Woody plants for wet feet

Waterlogging is nothing new!

True, the best examples of this are alluvial forests and flood plains, provided we have not drained the latter. In this case we will naturally come across Salix alba, Populus nigra and also Alnus glutinosa. These are old familiar faces on the banks of rivers and streams, too. But should these be the only tree species that we plant in wet sites, or can we fall back on other genera, species and varieties and thus also provide biodiversity and variety in these areas? After all, increasing wetness is accompanied by warming, which in turn could make life difficult for some native trees. So here, too, the following applies as it does for the climate trees: look around and discover – on other continents or in other climate zones. For example, what about Pterocarya fraxinifolia, Liquidambar styraciflua or Taxodium distichum? The common name for the latter says it all: swamp cypress! And it also looks very distinctive.

LONG-TERM WET FEET
The question is, of course, whether prolonged flooding take place in winter or in summer. Accordingly, the trees and shrubs tolerate this better or less well, but generally speaking, the ones mentioned as examples below cope well with wet feet, but best in the period from late winter to spring. The only question is whether the weather, or rather the climate, adheres to this period.

Acer rubrum
Alnus in Arten und Sorten
Liquidambar styraciflua
Platanus acerifolia
Populus in Arten und Sorten
Prunus padus
Pterocarya fraxinifolia
Salix in Arten und Sorten
and as the only coniferous tree: Taxodium distichum

SHORT-TERM WET FEET
These days, this category contains significantly more examples. By short-term, we mean a period of up to two weeks as a rough guideline. Although here, too, the tolerance for wetness depends on the season in which the flooding takes place. Basically, however, these trees tolerate wet feet much better in winter than we humans do. And which trees are we talking about? In addition to the trees mentioned above, which also tolerate long-term flooding, here are also some examples of trees that can cope with flooding in the short term!

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