Best Plants for Clay Soil

Bearded Iris

With thousands of varieties, this incredible perennial comes in every color of the rainbow! They’re tolerant of many soil types, multiply readily so you can transplant elsewhere in your garden or share with friends, and are low-maintenance bloomers that flower from spring to early summer, depending on where you live. Bet you can’t plant just one type!

Read more: How to Care for Irises Like an Expert

Daylily

Daylilies are the ultimate in low-maintenance perennials. Although each flower blooms for just one day (thus, the name!), multiple flowers appear on each stem. They come in an astonishing array of sizes and colors with single, double, or frilly petals.

Read more: How to Grow Lily Flowers

Lilac

Lilac is an old-fashioned shrub with pretty, fragrant pink or purple spikes in mid-spring. Look for reblooming types which flower again later in the season. New dwarf sizes fit tidily in small spaces.

Read more: How to Grow a Lilac Bush

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Hosta

Hostas are reliable, unfussy perennials that come in every size and color you can imagine. They typically are considered shade lovers, but they actually like a little morning sun. Just be aware that deer love them!

Read more: Hosta Plant Care Tips To Keep Them Thriving

Weigela

This pretty shrub blooms in spring with tubular flowers in white, bright pinks and deep red colors. Some new types will bloom several times, so you get color throughout the season. Hummingbirds love this shrub.

Black Eyed Susan

This smiley-faced perennial is a must-have because it blooms for months starting in mid-summer through fall. It doesn’t mind heat or cold, so it’s a versatile plant in many different planting zones.

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Coneflower

Also known as echinacea, these flowers offer gorgeous, saturated colors from white to hot pink to deepest coral, making them a great addition to any garden. Bees and butterflies love this perennial.

Potentilla

For low maintenance blooms all summer long, this shrub has a nice mounded shape that works well in mass plantings or mixed borders. It’s also extremely cold hardy.

Bee Balm

As the name indicates, this perennial is a favorite of bees and many other pollinators. It comes in different shades of pinks and purples and blooms for weeks and weeks!

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Lantana

This shrubby plant with insanely bright colors is super-tough! It doesn’t mind heat or drought. It’s an annual in cold climates but are perennial in warm climates.

Petunia

Petunias have been popular for generations because they come in every color of the rainbow. Look for hybrid types that don’t require you to deadhead (remove spent blooms) to keep blooming until a hard frost.

Salvia

Salvia is a magnet for pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. It's a tough perennial with graceful pink or purple flower spikes, which last for weeks.

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Goatsbeard

This shade-loving perennial is much prettier than the name indicates! Its feathery flowers are eye-catching, and it’s deer and rabbit resistant.

Sedum

Many different types of sedum will grow in clay soil. Look for low-growing varieties for the front of borders, or tall types that will bloom in late summer when the rest of the garden is beginning to fade. Just make sure it’s a spot that’s well-drained because it doesn’t like to stay soggy.

Aronia

Also known by the unglamorous name of chokeberry, this is a standout shrub! It has tiny white flowers in spring, followed by attractive berries and red foliage in fall.

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Rose of Sharon

This shrub has frilly white, pink, purple, or blue blooms which arrive in late summer when everything else is winding down. New varieties have a more columnar shape and some have a more petite size so they fit in many different garden settings.

Read more: How to Root a Rose of Sharon

Helenium

Also called sneezeweed (not because it causes allergies but because it was once used medicinally for hay fever!), this sunny perennial is a fun, must-have plant for any garden. It blooms from midsummer to fall and doesn’t mind heat and humidity.

Arricca Elin SanSone has written about health and lifestyle topics for Prevention, Country Living, Woman's Day, and more. She’s passionate about gardening, baking, reading, and spending time with the people and dogs she loves.

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