Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, 3–4 ft tall, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Michigan · Zones 4–6
Native Rain Garden Plants in Michigan
Moisture-loving natives for rain gardens, pond edges, downspout basins, and the low spots that stay soggy after a storm. Michigan sits in a landscape of Great Lakes forest & dune, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its humid continental, lake-moderated character. The list below — led by Swamp Milkweed and Arrowwood Viburnum — is filtered to species genuinely native to Michigan and the wider flora of the Midwest and hardy through zones 4–6. 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 Michigan
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 4–6 · see this collection in other states.
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, creamy white flowers, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, for clay and loam ground, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, cold-hardy to zone 3, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, happy in clay and loam soil, where it flowers in Apr and May.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, 5–10 ft tall, where it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, yellow flowers, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, reaching 2–3 ft, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, white candelabra flowers, where it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, reaching 5–10 ft, where it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, 4–7 ft tall, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, good through zone 9, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, happy in clay and loam soil, where it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, good through zone 8, where it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, happy in clay and loam soil, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Virginia Bluebells
Mertensia virginica
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, for loam ground, where it blooms Mar through May.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 1–2 ft
- Blooms Mar–May
Red-Twig Dogwood
Cornus sericea
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, 6–10 ft wide, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–9 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Common Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, cold-hardy to zone 3, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, for clay and loam ground, where it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, happy in clay, rocky, and loam soil, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, happy in clay and loam soil, where it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Blue Vervain
Verbena hastata
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, 1.5–2.5 ft wide, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Cinnamon Fern
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, good through zone 9.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Foliage
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, 2–3 ft wide.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 3–6 ft
- Fall color
1 more also qualify: Big Bluestem.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Michigan
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
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