Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, mauve-pink flowers, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Texas · Zones 6–9
Native Rain Garden Plants in Texas
Moisture-loving natives for rain gardens, pond edges, downspout basins, and the low spots that stay soggy after a storm. Texas sits in a landscape of Hill Country, Blackland Prairie & Gulf Coast, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its hot, dry west to humid east character. The list below — led by Spotted Joe-Pye Weed and Golden Alexanders — is filtered to species genuinely native to Texas and the wider flora of the South-Central region and hardy through zones 6–9. 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
26 native species for Texas
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 6–9 · see this collection in other states.
Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, good through zone 8, where it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Virginia Bluebells
Mertensia virginica
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, hardy in zones 3–8, where it blooms Mar through May.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 1–2 ft
- Blooms Mar–May
Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, white spring lace flowers, where it flowers in Apr and May.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, pink flowers, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, scarlet red flowers, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, 1.5–2 ft wide, where it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, 12–18 in wide, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, cold-hardy to zone 5, where it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, 3–5 ft tall, where it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, hardy in zones 3–9, where it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, 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
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, spreading 1–2 ft, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, cold-hardy to zone 3, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, happy in clay and loam soil, where it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, cold-hardy to zone 4, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Common Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, 3–5 ft tall, where it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Inkberry Holly
Ilex glabra
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, happy in sand, clay, and loam soil, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–8 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, 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, cold-hardy to zone 3, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–9 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Takes the wet center of a rain garden through flood and dry spell alike, creamy umbels flowers, where it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Blue Vervain
Verbena hastata
Built for the wet center of a rain garden and the boom-and-bust of storm runoff, happy in clay and loam soil, where it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
Happy in the wet center of a rain garden and ground that stays soggy after a storm, 5–10 ft wide, where it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Big Bluestem
Andropogon gerardii
For the wet center of a rain garden and damp low spots, for sand, clay, and loam ground.
- Full sun
- Dry to wet
- 4–7 ft
- Fall color
2 more also qualify: Switchgrass, Cinnamon Fern.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Texas
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
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