Before I give you a list of water friendly plants, I want to give you some info about drainage. Before planting you should be looking at how your property handles excess water. Here are a few problem situations that you should address:
1. Gutters!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t emphasize these enough. Many homes in Florida do not have gutters. The water comes off the roof and lands in the planting beds. If these are new planting beds, it will wash away mulch, soil and in some cases….plants!! When we get extreme rains, this water can also cause flooding around the house. Water around the house can cause a host of other problems as the water seeps up the siding or just soaks the cement. This comes in the form of mold and we all know that is not a desirable condition to have.
It is important to put gutters on your house and then pipe that water out away from the house to an area that can absorb it or take it away. Sometimes it can be as easy as diverting it to a lawn area or a natural area with plants.
2. Grading- It is important that the grade directly around your house pitches AWAY from the house. The grade should not be lower around your foundation than the surrounding lawn or yard. If it is lower, then when we get excessive rain, all the water will flow towards the house!! As I said before, standing water next to the foundations causes problems.
Beds around a house need to pitch out to the yard. This is vital! So go and look at your house and step back and examine the pitch or the slope. Does it slope down to the house or away from the house? If it slopes towards the house, then water will flow towards the house. This needs to be corrected before any planting is done.
Occasionally we see a piece of property that is lower than surrounding properties. When it rains, all the runoff comes onto that lower property. This is something you should be aware of when buying a house. Visit it during a rainstorm!
There are many different drainage solutions that can used to handle these problems, from French drains to beds filled with stone. Find a qualified Landscaper that can handle these issues for you.
Iris
Plants that can Tolerate Standing Water
This is a list of plants that can tolerate standing water. However, it has been noted that they need to be established in drier areas prior to being in the water. This list comes from the University of Florida Extension Service.
TREES: Bald Cypress, Banana, Dahoon Holly, Elderberry, Galberry, Black Mangrove, Ironwood, Loblolly, Pond Apple, Pond Cypress, Pop Ash, Red Bay, Red Mangrove, Red Maple, River Birch, Screw Pine, shrimp plant, Simpson's Stopper, Slash Pine, Swamp Bay, Sweetgum, Sweetbay Magnolia, Sycamore, Tupelo, Water Hickory.
Saw Palmetto
PALMS: Needle, Majestic, Paurotis, Royal, Sabal, Saw Palmetto.
SHRUBS: Buford Holly, Buttonbush, Fedderbush, Firebush, Florida Anise, Galberry, Green Buttonwood, Ferns: (Cinnamon, Leather, Royal, Swamp), Goldenrod, Milkweed, Myrsine, Philodendron Selloum, Pickerel Weed, Silver Buttonwood, Simpson Stopper, Walter's Viburnum, Yaupon Holly, and Wax Myrtle.
Canna lily
GRASSES, IRIS, LILIES: African Iris, Blue Flag Iris, Canna Lilly, Fakahatchee, Lemon Grass, Louisiana Iris, Miscanthus, Muhly, Rain Lily, Sand Cordgrass.
In conclusion, the best way to handle water on your property is to plan ahead and examine how your property handles water BEFORE you get extreme rain and storms. Then when a storm comes, you can sit on the couch and watch TV without any worries.
