Rain Garden Plants
Here you will find rain garden plants for the St Louis Missouri area.
WELCOME to our Rain Garden Plant Guide. Here you will find the best plants for rain gardens for the St Louis Missouri area. Rain gardens slow the flow of rainwater runoff by using plants and other elements similar to those found in nature. They can be shallow swales or depressions that catch and hold rainwater rather than let it run off unhindered. Plants with deep and fibrous root systems help make the soil more sponge-like, allowing the plants to absorb a large amount of rainfall. Missouri native plants are top choices due to their hardy nature.
All plants offered here are available in-house, subject to availability. Some of these plants are offered online for pick up at the nursery.
We do not ship plant.
FILTER THE ITEMS ON THIS PAGE BY:
Plant Type
Genus
Common Name
Light Requirements
Bloom Color
Bloom Time
Height
Uses
Resistances
Type
Genus
Common Name
Light Requirement
Flower Color
Bloom Time
Height
Uses
Resistance
Asclepias incarnata – Swamp Milkweed
Missouri and Illinois native with clouds of pink blossoms.
Magnolia Butterflies
Lemon-yellow blossoms on an award-winning tree.
Magnolia Yellow Bird
Lemon-yellow blossoms burst forth in spring.
Aesculus Pavia, Red Buckeye
2023 Tree of the Year. Award-winning Missouri Native.
Amsonia illustris – Shining Blue Star
Popular, easy-to-grow Missouri native perennial.
Amsonia tabermontana – Willowleaf Blue Star
Top award-winning native with starry blue flowers.
Aronia melanocarpa – Chokeberry
Showy Missouri native shrub. Tolerates wet soils.
Aster divaricatus – White Wood Aster
A butterfly favorite and Missouri native.
Astilbe – Dark Side of the Moon False Spirea
Dramatic chocolate burgundy foliage, deep purple flowers, shade perennial.
Astilbe – Fanal False Spirea
Long-time favorite red shade perennial.
Astilbe – Go Go Red Reblooming False Spirea
First Reblooming Red Astilbe! Long-lived Shade perennial.
Astilbe – Mighty Chocolate Cherry False Spirea
Large dramatic red plumes soar to 45" tall.
Astilbe – Mighty Pip False Spirea
Excellent performer, staff favorite, highly recommended.
Betula – Fox Valley Dwarf River Birch – Little King Dwarf River Birch Tree
Extremely showy peeling bark.
Carex albicans – White-Tinged Sedge
Pretty Missouri native Sedge.
Carex grayi – Gray Sedge
Fun and funky Missouri native sedge.
Chasmanthium latifolium – Northern Sea Oats
Bring beautiful form to your shade garden.
Chelone glabra -Turtle Head
Illinois and Missouri native moisture-loving perennial.
Chelone obliqua – Turtle Head
Popular native Missouri perennial with turtle head shaped flowers.
Clethra Ruby Spice – Summersweet
Award-winning fragrant pink flowers.
Cornus – Garden Glow Red Twig Dogwood
Fantastic year-round color.
Hamamelis vernalis – Ozark Witch Hazel
Award winning native shrub.
Hibiscus lasiocarpus – Rose Mallow
Big showy plant with huge flowers.
Hydrangea – Incrediball Smooth Hydrangea
Huge flowers the size of basketballs on sturdy stems.
Hydrangea arborescens – Smooth Hydrangea
2024 Native Plant Of The Year
Hydrangea Wee White – Smooth Hydrangea
Easy-care miniature shrub. Perfect for landscapes or mixed in perennial gardens.
Ilex – Berry Heavy Female Winterberry
Abundance of red berries in winter.
Ilex – Little Goblin Red Female Winterberry
Huge red berries on dwarf nativar shrub.
Itea Fizzy Mizzy, Sweetspire
Fun small shrub with sweetly scented white flower spikes.
Itea virginica, Virginia Sweetspire
This small Missouri and Illinois native shrubs grows anywhere, sun, shade, wet, dry.
Liatris pycnostachya – Prairie Blazing Star
A favorite of humans and other critters.
Lobelia cardinalis – Cardinal Flower
Choice Missouri and Illinois native perennial with brilliant cardinal red blossoms.
Lobelia siphilitica – Blue Cardinal Flower
Majestic Missouri native perennial.
Magnolia virginiana – Glauca Sweet Bay Magnolia
Grows a little smaller than the species Magnolia virginiana.
Monarda bradburiana – Bee Balm
Important Missouri native pollinator plant.
Monarda fistulosa – Wild Bergamot
An important Missouri and Illinois native pollinator food source.
Muhlenbergia capillaris – Pink Muhly Grass
Clouds of rich pink fall flowers.
