Winterberry
Ilex verticillata
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, white, red berries flowers, where it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Indiana · Zones 5–7
Native Rain Garden Plants in Indiana
Moisture-loving natives for rain gardens, pond edges, downspout basins, and the low spots that stay soggy after a storm. For Indiana, the right natives are shaped by Eastern Corn Belt Plains & oak savanna and a humid continental climate. Every species below, from Winterberry and Serviceberry to the rest of the list, is genuinely native to Indiana and the wider flora of the Midwest and hardy through zones 5–7. A rain garden catches roof and driveway runoff and lets it soak in instead of rushing to the storm drain, and these natives are built for that boom-and-bust of flood then dry. Put the most water-tolerant species in the wet center and the merely moisture-loving ones up on the sloped edges. Once established they handle both the standing water and the dry weeks between storms.
The plants
25 native species for Indiana
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 5–7 · see this collection in other states.
Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, white spring lace flowers, where it flowers in Apr and May.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, reaching 2–4 ft, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, deep blue flowers, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, spreading 1–2 ft, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Virginia Bluebells
Mertensia virginica
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, for loam ground, where it blooms Mar through May.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 1–2 ft
- Blooms Mar–May
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, 2–4 ft tall, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, 5–10 ft tall, where it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, rose pink flowers, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, good through zone 8, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, cold-hardy to zone 3, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, spreading 1.5–3 ft, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, for clay and loam ground, where it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, 1.5–2 ft wide, where it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, reaching 3–5 ft, where it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, mauve-pink flowers, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, for clay, rocky, and loam ground, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, reaching 6–12 ft, where it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Blue Vervain
Verbena hastata
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, violet-blue flowers, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Red-Twig Dogwood
Cornus sericea
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, 6–9 ft tall, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–9 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, chartreuse-gold flowers, where it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Common Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, reaching 3–5 ft, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Cinnamon Fern
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, spreading 2–3 ft.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Foliage
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, happy in sand, clay, and loam soil.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 3–6 ft
- Fall color
1 more also qualify: Big Bluestem.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Indiana
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
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