Plants That Grow In Clay Soil – Herbeins Garden Center

Clay soil is one of the most difficult conditions a gardener can face. It’s wet and dense, and can bake as solid as a brick in the sun. The Lehigh Valley consists mostly of deep, moderately wet and sometimes poorly drained soil and if you have a property in the Lehigh Valley as I do, you’ll find that you may need to add organic matter every few years to your existing garden beds, whether for plants or vegetables.

Planting and growing in clay soil can be downright discouraging. But there are many plants that can tolerate this type of soil. You will improve your plants overall health if you do a little digging…literally. Add organic matter, and plenty of it, to the existing soil and mix well. To improve your soil, you’ll need to add about six to eight inches of organic matter to the top six to twelve inches of soil. If mixing it by hand is too hard on your back, use a rototiller. Many home improvement stores offer daily rental rates. When you’re all done, your garden will be several inches higher but won’t be for too long as the organic matter settles and breaks down over time. The soil’s structure will continue to improve as microorganisms work to break down the organic matter that you’ve added. Once you’ve gotten this far, it’s time to plant!

One thing you won’t want to do is to add sand. Clay and sand will tend to resemble concrete and no one needs any more of that in their soil. Consider having a soil sample tested to see if you have any nutrient deficiencies or pH problems so you can correct them and continue to have a healthy garden for years to come.

Aster (Aster novae-angliae)

Asters are late flowering perennials that take your garden through to frost. The plants can thrive in clay soil, though they do need good drainage. If you have very heavy clay, consider amending organic matter into the soil. Aster is a popular and dependable food source for Monarch butterflies, who rely on the nectar of late-season blooms to fuel their fall migration.

Zone: 3 – 9
Bloom Color: Pink, purple, red, white, blue
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: slightly acidic, well-draining
Grows: 1′ – 3′ tall x 2′ – 3′ wide
Benefits: Attract bees, butterflies & birds
Resistant: Deer

Autumn Joy Sedum (Hylotelphium ‘Autumn Joy’)

Autumn Joy sedum is reliable, easy to grow and thrives in poor or gravelly soil. It will tolerate clay soils as long as it has drainage and doesn’t stay consistently wet. Autumn joy is a popular upright variety of sedum with fleshy, succulent leaves resembling those of the jade plant. Pink flowers first appear in early fall in the form of flat clusters of tiny flowers that gradually open through fall to produce reddish flowers that gradually turn bronze and rust-red. Slugs and mealy bugs can largely be controlled by keeping the area free of debris including mulch.

Zone: 3 – 9
Color: Pink, rust-red, lavender purple
Sun: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Average, well draining
Grows: 1.5′ – 2′ tall x 1.5′ – 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract butterflies & bees

Bee Balm (Monarda)

Prized for their bright scarlet flowers, red bee balm plants are herbaceous perennials. They are also considered “herbs” in the sense that they have been put to culinary and medicinal uses. Red bee balm is part of the mint family, and its aromatic leaves have a minty fragrance. Plant taxonomy classifies red bee balm plants (alternatively termed “scarlet”) as Monarda didyma. “Oswego tea” is another common name. “Cambridge Scarlet” is a popular cultivar with red flowers. Similar plants with lavender flowers are also popular; classified as Monarda fistulosa, they go by the common name “wild bergamot.” Red bee balm plants produce clusters of scarlet, tubular flowers in mid to late summer. The distinctive “spiky hairdo” blooms are among their chief selling points, along with the plants’ ability to attract wildlife and its culinary and medicinal uses.

Zone: 4 – 9
Color: Red, purple
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: Dry to medium moisture, well draining
Grows: 10″- 3′ tall x 8″ – 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract birds, butterflies & bees
Resistant: Deer & rabbit
Tolerant: Black walnut

Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)

Big Bluestem is a warm-season grass that loves arid growing conditions. It’s used as an ornamental plant and is a good choice for erosion control. This plant is tolerant of most soil conditions, but in warm, fertile, moist conditions, it will experience a great amount of growth. It provides cover and nesting sites for songbirds.

Zone: 3 – 9
Color Varieties: Red-purple
Sun: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Average, well-draining
Grows: 5′ tall x 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract butterflies & birds
Resistant: Deer

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Black Eyed Susan is the quintessential plant in gardens because they are so adaptable and low maintenance. It provides an extravagant floral display to the delight of butterflies and other beneficial insects. In late summer the seeds will attract finches and other birds. Displays a fantastic show when planted in groups. Easy to grow and quite drought tolerant once established.

Zone: 3 – 9
Bloom Color: Yellow, orange
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: Average, well-draining
Grows: 2′ – 3′ tall x 1′ – 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract bees, butterflies & birds
Resistant: Deer

Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)

Blazing Star plants have grassy foliage and spiky bottle-brush flowers that bloom July through August. It makes an excellent cut flower and is a magnet for butterflies, bees, rare moths and hummingbirds. Attracts tiger swallowtail, clouded sulphur, orange sulphur, gray hairstreak, aphrodite fritillary, painted lady, red admiral, and wood nymphs. Very popular with monarch butterflies as they will feast on the nectar for hours.

