Stephen Albert
Growing plants in clay soil can be a chore.
Clay soil particles are small and flat; they pack so closely that water has trouble draining between them. Clay soil particles are so dense that plant roots have a hard time growing around or between them.
Clayey soil is sticky and heavy when wet and hard when dry. In either condition, plants struggle to grow. Often plants in clay soil will be stunted.
If your garden has clay soil, there are a couple of things you can do. First, amend the soil or grow above it. Add aged compost and organic matter to the soil to help separate the clay particles. Mound humus-rich soil above the clay and plant into the mounds; you can also grow plants in raised beds set high above the native clay.
Also, you can grow plants that tolerate clay soil. There are plants native to regions where clay soil is dominant; these plants have evolved other hundreds and thousands of years to survive and often thrive in clay soil.
Here’s a list A to Z of perennial plants that tolerate clay soil. At the bottom of this post are links to lists of shrubs, climbers, and trees that tolerate clay soil.
Perennial plants that tolerate clay soil
| A-B Common Name | Botanical Name | Zone |
| Arrowhead | Sagittaria subulata | 8-11 |
| Aster | Symphyotrichum | 4-8 |
| Astilbe | Astilbe japonica | 3-8 |
| Bearded iris | Iris germanica | 3-9 |
| Bear’s Breech | Acanthus mollis | 6-10 |
| Bee balm | Monarda didyma | 4-8 |
| Bellflower | Campanula spp. | 3-8 |
| Black-eyed Susan | Rudbeckia hirta | 4-9 |
| Blazing Star | Liatris spicata | 4-8 |
| Bluebell | Hyacinthoides non-scripta | 4-9 |
| Blue cardinal flower | Lobelia siphilitica | 3-9 |
| Bulley’s Primrose | Primula bulleyana | 4-8 |
| Butterfly Bush | Buddleia davidii | 5-9 |
| Butterfly Weed | Asclepias tuberosa | 3-9 |
| C-F Common Name | Botanical Name | Zone |
| Canadian wild rye | Elymus canadensis | 3-8 |
| Cardinal Flower | Lobelia cardinalis | 2-9 |
| Chameleon plant | Houttuynia cordata | 5-9 |
| Chilean rhubarb | Gunnera manicata | 9-11 |
| Common Bistort | Persicaria bistortum | 4-9 |
| Compass plant | Silphium lacineatum | 3-8 |
| Coneflower | Echinacea purpurea | 3-9 |
| Creeping Jenny | Lysimachia nummularia | 3-8 |
| Cuckoo Flower | Cardamine pratensis | 4-8 |
| Daylily | Hemerocallis spp. | 3-9 |
| Fleeceflowers | Persicaria amplexicaulis | 4-9 |
| Flowering Rush | Butomus umbellatus | 3-10 |
| Forget-Me-Not | Myosotis scorpioides | 5-9 |
| Foxglove | Digitalis purpurea | 4-8 |
| C-I Common Name | Botanical Name | Zone |
| Geum | Geum | 3-9 |
| Giant Chain Fern | Woowardia | 8-9 |
| Goatsbeard | Aruncus dioicus | 3-8 |
| Goldenrod | Solidago canadensis | 2-8 |
| Globeflower | Trollius | 3-7 |
| Greek valerian | Polemonium | 3-9 |
| Hardy aster | Symphyotrichum | 3-8 |
| Hepatica | Hepatia acutiloba | 3-7 |
| Hosta | Hosta spp. | 3-9 |
| Hydrangea | Hydrangea macrophylla | 5-9 |
| Indian Pink | Spigelia marilandica | 6-9 |
| Indian Rhubarb | Peltiphyllum peltatum | 3-7 |
| J-L Common Name | Botanical Name | Zone |
| Jacob’s Ladder | Polemonium | 3-9 |
| Joy-Pye Weed | Eupatorium puepueum | 4-8 |
| Knotweed | Polygonum capitatum | 8-11 |
| Lady’s Mantle | Alchemilla mollis | 3-7 |
| Leopard’s-bane | Doronicum | 5-8 |
| Lesser Celandine | Ranunculus ficaria | 4-8 |
| Lesser Spearwort | Ranunculus flammula | 4-8 |
| Loosestrife, Gooseneck | Lysimachia clethroides | 3-8 |
| Loosestrife, Purple | Lythrum salicaria | 4-9 |
| Lungwort | Pulmonaria vallarsae | 4-8 |
| M-O Common Name | Botanical Name | Zone |
| Marsh Marigold | Caltha palustris | 3-7 |
| Meadow Primrose | Primula rosea | 4-9 |
| Meadow Rue | Thalictrum rochebrunianum | 3-8 |
| Meadowsweet | Filipendula ulmaria ‘Aurea’ | 3-8 |
| Mexican Lobelia | Lobelia fulgens | 3-9 |
| Mist Flower | Eupatorium coelestinum | 5-9 |
| Monkeyflower | Mimulus guttatus | 2-11 |
| Monkshood | Acontium carmichaelii | 3-11 |
| New Zealand Flax | Phormium tenax | 9-11 |
| Nutsedge | Cyperus rotundus | 3-10 |
| Ostrich Fern | Matteuccia struthiopteris | 3-7 |
| Ox-eye Daisy | Heliopsis helianthoides | 3-8 |
| P-R Common Name | Botanical Name | Zone |
| Phlox | Phlox paniculata | 4-8 |
| Pickerelweed | Pontederia cordata | 3-10 |
| Plantain Lily | Hosta spp. | 3-9 |
| Ragwort | Jacobaea vulgaris | 9-11 |
| Rockfoil | Saxifraga | 5-7 |
| Royal Fern | Osmunda spp. | 4-8 |
| Rhubarb | Rheum palmatum | 5-7 |
| Rodgersia | Rodgersia aesculifolia | 5-7 |
| Rose Campion | Lychnis coronaria | 4-8 |
| S-Z Common Name | Botanical Name | Zone |
| Self-Heal | Prunella vulgaris | 3-7 |
| Sedum | Sedum spp. | 3-9 |
| Shooting Star | Dodecatheon meadia | 4-8 |
| Shoreline Figwort | Scrophularia auriculata | 7-10 |
| Skunk Cabbage | Lysichiton americanus | 7-9 |
| Sneezeweed | Helenium autumnale | 3-8 |
| Snow Poppy | Eomecon chionantha | 6-9 |
| Solomon’s seal | Polygonatum hirtum | 3-9 |
| Tibetan Cowslip | Primula florindae | 3-8 |
| Viburnum | Viburnum plicatum | 5-8 |
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