Planting your rain garden

Choices, choices!

Low to high density

Groomed to natural

Theme gardens ● Butterfly garden ● Evergreen garden ● Native plants ● Cool colors ● Warm colors ● Limited only by your imagination!

Your rain garden will be… Very wet sometimes…

Your rain garden will be… Very dry sometimes…

Native Species!! ● Accustomed to the climate ● Low maintenance! ● Beautiful selections

Choosing Plants ● Tolerant of moisture and drought ● Adapted to site conditions ● Moisture levels within rain garden vary depending on location

River Birch Betula nigra ● 50’ x 50’ ● Excellent Specimen ● Single or multi-stemmed ● Papery bark ● ‘Heritage’, ‘Duraheat’ ● Grows fast, tolerate very wet to average conditions

Redbud ● Cercis canadensis ● Blooms early spring, deciduous ● Lives ~ 20 yrs. ● Sun, well drained soil ● Fuller in sun

Redbud ‘Forest Pansy’ ‘Royal White’

Fringetree ● Chionanthus virginicus ● To 20’ x 20’ ● Sun – lt. shade ● Moist soil ● Late season leaf spot ● Blue fruit on female trees

Shrubs and small trees Red maple Elderberry Strawberry bush

Southern Wax Myrtle Myrica cerifera ● 10’-15’ x 10’-15’ ● Berries are valuable to birds (female plants) ● Large screen, pruned hedge, ● Dwarf forms exist ● Often multi-stemmed tree ● Exceptionally tough

Sweet Pepperbush Clethra alnifolia ● Native, deciduous shrub ● Sun – part shade ● Well drained or moist soil ● Cultivars: ● ‘Hummingbird’, ‘16 Candles’ ● dwarf white, 3’ x 6’ ● ‘Ruby Spice’ ● upright pink, 8’ x 5’ ● Blooms in June-July, exceptional fragrance ● Yellow fall color

Sweet Pepperbush ‘Sixteen Candles’ ‘Ruby Spice’

Virginia Sweetspire Itea virginica ● Deciduous shrub ● Sun to part shade ● Wet to dry soil ● Cultivars: ● ‘Henry’s Garnet’ ● 4’-6’ x 4’-6’ ● ‘Little Henry’, ‘Merlot’ ● dwarf - 3’ x 3’ ● Flowers in June ● Burgundy autumn color holds till Dec. ● Very moisture tolerant

Virginia Sweetspire

Beautyberry Callicarpa americana ● 6’ x 6’ ● Cut back to 1’ every year in Feb/March ● Bright purple berries in autumn - loved by birds ● Very Fast Grower

Beautyberry Ca llicarpa americana

Asclepias species ● Butterflyweed ● Asclepias tuberosa ● 2’ – 3’ tall and wide ● Blooms in spring/early summer, orange ● Sun to light shade ● Drought tolerant, good drainage ● Swamp milkweed ● Asclepias incarnata ● 3’ tall and wide ● Spring/early summer flowers, pink or white ● Sun to part shade ● Moisture tolerant

Monarchs

Orange Coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida ● Tough spreading perennial ● Yellow flowers all summer, 3’ tall ● Sun, moist to average soil ● Low mat of semi- evergreen foliage in winter ● Leave seed heads in winter for birds

Panic Grass ● Panicum virgatum ● ‘Shenandoah’ ● 3’ x 2’, burgundy ● ‘Northwind’ ● 4’ x 2’, upright ● Moist or dry soils ● Sun to light shade ‘Shenandoah’ ‘Northwind’

Joe Pye Weed ● Eupatorium fistulosum, E. dubium ● Large spreading perennial ● Moist soil, sun ● Rose-mauve flowers in late summer ● 6’-8’ in flower ● Excellent nectar source

Goldenrod ● Many species ● Solidago rugosa ● ‘Fireworks’ ● Late summer – fall flowers ● Moist to average, sun

Rose Mallow ● Hibiscus moscheutos ● Extremely sturdy, clumping perennial ● 4’-6’ tall and wide ● Wet to moist soil, sun ● Pink or white flowers in summer ● Dies back completely in winter

Cardinal Flower ● Lobelia cardinalis ● Sun – pt. shade ● Wet to avg. soil ● Flowers lt. summer, fall, 3’-4’ tall in flower ● Short lived soil, self seeds ● Do not mulch over crown in winter ● Hummingbirds, butterflies

Diversity ● Great habitat ● Reduces pest impact ● Long flowering season

Right plants in the right place Oval Rain Garden

Wetness zones Dry Average Wet Redbud Muhly Grass Butterflyweed Orange Coneflower Fringetree Orange Coneflower Blue Star False Indigo Washington Hawthorn Possumhaw River Birch Swamp Milkweed Turtlehead River Oats

Laying out your garden Formal grid… or freestyle…

Good planting technique ● ● Water plants while in the container ● ● Keep shaded until planting

Good planting technique ● ● Dig a hole at least twice as wide as root ball or container ● ● Rough up the sides of the hole

Good planting technique ● ● Be kind to roots… ● ● Gently remove plant from container

Good planting technique ● ● Place root collar level with soil ● ● Backfill loose soil with no air pockets ● ● Tamp down firmly

Mulching Removes pollution Removes pollution Retains moisture Retains moisture Prevents erosion Prevents erosion

Mulching ● Mulch 2-4 inches ● Use dense mulch ● Replace periodically

Do I need to water? ● After planting, yes! ● First season, yes! ● In droughts, yes! ● In rain, no!

Show off your rain garden!