Best Native Plants for Clay Soil

~ A list of the best Ontario native plants that will survive and thrive in clay soils. ~


Traditional horticulture teaches us that “poor” soil must be amended with compost, peat moss or similar additions. This leads gardeners to spending back-breaking hours amending their compacted or poor draining clay soil with sand and other additions. The reality is that there is no such thing as poor soil - only poor plant choices.

Natural garden design seeks to reduce cost and labor by sticking to the environmental constraints (soil type, moisture, etc.) of a site, even if this means embracing a slightly more limited palette of plant species. This article will demonstrate that you nonetheless have a large selection of plants to choose from for your clay soil.

There is a native plant for almost every condition you can imagine and clay is no exception. In this article, In Our Nature lists the best native plants for clay soil. You will find that the plants on this list are easily found at local native plant nurseries in Ontario (including ours) and are easy to grow, even for beginners.

How do you know if you have clay soil?

Dig a hole in your garden about 30cm deep, moistening it slightly if its dry. Pinch the soil between your thumb and fingers and pay attention to how it feels. Clay soil will feel smooth and slippery.

You can try another method by moistening the soil slightly and squeezing it in your fist. Open your fist and pay attention to what the clump of soils does. Clay soil will form a solid clump that doesn't break apart very easily between your fingers. It will also be hard to dig in and will collect water after a rain.

The Best Ontario Native Plants For Clay Soil

Prairie & Meadow Gardens

For gardens with more sun than shade and dry to average soil.

New England Aster is an iconic fall blooming wildflower with abundant pink-purple blooms and attracts an impressive number of pollinators.

Showy Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canadense)

A showy, nitrogen-fixing plant with long clusters of pea-like, purple flowers. The foliage is popular nesting material for native leafcutter bees.

Wild Strawberry is an adaptable, fast-spreading, semi-evergreen groundcover. The early spring flowers are attractive to a diversity of pollinators and look stunning on mass.

Woodland Sunflower is a wildlife superstar with prolific blooms and a very sturdy, upright form. It is fast growing, drought tolerant and more shade tolerant than other sunflowers.

Dense Blazing Star is an upright plant with grass-like leaves and showy purple flower spike. It is a monarch butterfly magnet while in bloom.

A classic plant of prairies/meadows and valued in gardens for it's showy lavender flowers. It is easy to grow, tough and provides excellent winter interest.

An adaptable and highly fragrant plant. The white flowers are small but numerous and have a long bloom time. The dried seed heads add winter interest while feeding birds.

a tough, upright perennial with brilliant yellow flowers. The brown, egg-shaped seed heads create excellent winter interest.

A familiar and versatile native wildflower. It's long bloom time makes it a useful companion for many other species.

A beautiful, upright Goldenrod with a clumping form and large oval leaves. The rigid stems are topped with a large cluster of yellow flowers in late summer.

valued for it’s blue-gray foliage and tall, vertical stature. The showy fall colour takes on a bronze/orange hue. It persists into winter making it a suitable structural plant for winter interest.

An adaptable, easy to grow native plant which adds a welcome splash of yellow to the late-spring garden. Highly attractive to early bees and has a long bloom time.

Wetlands Gardens

For gardens with consistently moist or saturated soils, including ponds and rain gardens. These plants do best in full sun to part sun.

Fragrant, showy pink flowers and a wonderful clumping form. The strong stems persist into the winter months.

A moisture-loving aster that is easily grown in most gardens where the soil doesn't dry out. The lavender blooms put on a striking fall display and last until a few hard frosts hit them.

Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)

The cheery, buttercup-like flowers are among the first to bloom in the spring and support pollinators such as Bee Flies, Syrphid flies, sweat bees and bumblebees.

Palm Sedge is a grass-like plant that gets it's name from the fact that its leaves look like miniature palm fronds. It makes an attractive, lush groundcover in moist, sunny sites and will even grow in a couple inches of water.

White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)

Turtlehead is an upright wetland species with tubular white flowers that resemble a turtles head. It is a sturdy plant and will add interest well into the winter months. This plant is a Bumblebee magnet!

Virginia Rye (Elymus virginicus)

Virginia Rye is a cool-season bunch grass. Its attractive seed heads persist into winter where they will feed birds and add winter interest. Being a cool-season grass, it greens up early in the spring.

Spotted Joe-pye provides a strong structural presence in gardens. The large clusters of pink flowers draw in pollinators from far and wide. They prefer moist areas but will grow in most gardens where the soil doesn't dry out completely.

Sneezeweed is prized by gardeners for it's showy late summer flowers. They bloom abundantly and light up the garden. Despite its affinity for moist areas, Sneezeweed will grow well in gardens with average soil moisture once it is established.

Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense)

A truly delightful plant to have in your garden. In addition to its unmatched beauty, its is very popular with hummingbirds.

Cup Plant gets it's name from the fact that its leaves are fused at the stem, forming a natural "cup" that holds rainwater. It is a vigorous grower and not suitable for planting in small gardens.

Blue Vervain is a showy wetland species with a strong, upright form. It is prized in gardens for it's gorgeous violet/blue flower spikes that bloom from the bottom up. Great winter interest.

New York Ironweed puts on a brilliant display of unique, deep-purple flowers in late summer that act as a beacon for pollinators. Easily grown in moist soils and full sun.

Woodland Gardens

For gardens with more shade than sun such as those under mature trees. These plants will benefit from soil that is rich in organic matter.

Wild Columbine is an adaptable, spring blooming valued in gardens for its droopy red/yellow flowers. It is adaptable to shade or sun and persists in gardens by self-seeding.

Wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)

The unique globular flowers of wild sarsaparilla emerge in early spring, much to the delight of early pollinators. Attractive foliage and dark purple berries.

Virginia Anemone (Anemone virginiana)

The small flowers of Virginia anemone sit atop slender stems in early summer. They produce an abundance of pollen as is apparent by the pollinators that flock to it. Adaptable to sun or shade.

Large-leaf Aster is a great plant for shade gardens. It begins the growing season as an attractive ground cover (spreading via rhizomes) with rough, heart-shaped leaves from which rise, flat topped clusters of purple to white flowers in late summer.

Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)

A wonderful small tree with fragrant spring flowers and a delightful layered form. In the summer months, the flowers fade to dark blue berries that are quickly eaten by birds.

Bottlebrush Grass makes a nice structural grass in shade gardens. It starts growing in early spring so it’s a good choice to add some early greenery to your garden. The spiky seed heads are very showy and look amazing when backlit by the sun.

Running Strawberry (Euonymous obovatus)

An underused groundcover for shady spots with oval-shaped, green leaves and a very low-growing form. In late summer, the inconspicuous flowers become bright red and pink berries.

Sweet Cicely (Osmorphiza claytonii)

Sweet Cicely has wonderful, fern-like foliage and pure white flowers that stand out in the shade.

Zig Zag Goldenrod is valued in shady gardens for its fragrant yellow flowers that support a diversity of pollinators! It is one of the best behaved Goldenrods in a garden setting and will even grow in dry shade.

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