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Native Plants for Connecticut Waterside Areas, Salt or Fresh

Here is a list of native plants ideal for waterside areas along Connecticut waterways, including the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound. - Kathy Connolly

Plants for Fresh Water Locations:

Flowering perennials:

Spotted Joe-Pye weed, Eutrochium maculatum

Lobelia, blue: Lobelia siphilitica, or red, L. cardinalis

Mountainmint, Pycnanthemum muticum

Swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata

Turtlehead, Chelone glabra

Shrubs:

Black elderberry, Sambucus canadensis

Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis

Redosier dogwood, Cornus sericea

Winterberry, Ilex verticillata

Small trees:

Allegheny serviceberry, Amelanchier laevis

Pussy willow, Salix discolor

Speckled alder, Alnus incana

Versatile Flowering Perennials for Fresh Water or Brackish Environments:

Blue flag iris, Iris versicolor

Blue vervain, Verbena hastata

Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa

Helen’s flower, Helenium autumnale and

H. flexuosum

Joepyeweed, Eutrochium maculatum

Asters: Symphotrichum novae-angliae and

S. novi-belgi

Penstemon, Penstemon digitalis

Rose mallow, Hibiscus moschuetos

Swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata

Yarrow, Achillea millefolium

Plants for Salt Water Locations:

Flowering perennials:

Carolina sea lavender, Limonium carolinianum

Salt-marsh aster, Symphyotrichum tenuifolium

Seaside goldenrod, Solidago sempervirens

Shrubs:

Arrowwood Viburnum, Viburnum dentatum

Carolina rose, Rosa caroliniana

High bush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum

Swamp rose, Rosa palutris

Sweet pepperbush, Clethra alnifolia

Virginia rose, Rosa virginiana

Shrubs for sunny slopes, salt-spray tolerant:

Bayberry, Morella pensylvanica

Beach plum, Prunus maritima

Common juniper, Juniperus communis

Creeping juniper, Juniperus horizontalis

Eastern redcedar ‘Grey Owl’, Juniperus virginiana

‘Grey Owl’

Potentilla, Potentilla fruticosa

Sweetfern, Comptonia peregrina

Salt-tolerant grasses and grass-like plants:

American beach grass, Ammophila brevigulata

Big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii

Coastal switchgrass, Panicum amarum

Indiangrass, Sorghastrum nutans

Pink muhly grass, Muhlenbergia capillaris

Sweetflag, Hierochloe odorata