Best Plants for Clay Soil

Understanding The Benefits and Downsides of Gardening in Clay Soil

Clay soil is a common discovery, either in your existing garden or on the site where you're trying to create a new garden. While this can seem like a big hurdle at first, once you understand your clay soil you can play to its benefits. For instance, realizing that it drains very slowly will allow you to choose plants that prefer “wet feet.”

Ultimately, choosing the best plants for clay soil is not as limiting as you might expect. Once you know the soil's properties and what plants thrive in it, you can have a beautiful and colorful clay soil perennial garden!

How to ID and Understand Your Soil Type

Knowing what type of soil you have in your garden is very useful for determining what plants will naturally thrive there or what amendments you might want to add. Simply put, soil is made up of clay, sand, and silt particles. Most soils have a percentage of all three components, but the ratio of each is what determines your soil type.

Each type of soil has positives and negatives, but knowing yours will help you understand properties such as fast versus slow drainage, the amount of nutrients available, acidity versus alkalinity, compaction versus aeration and much more.

Clay is the smallest soil particle and sand is the largest, with silt being in between the two. If you’ve determined that you have clay soil, there are several important characteristics to understand.

Benefits of Gardening in Clay Soil

First, your clay soil has great water-holding capacity. Because clay is the smallest particle, the pore spaces in the soil are tiny; therefore, water filters through very slowly and has a lot of surface area to “grab” onto.

Second, clay soil has a high nutrient holding capacity. Like the water, nutrients have a lot of surface area to bond and hold onto, making themselves available for plant uptake.

Difficulties of Gardening in Clay Soil

Some difficulties of clay soil include its very little air-holding capacity. This can make it difficult for roots to grow through and maneuver within it. Clay soil also has a tendency of getting very hard and cracking when it does dry out. Turning in organic matter would help aerate the soil and keep this hard surface from happening. Another recommendation is to avoid working in your clay soil right when it is very wet as it will compact very easily and destroy the soil structure.

Overall, dealing with clay soil can be difficult at times, but can also provide a basis for a nutrient rich and cheerful garden. Here are a few lists of perennials that will thrive in your clay soil garden!

Easiest Plants to Grow in Clay Soil

Aster (Symphyotrichum) – Zone 4-8
Aster ‘Wood’s Pink’ is a dwarf pink aster reaching only 8-12” tall. It is extremely dependable with profuse blooms from late summer to fall that spread to larger clumps every year. Similarly, Aster ‘Wood’s Purple’ is a reliable and disease resistant purple blooming aster. This one grows from 12-18” tall, providing bountiful blooms late into autumn as well.
Astilbe (Astilbe japonica) – Zone 3-8
Astilbes are extremely easy to grow and dependable for your shade garden. ‘Deutschland’ provides striking white plumes to brighten up a shady area mid to late summer. You can also go with a mix of colors in shades of pinks, whites, and reds.
Bearded Iris (Iris germanica) – Zone 3-9
Coming in nearly every color you can imagine, bearded irises are a garden favorite! They require very little attention and have no problem competing for their place in the garden. The rhizomes multiply fairly quickly, so it is helpful to divide the plants every few years to avoid overcrowding and spread your iris collection. Many bearded irises are reblooming, so you can enjoy their color both in late spring and in early to mid fall.
Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) – Zone 4-9
Black Eyed Susans are a must-have in your garden. They produce yellow daisy-like flowers with black centers topping off at 3’ tall. ‘Goldsturm’ is a popular variety blooming profusely from mid-summer to early-fall.
Daylily (Hemerocallis) – Zone 3-9
Daylilies are an extremely low maintenance and dependable perennial that comes in nearly every color! Blooming in summer (with some reblooming varieties), your garden will excel with these must-have perennials.
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) – Zone 3-9
Echinacea, or coneflower, is an extremely popular perennial – and for good reason! ‘Magnus’ has showy pink-purple flowers with a mature height up to 3’ tall. For a less traditional and slightly shorter variety, ‘Double Scoop Orangeberry’ will add bold red-orange color to your garden.
Hosta (Hosta) – Zone 3-9
There are so many hosta options to fit exactly what you need in your shade garden. Whether you are looking for blue, deep-green, or lime-green color, white or lavender flower stalks, delicate or massive foliage, a hosta will fill your space with a dependable presence.
Sedum (Sedum) – Zone 3-9
Autumn Joy’ produces a reliable pink clump about 2’ tall. Blooming mid-summer to mid-fall, you get this bright color as other perennials are starting to slow down. This is a very carefree perennial, requiring little attention. Just plant it, sit back, and enjoy!