Opuntia humifusa – Prickly Pear Cactus
Missouri and Illinois native perennial cactus.
Penstemon digitalis – Smooth White Beardtongue
An important food source for pollinators.
Phlox paniculata – Garden Phlox
Missouri native with fragrant flowers for months.
Quercus bicolor – Swamp White Oak Tree
Bring the gift of nature home with this beauty, MO and IL native.
Quercus rubra – Red Oak Tree
Statuesque MO and IL native tree.
Rudbeckia – American Gold Rush Black-Eyed Susan
2023 Perennial Plant of the Year, winner of top 3 horticulture awards.
Rudbeckia fulgida – Shining Black-Eyed Susan
Birds love this Illinois and Missouri native's seeds.
Rudbeckia hirta – Black-Eyed Susan
An easy to grow Missouri native.
Rudbeckia missouriensis – Missouri Black-Eyed Susan
An important food source for butterflies and hummingbirds, Mo native.
Senecio obovata – Squaw Weed
Fantastic MO and IL native evergreen ground cover for sun or shade.
Sporobolus heterolepis – Prairie Dropseed
Popular Missouri native grass that smells like popcorn.
Stylophorum diphyllum – Celandine Poppy
Popular long-blooming Missouri native.
Veronicastrum virginicum – Culver’s Root
Majestic Missouri native perennial.
Viburnum – Brandywine Possumhaw Viburnum
The most beautiful berry display in the plant kingdom.
Amsonia ciliata – Fringed Blue Star
Missouri native with soft sky blue blossoms.
Asclepias Incarnata – Cinderella Swamp Milkweed
A beautiful selection of our Missouri native.
Colocasia – Distant Memory Elephant Ears
4-5' near jet-black elegant leaves.
Colocasia – Redemption Elephant Ears
Dramatic color combo on huge leaves.
Colocasia Pharaohs Mask Elephant Ears
Create your own exotic world with this enchanter.
Colocasia Thailand Giant Elephant Ears
A behemoth that grows as big as a car in one summer! Sun, tender. Bulbs can be lifted and stored over winter.
Eupatorium – Euphoria Ruby Joe Pye Weed
A superior selection of the beloved Joe Pye Weed.
Eupatorium – Gateway Joe Pye Weed
Just like its huge cousin, but at 5' only 1/2 as tall.
Hibiscus moscheutos – Swamp Rose Mallow
Among the largest flowers produced by a native perennial.
Iodanthus pinnatifidus – Purple Rocket
A Missouri and Illinois native that brings color to shady spots.
Liatris pycnostachya – Eureka Prairie Blazing Star
Spectacular 1' long dense purple flower tops 4-5' stem, tough perennial.
Oenothera macrocarpa – Missouri Evening Primrose
Top Missouri native perennial highly recommended.
Oligoneuron ridellii – Riddell’s Goldenrod
An important pollinator food source.
Packera obovata – Squaw Weed
Fantastic MO native evergreen ground cover for sun or shade.
Panicum – Blood Brothers Red Switch Grass
Dramatic grass with wine red blades, easy to grow.
Panicum – Hot Rod Red Switch Grass
Early season color-changing grass!
Polygonatum biflorum var commutatum – Solomon’s Seal
Dangling flowers appear in spring on this Illinois and Missouri native.
Rudbeckia subtomentosa – Sweet Coneflower
Armloads of cut flowers with the Missouri native sun perennial.
Senecio aureus – Golden Groundsel
Dream plant for tough dry shade spots.
Vernonia fasciculata – Prairie Ironweed
Feeds countless butterflies and other important pollinators.
Vernonia missurica – Missouri Ironweed
Feeds countless butterflies and other important pollinators.
Aesculus parviflora, Bottlebrush Buckeye
Large showy hard to find shrub.
Apios americana – Groundnut Vine
Missouri native vine for shade.
Aristolochia tomentosa, Dutchman’s Pipe
Pipe shaped blossoms.
Asclepias incarnata – Ice Ballet Swamp Milkweed
Brilliant white long lasting blossoms.
Asclepias sullivantii – Prairie Milkweed
Important food source for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.
Asclepias tuberosa – Hello Yellow Butterfly Milkweed
Yellow selection of the popular Missouri native perennial.
Asclepias verticillata – Whorled Milkweed
Important food source for Monarch butterflies.
Astilbe – Pumila False Spirea
Makes a fantastic ground cover for shade.
Baptisia alba – White Wild Indigo
A tough Missouri native perennial.
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FILTER THE ITEMS ON THIS PAGE BY:
Plant Type
Genus
Common Name
Light Requirements
Bloom Color
Bloom Time
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Uses
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Type
Genus
Common Name
Light Requirement
Flower Color
Bloom Time
Height
Uses
Resistance
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