With record-setting rainfall all around the state and rivers rising more often, some landowners may be inundated with water like they’ve never seen before. That’s where our native trees and shrubs come in. Plants can act as sponges, their roots taking up water and serving as a sustainable, renewable means of flood remediation. The Maryland Forest Service recommends the following trees and shrubs for residents dealing with recurring flood issues, as well as coastal landowners faced with potential saltwater intrusion. Refer to the grow zone map to determine whether you are in the Mountain, Piedmont or Coastal Plain. In parentheses after each species are additional notes on approximate conditions they tolerate. As point of reference regarding salinity, ocean water is 35 ppt.

Mountain Zone

• Black Willow (tolerates mildly brackish water, .5 ppt salinity)
• Hackberry (occasional flooding)
• Swamp Rose (3” floodwaters)
• Red Chokeberry (infrequent flooding, tolerates salt spray)
• Smooth/Hazel Alder (3” floodwaters)
• Buttonbush (36” floodwaters)

Piedmont Zone

• Black Willow (tolerates mildly brackish water, .5 ppt salinity)
• Sweetbay Magnolia (moderately tolerant of salt spray)
• Hackberry (occasional flooding)
• Swamp Rose (3” floodwaters)
• Red Chokeberry (infrequent flooding, tolerates salt spray)
• Smooth/Hazel Alder (3” floodwaters)
• Buttonbush (36” floodwaters)

Coastal Plain Zone

• Black Willow (tolerates mildly brackish water)
• Sweetbay Magnolia (moderately tolerant of salt spray)
• Northern Bayberry (brackish water; 20 ppt salinity)
• Summersweet (moist to saturated soil)
• Hackberry (occasional flooding)
• Buttonbush (36” floodwaters)
• Wax Myrtle (brackish water; 10 ppt salinity)
• Inkberry (moderately tolerant of salt, wet to moist soils)
• Red Chokeberry (infrequent flooding, tolerates salt spray)
• Virginia Sweetspire (6” floodwaters)
• Swamp Rose (3” floodwaters)
• Marsh Elder (brackish water; 15 ppt salinity)
• Smooth/Hazel Alder (3” floodwaters)
• Groundsel Bush (6” floodwaters/brackish water; 15 ppt salinity)

http://www.nativeplantcenter.net/

(Information source and map: Chesapeake Bay Program, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)