Successful Plants in Stormwater Gardens (Recommended for use)

Research conducted in Ames by Iowa State University Department of Landscape Architecture 2007-2009
Part
Common Name Scientific Name Height Sun Shade Shade Notes
Perennial Grasses
Side-Oats Grama Bouteloua curtipendula 'Trailway' 1-3' x
Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparius 'Blaze' 1-3' x x
Indian Grass Sorghastrum nutans 3-6' x
Herbaceous Perennials
Nodding Wild Onion Allium cernuum 12-18" x x drier garden areas
Columbine Aquilegia canadensis 1-3' x x x
Wild Ginger Asarum canadense 4-10" x x
Butterfly Milkweed Asclepias tuberosa 1-3' x drier garden areas
New England Aster Aster novae-angliae 1-4' x
Fringed Sedge Carex crinita 1'-3' mixed success
Palm Sedge Carex muskingumensis 1'-3' x x
Turtlehead Chelone glabra 1-3' x
Pink Turtlehead Chelone obliqua 1-3' x
Pale Purple Coneflower Echinacea pallida 2-4' x x
Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea 2-3' x x
Savanna JoePye Eupatorium purpureum 3-6' x x x
Strawberry Fragaria sp.
Prairie Smoke Geum triflorum 6-12" x
False Sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides 'Summer Sun' 2-5' x
Rough Blazing Star Liatris aspera 2-3' x
Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis 2-4' x x mixed success; poisonous
mixed success; use in drier garden
Great Blue Lobelia Lobelia siphilitica 1-4' x x areas
Monkey Flower Mimulus ringens 12-18" x x mixed success
Bearded Foxglove Penstemon digitalis 1-4' x
Woodland Phlox Phlox divaricata 6-12" x x mixed success
Jacob's Ladder Polemonium reptans 9-24" x x mixed success
Yellow Coneflower Ratibida pinnata 1-4' x
Black-Eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta 1-3' x
Wild Petunia Ruellia humilis 6-18" x x
Cup Plant Silphium perfoliatum 3-7' x
Stiff Goldenrod Solidago rigida 1-4' x
Spiderwort Tradescanthia ohiensis 1-4' x x drier garden areas
Hoary Vervain Verbena stricta 'Prairie Candles' 1-2' x mixed success
Heartleaved Golden Alexander Zizia aptera 1-2' x x mixed success
Failed Plants in Stormwater Gardens (not recommended for use)
Silky Aster Aster sericeus 1-2' x
Harebell Campanula rotundifolia 6-12" x x
Purple Prairie Clover Petalostemum [Dalea] purpureum 1-2' x
Downy Prairie Phlox Phlox pilosa 6-18" x
Culver's Root Veronicastrum virginicum 'Albo-Rosea' 3-5' x x

Date 6.9.09 For More Information, contact Associate Professor Mimi Wagner (mimiw@iastate.edu)