Fast-Growing Trees That Will Thrive In Damp Soil

Striking the right air-water balance in the soil is key to growing healthy trees. So, when you plant your sentinels in perpetually damp sites — courtesy of high water tables, clay content, or year-round rainfall — most falter because their roots starve for oxygen. While the lack doesn't kill them, it stresses them out, weakening their defenses against soil-borne pathogens that make no delays in delivering the fatal blow. Although soil amendments are often proposed as remedies, they rarely work for trees unless you work them throughout the soil and not just the top layers, as is the usual scenario for shrubs. Hence, a better option is to borrow a leaf from the book on simple tricks for restoring your muddy lawn and choose plants inherently cut out for boggy areas and tally their growth requirements to your yard's conditions.

As trees sited in wet soils must soak up the surrounding water, they generally keep their root systems shallow to accomplish the task adequately. So, if planted in the wrong spot, they might interfere with traffic or damage structural elements. Being winter hardy in your location is another requirement. Thankfully, there's no dearth of selections, with river birch, American sycamore, pin oak, and more making the list, as discussed below.

Crowned the largest native specimen in the eastern US region, the American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is a tree you would want for wet places where most other plants lose hope. Their dormant young trees can withstand a two-month-long flooding season, while their saplings can start over on their own if the water fails to drown their crowns. These deciduous trees are highly tolerant of black walnut trees, alkalinity, and compaction. Another laurel in their crown is their decorative burgundy-brown or gray, speckled camouflage bark that sloughs off to reveal creamy-white inner tissues. Surprisingly, rather than red inflorescence, it's their fuzzy, brown, seed-holding, ball-like fruits — earning the stately tree its moniker as buttonball tree — that attract finches, chickadees, and juncos in hoards.

Hardy in zones 4 to 9, American sycamore trees should be sited in full sun to watch them touch 100 feet top and across. Starting with seed, they grow nearly 10 feet in the first year and gain another 2 feet yearly until maturity. That's why they work better in bigger yards, although the shaded turfgrass will suffer. The clean-up can be substantial, as you could expect from such mammoth-sized trees. Poor disease resistance and aggressive spreading are other major downsides.

So strong is the Manchurian alder's (Alnus hirsuta) affinity for water that its lumber toughens instead of decaying ­­­­— damp sites and the City of Venice are living proof. The fast-growing tree also enters into a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing microbes, enriching the ground while keeping leaching under control. Not only does its glib tan-gray bark accent the landscape but it's also used in gargling solutions where its antiseptic properties kick in to relieve throat problems. Its 5-inch-wide, basil-green hairy foliage with burnt sienna mottles for undersides is antimicrobial, too, coming in handy to nurse injuries. This deciduous tree is aglow in droopy lavender catkins from spring through fall that make way for woody cones, keeping your yard dramatic all winter long.

Although indigenous to Asia, Manchurian alder has no history of monopolizing areas outside its cultivation in the US. It is cold hardy in USDA zones 3 to 7 and resists bogs and clay. Sow the scarified seeds in part to full sun or start with juvenile trees, but make sure to shield them initially from voles and mice with a tree guard. The almost 60-foot-tall tree may come under attack from beetles and scales but is otherwise resistant to diseases and pollution, especially its 'Prairie Horizon' cultivar.

A lover of damp soils, paper birch (Betula papyrifera) is a gorgeous tree with white bark that creates a striking backyard contrast, especially when teamed with evergreens. Although, you're more likely to see them decked in golden brown bark during the first 10 years or so of their life. Keen on putting on a winter show, these native trees usually shave off slivers of their papery bark to unveil amber skin, while the more mature of the lot flaunt their age through pronounced black speckles on their tissues. Like their cousins, paper or white birch trees bloom tiny, copperish-green flowers that entice ruffled grouse into your yard. When their seed-containing fruits take over, pine siskins and chickadees herd in to assist with dispersal. Their sunny yellow fall color is another standout feature.