Zone: 3 – 9
Bloom Color: Red, purple, white
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: Moist, well-draining
Grows: 3′ – 5′ tall x 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract bees, butterflies & birds
Resistant: Deer & rabbit

Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis)

Tall blue spikes of flowers resemble racemes of lupines in May and early June. Charcoal black seedpods follow and are valued in dried flower arrangements. Baptisia takes some time to get established so have patience. They are worth the wait. This sun-loving legume thrives in clay and adds nitrogen to the soil as well. Blue Indigo is a native host plant for the following butterflies – Wild Indigo Duskywing, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Frosted Elfin, Hoary Edge.

Zone: 3 – 9
Bloom Color: Blue, white, soft yellow
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: Moist, well-draining
Grows: 3′ – 4′ tall x 3′ – 4′ wide
Benefits: Attract butterflies
Resistant: Rabbit

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Plants bloom in shades of fiery red, orange, and yellow in June and July and sometimes even longer. They are irresistible to butterflies and hummingbirds love them too. The fragrant flowers are a nutritious treat for a wide variety of beneficial insects. It is also the host plant for Monarch butterflies. Plant in a sunny site with well-drained soil. The plant’s long taproot makes it very drought tolerant once established. Deer resistant.

Zone: 3 – 9
Bloom Color: Red, orange
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: Average, well-draining
Grows: 2′ – 2.5′ tall x 1.5′ – 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract bees, butterflies & birds
Resistant: Deer

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Cardinal flowers are the hybrids of the wild lobelia that most botanists call “America’s Most Vivid Wildflower.” It brightens moist spots during mid-summer, in both sun and shade, and is often visited by hungry butterflies and hummingbirds. The tall spikes of red add an abundance of interest to the garden when most blooms have dwindled off for the season. Deer and rabbit resistant.

Zone: 3 – 9
Bloom Color: Red
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: Moist, well-draining
Grows: 2′ – 4′ tall x 1′ – 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract butterflies, birds and bees
Resistant: Deer & rabbit

Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Coneflowers are tough and have strong stems to hold the semi-large blossoms upright. The petals are held horizontally making the flowers look bigger than the species. They begin to flower in mid-summer and keep blooming into fall. Removing spent flowers will extend the bloom time but some seed heads should be left to feed the finches. This is a tough, easy to grow perennial that is both rabbit and deer resistant.

Zone: 3 – 9
Bloom Color: Purple, pink, red, gold, orange
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: Average, well-draining
Grows: 2-3′ tall x 1-2′ wide
Benefits: Attract bees, butterflies & birds
Resistant: Deer & rabbit

Coral Bells (Heuchera)

Heuchera, or coral bells, is a clay soil choice that offers some of the greatest diversity of foliage color of any perennial genus. From the ‘natural’ green to deep purple, salmon, chartreuse and more, there is heuchera to accent any dappled-sunlight garden. Large foliage resembles maple leaves and creates a thick basal mound of colorful foliage in a huge variety of colors. Dainty white flowers bloom in late spring, provide a nectar source for hummingbirds and attract butterflies. Heuchera thrives in the shaded woodland garden, offering great texture, color and cover for landscape critters! Deer resistant.

Zone: 3 – 8
Foliage Color: Shades of green, red, purple, black, orange
Sun: Full Sun – full shade
Soil Needs: Average, well draining
Grows: 1′ – 2′ tall x 1′ – 1.5′ wide
Benefits: Attract birds, butterflies & bees
Resistant: Deer

Daylily (Hemerocallis)

Attractive foliage complements flowers that bloom in late spring to early summer, available in a wide range of warm, sunny colors. Although each daylily flower only blooms up to a few days, there are plenty of them. You would be hard-pressed to find a more dependable flower that’s tolerant of many growing conditions. This easy-care plant gives a refined look, especially when planted in large groups surrounded by their strappy foliage.

Zone: 3 – 9
Bloom Color: Purple, pink, red, yellow, orange
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: Moist, well-draining
Grows: 1.5′ – 2′ tall x 1.5′ – 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract bees, butterflies & birds
Resistant: Rabbit

Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides)

Fountain grasses are loved for their fluffy, feathery panicles. Showy, silvery to pinkish-white, bristly, bottle brush-like flower spikes arch outward from the clump in late summer like water spraying from a fountain (hence the common name). Flower spikes turn brownish as the seeds form, and spikes usually persist until late fall or early winter before shattering. As a warm season grass, it doesn’t start growing each year until the ground has warmed up. This gives you time after the winter ends to trim the previous year’s growth before the new shoots appear. Trim the grass to 3-6″ above the ground. This is easily and neatly accomplished with hedge trimmers, especially if the clumps are tied up with string first. As individual clumps age the center of the plant often dies out, forming an open ring. Divide and replant after shearing to rejuvenate clumps that have an open center. Division is suggested every three years but not all clumps need it that frequently. This grass grows best in full sun, although it does tolerate part shade (but will not flower well).