Best Plants for Clay Soil in Full Sun

Aster (Symphyotrichum) – Zone 4-8
Bearded Iris (Iris germanica) – Zone 3-9
Bee Balm (Monarda) – Zone 4-8
Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) – Zone 4-9
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii) – Zone 5-9
Daylily (Hemerocallis) – Zone 3-9
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) – Zone 3-9
Helenium (Helenium) – Zone 4-8
Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium) – Zone 4-8
Liatris (Liatris) – Zone 4-8
Phlox (Phlox) – Zone 4-8
Sedum (Sedum) – Zone 3-9
Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum) – Zone 5-8

Your shade garden will burst with different textures and colors with these shade-loving perennials!

echinacea — These full sun lovers will brighten your garden all season long!

Best Plants for Clay Soil in Shade

Astilbe (Astilbe japonica) – Zone 3-8
Blue Cardinal Flower (Lobelia siphilitica) – Zone 3-9
Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) – Zone 3-7
Hosta (Hosta) – Zone 3-9
Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica) – Zone 6-9

Best Plants for Clay Soil in Hot, Dry Areas

Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) – Zone 4-9
Daylily (Hemerocallis) – Zone 3-9
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) – Zone 3-9
Phlox (Phlox) – Zone 4-8
Sedum (Sedum) – Zone 3-9

Best Plants for Clay Soil in Hot, Humid Areas

Aster (Symphyotrichum) – Zone 4-8
Bearded Iris (Iris germanica) – Zone 3-9
Bee Balm (Monarda) – Zone 4-8
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii) – Zone 5-9
Daylily (Hemerocallis) – Zone 3-9
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) – Zone 3-9
Sedum (Sedum) – Zone 3-9

Best Plants for Clay Soil that Attract Pollinators and Hummingbirds

Aster (Symphyotrichum) – Zone 4-8
Bee Balm (Monarda) – Zone 4-8
Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) – Zone 4-9
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii) – Zone 5-9
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) – Zone 3-9
Daylily (Hemerocallis) – Zone 3-9
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) – Zone 3-9
Helenium (Helenium) – Zone 4-8
Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica) – Zone 6-9
Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium) – Zone 4-8
Phlox (Phlox) – Zone 4-8

Best Plants for Clay Soil that Repel Deer and Other Critters

For less maintenance, these plants take care of themselves naturally deterring deer and rabbits.

Astilbe (Astilbe japonica) – Zone 3-8
Bearded Iris (Iris germanica) – Zone 3-9
Bee Balm (Monarda) – Zone 4-8
Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) – Zone 4-9
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii) – Zone 5-9
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) – Zone 3-9
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) – Zone 3-9
Helenium (Helenium) – Zone 4-8
Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) – Zone 3-7
Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium) – Zone 4-8

Getting a Full Season of Blooms in the Clay Soil Garden

To get a full season of color in your clay soil garden, start by planting early spring bloomers such as bearded irises, Hepatica, and creeping phlox. This early spring display would then be joined with late spring to early summer blooming Indian pink, daylilies, butterfly bush, Helenium, and Echinacea.

For your shady garden, Hostas and Astilbes will give you a bright bloom in the early summer. The peak of summer would continue to add color from tall panicle phlox, black eyed susans, blue and red cardinal flower, and bee balm. With the end of summer comes the color of sedum and asters which transition your garden to its autumn stage. Here, your summer garden is joined with more bearded iris (if you have reblooming varieties) and Liatris for your shade garden.

The persistent blooms of Helenium and Echinacea will last through the cooling temperatures of late fall. A garden filled with these clay loving plants will give you a colorful cottage-like garden that fills out more and more every year!

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