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Rain Garden Plants

Deep-rooted plants and the sunken profile of rain gardens help infiltrate stormwater runoff and reduce erosion. And rain gardens can be as beautiful as they are functional. In fact, many of our most beautiful regional plants need the type of regular moisture found in a rain garden to thrive.

Keep in mind that your rain garden, unlike a water garden, will be dry most of the time. Plants should be able to tolerate short periods of inundation, but not require constant standing water. Select plants with moderate moisture requirements for areas that will have moist, well-drained soil. For drier sites like the edge of your rain garden, use plant that have low or moderate moisture requirements. Perennial plants should be hardy in your growing zone. if you are not sure about your zone, see the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Save plants for your project by clicking the 'My Plant List' button on the plant's page. For help in making your selections, use our Find the Right Plant feature.

View All Types Annuals Only Butterfly Attracting Only Drought-Defiant Only Midwest Native Only Ornamental Grass Only Rain Gardens and Bioswales Only Salt-Tolerant Only Shade-tolerant Only Summer Color for Sunny Sites Only Trees & Shrubs Only Vines and Groundcovers Only Wetlands and Streambank Stabilization Only

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Echinacea 'Big Sky' 'Sunset' Common Name: Sunset Coneflower Fantasic coneflower with vibrant orange flowers that are slightly fragrant. The large single daisy like flowers also sport brownish central cones. Attracts butterflies and winter feeding birds... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea 'Big Sky' Series 'Summer Sky' Common Name: Summer Sky Coneflower Large, flat-topped flowers with orange cones and ray flowers that fade in pastel shades from orange to pink like a summer sky at the end of a long hot day. Though delicate in color and fragrance, these strong plants hold up very well and produce long... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea Big Sky 'Sunrise' Common Name: Sunrise Coneflower Fantastic coneflower with citron-yellow petals and green central cones,that are slightly fragrant. The large single daisy like also sport brownish center cones. Attracts butterflies and winter feeding birds... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea pallida Common Name: Pale Purple Coneflower In late spring to mid-summer, tall bare stems are topped with single, showy lavender pink flowers with drooping petals and cone-shaped brown seed heads. It makes a good cut or dried flower. If old flower heads are not removed the seeds are eaten by... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea paradoxa Common Name: Yellow Coneflower The Yellow Coneflower is unique to the Ozarks. It boasts attractive plants with smooth leaves on stout stems up to three feet in height. The flower heads are single on long stalks with drooping, yellow petals around a broad, brown, conical seedhead w... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea purpurea ''Summer Sky'' Common Name: Summer Sky Coneflower Pastel two-tone coneflower--the first of its kind! Pale coral-orange petal tips fade to reddish pink at their bases, and are centered around an orange cone. Large flowered, prolific and very fragrant from late June until frost. Plants thrive in avera... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea purpurea ''Razzmatazz'' Common Name: Razzmatazz Coneflower Tough plant with big flowers, crammed with bright pink petals and set atop sturdy stems! Like all Echinacea, Razzmatazz is durable, disease-resistant, drought-tolerant, heat- and humidity-loving, and untroubled by pests and diseases. A cultivar of ou... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea purpurea ''Green Envy'' Common Name: Green Envy Coneflower This robust variety has petals of a cooling light green surrounding dark green cones -- the ideal complement to hotter colors of high summer. Flowering begins in July and continues into autumn. Plants thrive in average soils or hot, dry conditions an... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea purpurea ''Kim's Knee High'' Common Name: Kim's Knee High Purple Coneflower Big, bright flowers that first appear in late June and keep coming into September. Plants thrive in average soils or hot, dry conditions; shrug off cold; and are equally at home in full sun or partial shade.... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea purpurea ''Coconut Lime'' Common Name: Coconut Lime Coneflower Large, double selection with pale green at the center of the cone. Tolerates moist sites equally well.... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea purpurea ''Double Delight'' Common Name: Double Delight Coneflower Compact and free flowering. Flowers are consistently double upon blooming. The stems are sturdy and numerous for a full appearance in containers and in the landscape.... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' Common Name: Purple Coneflower This perennial is quite similar to the Midwestern native, Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower), but differs in a few aspects. The flowers of Magnus are larger and rosy purple with a dark disk or cone, and its rays (petals) do not point down.... [ More Info ]

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Echinacea purpurea Common Name: Purple Coneflower Perennial favorite with robust, drought tolerant perennial, native to the midwestern and southeastern United States. Prefers full sun to partial shade in fertile, well-drained soils. Easy to naturalize.... [ More Info ]

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Eleocaris palustris Common Name: Creeping Spike Rush This native forms dense tufts of smooth, upright, unbranched stems, to two feet in height. Flowers from June through August. Seedheads are brown, scaly and conical and provide food for waterfowl. Distinguished from other rushes by its leaf-less stems... [ More Info ]

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Elymus canadense Common Name: Canada Wild Rye This fast-growing prairie grass is not only attractive, it also serves as an excellent native nurse crop for prairie seedings. The beautiful curving seedheads on five foot tall stalks resemble cultivated rye. Grows on an incredible range of soils, in... [ More Info ]

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Elymus virginicus Common Name: Virginia Wild Rye Similar to Canada Wild Rye, this graceful grass grows in full sun or moderate shade. Excellent for stabilizing disturbed soils in woodland situations, the plants grow in almost any soil and does particularly well in slightly moist soils along woodlan... [ More Info ]

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Equisetum hyemale Common Name: Horsetail Vigorously spreading clumps of cylindrical, gray-green to bright green stems with cream-colored bands accented by black fringe. Stems turn bronze in winter; flowers are cone-like spikes at the stem tips. Adapts to full sun or part shade but thrives ... [ More Info ]

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Euonymus alatus 'Compactus' Common Name: Dwarf Burning Bush A compact, slow growing deciduous shrub. It forms a dense, twiggy, and flat top mound. The dark green leaves turn rose-red in fall. Excellent as a background, hedge, screen,or accent against darker evergreens.... [ More Info ]

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Euonymus atropurpurea Common Name: Eastern Wahoo A shrub or small tree that blooms in the spring with small purple flowers followed by scarlet red fruit that is enjoyed by birds. Brilliant red fall foliage.... [ More Info ]

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Eupatorium coelestinum Common Name: Mist Flower One of the shortest of all the Eupatoriums, this native perennial version of the annual ageratum gives a good show of color from mid-summer to early fall with flat-topped flower heads of tufty, dense clusters of bright blue-violet flowers. Excellent ... [ More Info ]

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Eupatorium dubium Common Name: Little Joe Pye Weed Dwarf species of Joe Pye, native in moist soils from Maine south to South Carolina. In appearance, E. dubium is similar to E. purpureum, but more tolerant of light shade.... [ More Info ]