep rain runoff on the property, not allowing it to run into the street, thus putting less stress on urban storm sewers and allowing the water to naturally recharge underground aquifers.

The plants listed in the article below and link are for Rhode Island, but it may give you ideas for your own climate.

http://www.urimga.org/rain_gardens.html

Answer 3

I love Japanese irises, the flowers are smaller than regular irises and the love damp, soppy soil. They'll even grow in water.

There's also a shrubby hisbiscus, whose leaves look like marijuana. (Common name: Rose Mallow, Hibiscus moscheutos) Has beautiful red or pink flowers. Some the size of dinner plates. They grow in all types of soil. I've seen it grow in hard, compacted sand and wet, boggy areas. They come back every year and seed out.

Elephant ears also grow well in boggy soil. I don't really know what temperature zone you're in, but these plants do well in zones 7 and we have friends who have taken these plants up to Michigan and planted them. The elephant ears have to be pulled up each year and stored in the cellar, but otherwise do well.

Answer 4

Build a rain garden.. this is perfect for a low spot like this.

here is a link for a site that is tied to the city of Kansas City's initiative to build 10,000 rain gardens. from this page, there's helpful information on setting one up..

http://www.rainkc.com/home/index.asp

Good Luck!!

Answer 5

I would go with peonies, they love lots of water, just make sure they are in good sunlight. The one drawback is every other year you should dig them up and divide them. If you wait longer then that you could have pipe problems. Hope this helps