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