Although paper birch trees are hardy in zones 2 to 7, they prefer staying at higher elevations. That's because warmer climates magnify their susceptibility to deadly bronze birch borers, the pest problem you must worry about when growing white birch trees. Moreover, the intense southern afternoon heat has them bolting for shade despite their partiality to full sun up north. Keep the roots well-watered and snow-covered to experience their imposing 70-foot glory; they'll be shorter if trained into a multi-trunked form. Twig and leaf litter aren't major issues, but you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for signs of canker, aphids, and leafminers.

If you want an ornamental shade tree on your lawn without killing the turf underneath, the thornless honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis) species might fit the bill. That's because their graceful, toothed canopies atop snaking arms allow some dappled shade while turning a dazzling yellow come fall — cleanup is minor, too. Bred to lose their thorns (technically modified twigs) prevalent in the wild, these natives put out highly aromatic, greenish-white flowers in late spring that give honey bees their desired sugar rush. After summer, the blooms petal out to make space for honeyed red pods, thus earning their name and the gratitude of pollinators, songbirds, squirrels, rabbits, and deer. However, some cultivars, such as Imperial and Skyline, produce no seeds. Armed with massive surface roots, thornless honey locust trees hold their ground in front of furious gales, finding an alternate use case as windbreaks. They also curtail soil erosion.

Thornless honey locust trees brave myriad conditions, including alkalinity, black walnut, city pollution, salt, and standing water, eventually growing nearly 70 feet tall and 50 feet wide. USDA zones 4 through 9 work the best for them, provided the sun is on full blast. Unfortunately, when heat-stressed, damaging pests like mimosa webworm caterpillars, spider mites, and pod gall midge can invade them, especially down south. So, check your area's pest history and tree diversity before planting honey locust trees.

Joining the league of pin oaks, Nuttall oaks (Quercus texana) are another damp, soil-friendly tree option if their wide prevalence in the floodplain forests of the central U.S. region is any indication. Initially, sprouting lavender leaves that fade to gorgeous, dark greens in the summer heat, these natives shift the gears late into the fall when their leaves blaze a dazzling carrot-red color, enthralling onlookers. However, when the show's done, there's considerable leaf litter to clear out. Branches can be attractive post-defoliation when their varying veined angles become apparent. As the spring breezes in, they flush yellow catkins that magnetize pollinators. But the show's real stars are acorns that will have your yard teeming with turkeys, squirrels, and scrub jays. Numerous moth and butterfly species, including those from the Duskywing and Hairstreak family, depend on oaks for survival.

Also called Texas red oak, these deciduous trees are right at home in USDA zones 6 through 9. Full sun stimulates maximum growth, with the oaks growing 80 feet tall and 60 feet across, with the canopy eventually filling out. While mostly pest- and disease-resistant, poor care may encourage root rot, oak wilt, or a mites infestation. Unsightly outgrowth on foliage, buds, or bark — the handiwork of gall wasps that you might find in your yard is common as well.

Sans the spines typical to hollies, yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) is another rapid-growing tree that thrives in wet soils. However, it takes almost 10 years to reach a distinct vase form. That, too, only if its lower limbs have been pruned religiously before they pack into thickets. Thus, growing understory vegetation can become tacky because of the pruning, but the evergreen tree makes up for it by being undemanding about fertilization and irrigation. Packing a massive punch in their small, ovate forest green leaves, holly trees serve as living screens, hedges, and windbreaks. They're becoming especially popular in coastal areas due to their high salt resistance. When bored, brew the leaves for a caffeine kick!

But to deck your garden in some Christmas interest, choose the female plants since they grow lusciously red (rarely yellow or orange) berries, unlike their male counterparts. But if it's too much hassle, yeet the decision to winter when they're actively fruiting in the nurseries or, best, get both types for a rich harvest. Songbirds and foraging mammals will appreciate your effort, too. Site yaupon holly in part to full sun to experience their spring break out of showy white flowers that pollinators find breathtaking. They can acclimate to deep shade if forced. In their adaptive zones of 7 to 9, these native trees are approximately 25 feet on top and wide. Resilient against Phytophthora root rot, they may occasionally suffer at the chops of scales and leafminers.