Just like most living things, your plants and Spartanburg trees can only handle so much water.
If a flash flood hits your garden occasionally, your plants should rebound. But if your garden keeps flooding when it rains or is often affected by major floods, that’s a problem.
Plants that sit in saturated soil, called waterlogged soil, will drown because their roots can’t access oxygen–only water. If you see this happening in your yard, poke deep holes in the ground when water begins to drain or decrease. Fix these waterlogged areas before stepping on them, or you’ll worsen the problem.
Moving forward, replace damaged plants in your garden with plants that thrive in wet soil.
Garden Flooding Solutions–Trees and Shrubs that Grow in Wet Soil
Always pick plants in your gardening zone to set yourself up for success. Plants in your zone are most likely to thrive in your area’s climate and weather. Click to discover your gardening zone.
And plant new Spartanburg trees and shrubs in fall or spring–not summer and winter.
Flood-Tolerant Trees for Wet Areas (Zones 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
Pictured: Bald cypress tree, ideal for zones 4-10
- Colorado blue spruce (zones 2-10): A beautiful, silvery evergreen with moderate flood and drought tolerance
- Swamp white oak (zones 3- 8): A medium-sized shade Spartanburg tree that thrives in wet, acidic soil
- Thornless honeylocust (zones 3-9): A fast-growing shade Spartanburg tree that’s easy to care for and moderately flood and drought tolerant
- Hackberry (zones 3-9): A tough Spartanburg tree that thrives almost anywhere and can tolerate some flooding and drought
- Bald cypress (zones 4-10): A sleek, pyramid-shaped conifer that loses needles in the winter, thrives in swamps and can tolerate flooding
Flood-Tolerant Shrubs for Wet Areas (Zones 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
Pictured: Winterberry bush, ideal for zones 3-9
- Redosier dogwood (zones 2-7): A fast-growing, hardy shrub with beautiful red stems that prefers moist soil
- Bayberry (zones 3-7): A fragrant shrub that smells floral and fruity and is very flood tolerant
- Winterberry (zones 3-9): A shrub with bright green leaves and red berries that thrives in both wet and dry soil conditions; very tolerant of seasonal flooding
- Swamp azalea (zones 4-8): A spicy-smelling shrub with sweet flowers that tolerates flooding but cannot grow when roots are submerged in water for long periods of time
- Sweetspire or Virginia willow (zones 5-10): A shrub with beautiful fall color and white blooms; tolerates flooding if planted in shade
