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