Perennial Plants for Clay Soil

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Growing plants in clay soil can be a chore.

Clay soil particles are small and flat; they pack so closely that water has trouble draining between them. Clay soil particles are so dense that plant roots have a hard time growing around or between them.

Clayey soil is sticky and heavy when wet and hard when dry. In either condition, plants struggle to grow. Often plants in clay soil will be stunted.

If your garden has clay soil, there are a couple of things you can do. First, amend the soil or grow above it. Add aged compost and organic matter to the soil to help separate the clay particles. Mound humus-rich soil above the clay and plant into the mounds; you can also grow plants in raised beds set high above the native clay.

Also, you can grow plants that tolerate clay soil. There are plants native to regions where clay soil is dominant; these plants have evolved other hundreds and thousands of years to survive and often thrive in clay soil.

Here’s a list A to Z of perennial plants that tolerate clay soil. At the bottom of this post are links to lists of shrubs, climbers, and trees that tolerate clay soil.

Perennial plants that tolerate clay soil

A-B Common Name	Botanical Name	Zone
Arrowhead	Sagittaria subulata	8-11
Aster	Symphyotrichum	4-8
Astilbe	Astilbe japonica	3-8
Bearded iris	Iris germanica	3-9
Bear’s Breech	Acanthus mollis	6-10
Bee balm	Monarda didyma	4-8
Bellflower	Campanula spp.	3-8
Black-eyed Susan	Rudbeckia hirta	4-9
Blazing Star	Liatris spicata	4-8
Bluebell	Hyacinthoides non-scripta	4-9
Blue cardinal flower	Lobelia siphilitica	3-9
Bulley’s Primrose	Primula bulleyana	4-8
Butterfly Bush	Buddleia davidii	5-9
Butterfly Weed	Asclepias tuberosa	3-9

C-F Common Name	Botanical Name	Zone
Canadian wild rye	Elymus canadensis	3-8
Cardinal Flower	Lobelia cardinalis	2-9
Chameleon plant	Houttuynia cordata	5-9
Chilean rhubarb	Gunnera manicata	9-11
Common Bistort	Persicaria bistortum	4-9
Compass plant	Silphium lacineatum	3-8
Coneflower	Echinacea purpurea	3-9
Creeping Jenny	Lysimachia nummularia	3-8
Cuckoo Flower	Cardamine pratensis	4-8
Daylily	Hemerocallis spp.	3-9
Fleeceflowers	Persicaria amplexicaulis	4-9
Flowering Rush	Butomus umbellatus	3-10
Forget-Me-Not	Myosotis scorpioides	5-9
Foxglove	Digitalis purpurea	4-8

C-I Common Name	Botanical Name	Zone
Geum	Geum	3-9
Giant Chain Fern	Woowardia	8-9
Goatsbeard	Aruncus dioicus	3-8
Goldenrod	Solidago canadensis	2-8
Globeflower	Trollius	3-7
Greek valerian	Polemonium	3-9
Hardy aster	Symphyotrichum	3-8
Hepatica	Hepatia acutiloba	3-7
Hosta	Hosta spp.	3-9
Hydrangea	Hydrangea macrophylla	5-9
Indian Pink	Spigelia marilandica	6-9
Indian Rhubarb	Peltiphyllum peltatum	3-7

J-L Common Name	Botanical Name	Zone
Jacob’s Ladder	Polemonium	3-9
Joy-Pye Weed	Eupatorium puepueum	4-8
Knotweed	Polygonum capitatum	8-11
Lady’s Mantle	Alchemilla mollis	3-7
Leopard’s-bane	Doronicum	5-8
Lesser Celandine	Ranunculus ficaria	4-8
Lesser Spearwort	Ranunculus flammula	4-8
Loosestrife, Gooseneck	Lysimachia clethroides	3-8
Loosestrife, Purple	Lythrum salicaria	4-9
Lungwort	Pulmonaria vallarsae	4-8

M-O Common Name	Botanical Name	Zone
Marsh Marigold	Caltha palustris	3-7
Meadow Primrose	Primula rosea	4-9
Meadow Rue	Thalictrum rochebrunianum	3-8
Meadowsweet	Filipendula ulmaria ‘Aurea’	3-8
Mexican Lobelia	Lobelia fulgens	3-9
Mist Flower	Eupatorium coelestinum	5-9
Monkeyflower	Mimulus guttatus	2-11
Monkshood	Acontium carmichaelii	3-11
New Zealand Flax	Phormium tenax	9-11
Nutsedge	Cyperus rotundus	3-10
Ostrich Fern	Matteuccia struthiopteris	3-7
Ox-eye Daisy	Heliopsis helianthoides	3-8

P-R Common Name	Botanical Name	Zone
Phlox	Phlox paniculata	4-8
Pickerelweed	Pontederia cordata	3-10
Plantain Lily	Hosta spp.	3-9
Ragwort	Jacobaea vulgaris	9-11
Rockfoil	Saxifraga	5-7
Royal Fern	Osmunda spp.	4-8
Rhubarb	Rheum palmatum	5-7
Rodgersia	Rodgersia aesculifolia	5-7
Rose Campion	Lychnis coronaria	4-8

S-Z Common Name	Botanical Name	Zone
Self-Heal	Prunella vulgaris	3-7
Sedum	Sedum spp.	3-9
Shooting Star	Dodecatheon meadia	4-8
Shoreline Figwort	Scrophularia auriculata	7-10
Skunk Cabbage	Lysichiton americanus	7-9
Sneezeweed	Helenium autumnale	3-8
Snow Poppy	Eomecon chionantha	6-9
Solomon’s seal	Polygonatum hirtum	3-9
Tibetan Cowslip	Primula florindae	3-8
Viburnum	Viburnum plicatum	5-8

Also of interest:

Shrubs for Clay Soil

Climbers for Clay Soil

Trees for Clay Soil