Best Plants for Clay Soil

Adaptable plants that cope with heavy, slow-draining ground.

40 plants, every one native to North America, routinely available from nurseries, and photographed. Ordered by minimum rooting depth, deepest first — deep roots are what open compacted ground. Traits are quoted from USDA PLANTS, never estimated — how we source this. The Plant Finder searches the full catalogue, including plants that miss this bar.

1. 
   incense cedar Calocedrus decurrensZone 4+ · part shade · 100 ft · native
2. 
   Port Orford cedar Chamaecyparis lawsonianaZone 5+ · shade · 200 ft · native
3. 
   seagrape Coccoloba uviferaZone 8+ · part shade · 25 ft · native
4. 
   shellbark hickory Carya laciniosaZone 4+ · shade · 100 ft · native
5. 
   bitternut hickory Carya cordiformisZone 2+ · full sun · 75 ft · native
6. 
   honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthosZone 3+ · full sun · 70 ft · native
7. 
   American elm Ulmus americanaZone 2+ · part shade · 120 ft · native
8. 
   canyon live oak Quercus chrysolepisZone 8+ · shade · 90 ft · native
9. 
   southern magnolia Magnolia grandifloraZone 7+ · shade · 100 ft · native
10. 
    bald cypress Taxodium distichumZone 5+ · part shade · 130 ft · native
11. 
    black ash Fraxinus nigraZone 2+ · full sun · 65 ft · native
12. 
    black oak Quercus velutinaZone 4+ · part shade · 80 ft · native
13. 
    black walnut Juglans nigraZone 4+ · full sun · 100 ft · native
14. 
    boxelder Acer negundoZone 2+ · shade · 60 ft · native
15. 
    green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanicaZone 2+ · shade · 80 ft · native
16. 
    slash pine Pinus elliottiiZone 5+ · full sun · 100 ft · native
17. 
    slippery elm Ulmus rubraZone 2+ · shade · 85 ft · native
18. 
    black locust Robinia pseudoacaciaZone 3+ · full sun · 60 ft · native
19. 
    common hackberry Celtis occidentalisZone 2+ · shade · 60 ft · native
20. 
    common persimmon Diospyros virginianaZone 4+ · shade · 55 ft · native
21. 
    gregorywood Bucida bucerasZone 10+ · shade · 50 ft · native
22. 
    mammee apple Mammea americanaZone 11+ · full sun · 55 ft · native
23. 
    northern mountain ash Sorbus decoraZone 2+ · shade · 40 ft · native
24. 
    Ohio buckeye Aesculus glabraZone 3+ · shade · 68 ft · native
25. 
    Pacific silver fir Abies amabilisZone 4+ · shade · 165 ft · native
26. 
    Pacific willow Salix lucidaZone 7+ · full sun · 53 ft · native
27. 
    pond cypress Taxodium ascendensZone 7+ · part shade · 100 ft · native
28. 
    sandbar willow Salix interiorZone 1+ · full sun · 30 ft · native
29. 
    sweetgum Liquidambar styracifluaZone 4+ · full sun · 100 ft · native
30. 
    tietongue Coccoloba diversifoliaZone 11+ · shade · 25 ft · native
31. 
    wili wili Erythrina sandwicensisZone 12+ · part shade · 30 ft · native
32. 
    loblolly pine Pinus taedaZone 6+ · full sun · 100 ft · native
33. 
    swamp tupelo Nyssa bifloraZone 5+ · full sun · 115 ft · native
34. 
    eastern cottonwood Populus deltoidesZone 2+ · full sun · 90 ft · native
35. 
    Fremont cottonwood Populus fremontiiZone 5+ · full sun · 90 ft · native
36. 
    silver maple Acer saccharinumZone 2+ · part shade · 90 ft · native
37. 
    American sycamore Platanus occidentalisZone 3+ · part shade · 100 ft · native
38. 
    arborvitae Thuja occidentalisZone 3+ · part shade · 50 ft · native
39. 
    cucumber tree Magnolia acuminataZone 5+ · part shade · 100 ft · native
40. 
    devil's walkingstick Aralia spinosaZone 4+ · full sun · 20 ft · native

Every plant here is drawn from the USDA PLANTS database; the traits behind this list are quoted from it, not estimated. See data & sources.

Want plants matched to your exact zone and conditions? Use the Plant Finder.