It doesn't happen often on Long Island but there are some areas with pockets of soil with clay in them. It's usually still well draining because our natural soil is a sandy loam. Improve the texture of your clay soil and you’ll be able to plant even more species. Amend it by mixing in organic matter, such as mulched leaves and compost. Position plants so the top of the crown or root ball is slightly above the top of the soil (about 1"). This will help prevent their suffocating in the event the clay stays too soggy even after you’ve improved its texture. Most of these plants take full sun to partial shade but there are a few that will take shade.
Key: 🦌 deer resistant, 🐇 rabbit resistant, 🌚 shade
Native Plants For Clayey Soil
Ferns:
Matteuccia struthiopteris - Ostrich Fern 🦌🐇🌚
Onoclea sensibilis - Sensitive Fern 🦌🐇🌚
Osmunda cinnamomea - Cinnamon Fern 🦌🐇🌚
Osmunda regalis - Royal Fern 🦌🐇🌚
Grasses:
Andropogon gerardii - Big Bluestem 🦌
Elymus virginicus var. halophilus - Salt Marsh Wild Rye 🦌
Panicum virgatum - Switch Grass 🦌
Schizachyrium scoparium - Little Bluestem 🦌
Sorghastrum nutans - Indian Grass 🦌
Perennials:
Achillea millefolium - Common Yarrow 🦌
Allium cernuum - Nodding Onion 🐇
Amsonia tabernaemontona - Bluestar
Anemone canadensis - Windflower 🦌🐇🌚
Aruncus dioicus - Goatsbeard 🦌🐇🌚
Asarum canadense - Wild Ginger 🦌🌚
Asclepias incarnata - Swamp Milkweed 🐇🦌
Asclepias syriaca - Common Milkweed 🐇🦌
Baptisia australis - False Indigo 🐇
Boltonia asteroides - False Aster
Callirhoe involucrata - Poppy Mallow 🦌
Conoclinium coelestinum - Mist Flower 🌚
Echinacea pallida - Pale Purple Coneflower 🦌🐇
Echinacea paradoxa - Yellow Coneflower 🦌
Echinacea purpurea - Purple Coneflower
Eryngium yuccifolium - Rattlesnake Master 🦌
Eupatorium perfoliatum - Common Boneset 🦌
Eutrochium dubium - Coastal Plain Joe Pye Weed 🦌
Eutrochium fistulosum - Hollow Joe Pye Weed 🦌🐇
Eutrochium maculatum - Hollow Joe Pye Weed 🦌
Eurybia macrophylla - Big Leaf Aster 🐇
Euthamia graminifolia - Grass-leaved Goldenrod
Helenium autumnale - Helen's Flower 🦌
Heliopsis helianthoides - False Sunflower
Iris versicolor - Blue Flag Iris 🦌🐇
Liatris spicata - Blazing Star 🦌
Monarda didyma - Bee Balm 🦌🐇
Monarda fistulosa - Wild Bergamot 🦌🐇
Oligoneuron rigidum var. rigidum - Stiff Goldenrod 🦌
Packera aurea - Golden Groundsel 🦌🌚
Penstemon hirsutus - Hairy Beardtongue 🦌🐇
Polygonatum biflorum - Solomon's Seal 🌚
Pycnanthemum muticum - Blunt Mountain Mint 🦌🐇
Pycnanthemum virginianum - Common Mountain Mint 🦌
Ratibida pinnata - Gray-headed Coneflower🐇
Scutellaria incana - Skullcap
Solidago caesia - Bluestem Goldenrod 🦌🐇🌚
Solidago flexicaulis - Zig Zag Goldenrod 🦌🌚
Solidago nemoralis - Gray Goldenrod 🦌
Solidago odora - Sweet Goldenrod 🦌🌚
Solidago rugosa - Rough Goldenrod 🦌
Solidago sempervirens - Seaside Goldenrod 🦌
Solidago speciosa - Showy Goldenrod 🦌
Symphyotrichum cordifolium - Blue Wood qAster 🐇
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae - New England Aster
Verbena hastata - Blue Vervain🐇
Vernonia noveboracensis - New York Ironweed 🦌/
Zizia aurea - Golden Alexanders
Sedges:
Carex bicknellii -Bicknell's Sedge 🦌🌚
Carex bromoides - Brome-like Sedge 🦌🐇🌚
Carex grayi - Mace Sedge 🦌🌚
Carex plantaginea - Seersucker Sedge🦌🌚
Shrubs:
Amelanchier canadensis - Serviceberry
Aronia melanocarpa - Black Chokeberry 🦌
Cornus sericea - Red Twig Dogwood 🦌
Hamamelis virginiana - Common Witch Hazel
Hypericum prolificum - Shrubby St. John's Wort 🦌
Rhus glabra - Smooth Sumac 🐇
Sambucus canadensis - Black Elderberry
Viburnum lentago - Nannyberry
Viburnum trilobum - Americana get Cranberry Bush
Trees:
Betula nigra - River Birch 🦌
Celtis occidentalis - Common Hackberry
Magnolia virginiana - Sweetbay
Nyssa sylvatica - Black Gum
Prunus virginiana - Chokecherry
Quercus bicolor - Swamp White Oak
Salix discolor - Pussy Willow
Vines:
Clematis virginiana - Virgin's Bower 🦌
Top Row: Common Yarrow, Nodding Onion, Swamp Milkweed
Second Row: River Birch, Mace Sedge, Mist Flower
Third Row: Common Boneset in bud, Grass-leaved Goldenrod, False Sunflower
Fourth Row: Crested Iris, Blue Flag Iris, Sensitive Fern
Fifth Row: Royal Fern, Blunt Mountain Mint in bud, Zig Zag Goldenrod
Bottom Row: Indian Grass, Blue Vervain, Zizia aurea with Black Swallowtail caterpillar
Pictures: KMS Native Plants LLC
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