Trees for very wet soil conditions?

I have tried several years to get fruit or ornamental shade trees to grow on the west one/third (2.5 acres) of the property. The soil is especially wet in the late winter and early spring but stays damp nearly all year. Where could I find a list of trees & shrubs That might grow well in this area. Suggestions would be welcome.

My wife planted a weeping willow in this area last year and it was doing very well until the deer denuded it. Deer have been a big problem this year on the 75 fruit trees we planted three-four years ago.

You could try:

Bald Cypress
Swamp Chestnut Oak
Swamp White Oak
Red Maple
Sycamore

All of these should tolerate fairly wet soil.

Nyssa sylvatica
Alders
River Birch
Quercus lyrata

Black Willow (Salix nigra)
American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana)
River Birch (Betula nigra)
Swamp Oak (Quercus bicolor)
Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum)
Pond Cypress (Taxodium ascendens)
Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus)
Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)
Swamp Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

Some like sun and some are more of an understory species for moist locations.

Order some tree tubes and protect what ever you plant until it is established or the deer will feast upon your delicacies again and you will be ripping your hair out.

Whatever you plant, try to get a very small one and let its root system acclimate to its new hydric environment. Some people make the mistake of shelling out big bucks for a larger B&B tree that was grown in a well drained nursery bed and planting it in a swamp, only to see it croak from the sudden change.

And as for the deer, if you ever run out I'll sell you some more at special discount -- you just gotta come and getem! Meanwhile, you do need to protect what you plant or they will make compost out of it.

Guy S.

In such a location I have Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood) growing very well. They branch low and if you don't limb them up til they're older then deer can't get to the trunk and they leave them alone.

SB

Will redbuds and American hornbeams survive wet soil? I have never seen them listed for such places before.

Scott

Cercis and Carpinus do well in floodplains, but perhaps not in areas where water stays for long periods. Same with Chionanthus and Oxydendrum. But one way around a lot of that might be to slightly mound the planting area to keep the root crown out of the water. Metasequoia was a very good suggestion too, along with those from Escambia and Kevin, and I especially like the Magnolia virginiana and Taxodium ascendens suggested by Equil. Maybe Quercus macrocarpa, Carya illinoinensis, Celtis occidentalis, C. laevigata, Gymnocladus, a selected Maclura cultivar, and some others could be added to the shopping list.

Resin, what's a fewmet? Is that some type of English ale-making process? Does it make what they call "Deer-Beer"?

Guy S.

Hi Guy,

Deer - fewmets
Rabbits, Hares - crottles
Sheep - buttons
Wild boar - lesses
Otters - spraint
Weasels, Mink, etc - scats
Fox - castings
Cows - cowpats (US, cowpies)

Getting the idea, now? ;-)

Resin

. . . ohhhhhhh . . .

Hmmm,