Zone: 6 – 9
Color: Silver, pink
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: Average, medium to wet moisture
Grows: 2.5′ – 5′ tall x 2.5′ – 5′ wide
Benefits: Attract birds
Tolerant: Black walnut

Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis)

Maiden grass is a tall ornamental grass that is worth growing for its graceful arching form alone. When in flower, this clump-forming plant will reach 6 to 8 feet tall, and its stems redden in the fall. While the leaves yellow somewhat by mid-fall and fade to a beige in winter, they still bring color to a dull winter landscape. Leave plenty of space when you plant maiden grass because as the clumps continue to grow, they eventually get quite large. Divide the plants every few years to “spread the wealth” and keep the clumps more manageable. You can cut the foliage down to ground level in late winter or early spring to make room for the new shoots or leave the dead grass stalks to wave in the breeze during winter which can accomplish two things: The stalks serve as a sort of mulch to protect the living parts of the plant underground, and they can make for some nice winter scenes, especially after a snowfall.

Zone: 5 – 9
Color Variations: Copper, silver
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: Average, medium moist, well-draining
Grows: 5′ – 8′ tall x 3′ – 5′ wide
Benefits: Attract birds
Resistant: Deer
Tolerant: Black Walnut

New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)

New York Ironweed is a vigorous wildflower that puts out a fluffy haze of deep purple flowers atop tall stems. It’s often covered by a parade of butterflies in late summer. Other beneficial insects feed on the nectar and the pollen. This lovely clumping native adapts well to any moist growing conditions making it very happy in clay soil.

Zone: 4 – 9
Color: Purple
Sun: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Rich, slightly acidic, medium moist, well-draining
Grows: 3′ – 4′ tall x 1′ – 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract butterflies & bees
Resistant: Deer

Sea Holly (Eryngium yuccifolium)

Sea Holly is a unique and eye-catching plant for a dry, sunny site. Slightly spiny leaves are arranged in a rosette that resembles Yucca. Flower stems shoot skyward in summer and are topped with thistle-like bluish silver flowers. An architectural addition to the perennial border or meadow, Eryngium yuccifolium is most effective planted singly or in small groups, overcrowding may occur if too many are planted. It is deer resistant once the plant matures. Host plant for swallowtail butterflies.

Zone: 3 – 9
Color: Green, blue, purple, white silver
Sun: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Average, well-draining
Grows: 3′ – 4′ tall x 1.5′ – 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract butterflies & bees
Resistant: Deer

Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)

As a native flowering perennial, helenium produces late-season blooms that butterflies rely on. Gorgeous two-toned petals uncurl in shades of yellow, orange, rust and reds, revealing a strong sturdy center cone. This low maintenance plant is deer and rabbit resistant which makes it a perfect flowering perennial for low-lying meadows and around damp, wooded areas.

Zone: 4 – 8
Bloom Color: Yellow, orange, red, brown, mahogany
Sun: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Moist, slightly acidic, well-draining
Grows: 3′ – 4′ tall x 1′ – 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract butterflies
Resistant: Deer & rabbit

Threadleaf Blue Star (Amsonia hubrichtii)

Blue Star is a graceful and long-lived native plant with very fine foliage. Clusters of steel blue flowers bloom in May and June on a full, upright plant. Excellent golden fall color. Thrives in full sun or part shade. No insect or pest problems. Amsonia was the Perennial Plant Association’s 2011 “Perennial of the Year” and brought with that a fresh interest to this native plant.

Zone: 5 – 9
Bloom Color: Light Blue
Sun: Full Sun – Part Shade
Soil Needs: Average, well-draining
Grows: 3′ tall x 2′ – 3′ wide
Benefits: Attract bees & butterflies
Resistant: Deer & rabbit

Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata)

If you’re looking for low maintenance, drought-tolerant, long-blooming and cheerful plants for a flower border or a filler, coreopsis are a perfect choice. There are over 80 species of coreopsis, plus many selections and hybrids, making for a perfect plant for your sunny garden. About half of the varieties are Native North American prairie and woodland plants, while the others are native to Central and South America. Their common name, “tickseed,” is supposedly for the seeds’ resemblance to ticks. Large, golden yellow flowers bloom from early to late summer to the delight of butterflies. The spent flowers contain seeds that songbirds find irresistible, especially finches. Their daisy-like flowers range in colors from bright yellow and orange to pink and red. Coreopsis form upright clumps and have a moderate growth rate. “Golden Showers” coreopsis was given the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 2000.

Zone: 4 – 9
Color: Yellow, orange, pink, red
Sun: Full Sun – part shade
Soil Needs: Well draining
Grows: 1.5′ – 2′ tall x 1.5′ – 2′ wide
Benefits: Attract birds, butterflies & bees
Resistant: Deer