Flood plain planting

g squared 23

Well-Known Member
My brother recently bought some property in Missouri north of Saint Louis that is about a half mile from a river. He's looking to plant something to benefit wildlife, mainly deer and turkeys that can handle occasional flooding. He put in some pin oak seedlings that went completely under water and SURVIVED, so these are an obvious choice, but he's looking for some diversity. What other trees or shrubs can he plant in the river bottom?
 
Look at native trees that live on the river bank. You can also contact your local DNR and ask them. They can help y'all decide what trees will be best for what you are wanting to do.
 
Not a tree or shrub, but Japanese Millet might be worth Googling.
We have a dried-up pond that holds water for a few days after a really hard rain. It's flooded twice since I planted this Spring, and so far the JM is still going strong. This is my first try with it, so I don't know yet how the critters are going to like it. I mostly planted it for doves.
 
trees that love/like the water at my place.....willow, sycamore, cottonwood, soft maples (silver and red), boxelder, buckeye, hackberry and walnut. None of these are really worth a crap for wildlife however. I have a bottom field near a large creek that floods nearly every spring for a short period of time. These trees handle the water just fine. Pin oak would be a great mast source and bald cypress like water as well, I just don't have any. I would suspect that the MO DNR or dept of forestry and the like should be able to give you a list of trees and shrubs that would survive and thrive in that environment.
 
Red osier dogwood would be top of my list. Grows in the standing water of the marshes around here and deer are more than happy to browse it and use it for cover.
 
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I live along the Mississippi around an hour from you and I know of a big grove of persimmon that are on an island in the river and they get flooded multiple times a year. They still produce fruit year after year.


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My brother recently bought some property in Missouri north of Saint Louis that is about a half mile from a river. He's looking to plant something to benefit wildlife, mainly deer and turkeys that can handle occasional flooding. He put in some pin oak seedlings that went completely under water and SURVIVED, so these are an obvious choice, but he's looking for some diversity. What other trees or shrubs can he plant in the river bottom?
What does the soil look like? This makes all the difference. My property floods, but the well drained loam harbors different species than the wet clay. Most any tree can survive a 2 day flood. But chronic wet soils require a particular species.
I can grow pines in my loamy bottom soil, but they wouldnt survive a wet season 50 yards away in the wet clay.
 
The Swamp Bur Oak hybrids (Kelly Tree Farm on IA) are an option, as are pure Swamp White Oak. The Swamp Bur Oak hybrids (aka Schuette's Oak) are purported to both tolerate extended flooding and the wide variety of soils thst bur oak will tolerate. Other members have reported success with these. I planted a floodplain area this spring and really wish i would have planted these. I plan on restocking ~50% of my seedlings that died from the wet weather with these. The Bodacious Bur from Morse is thought to be a SWO/Bur Oak hybrid, but that's uncomfirmed.

River Birch are another option if Pin Oak do well. Both like wet acidic soils. Red mulberry are a third option. Tamarack are also a possibility for the wetter spots, but they need to be caged if there's lots of deer pressure. They do great on my flood plain muck soils if they grow up before the deer nip them.
 
What does the soil look like? This makes all the difference. My property floods, but the well drained loam harbors different species than the wet clay. Most any tree can survive a 2 day flood. But chronic wet soils require a particular species.
I can grow pines in my loamy bottom soil, but they wouldnt survive a wet season 50 yards away in the wet clay.
What are you having luck with in your clay areas?
I've had some mixed success with Tamarack, Red Maple, and Swamp White Oak.
I'm zone 5a.
 
What are you having luck with in your clay areas?
I've had some mixed success with Tamarack, Red Maple, and Swamp White Oak.
I'm zone 5a.
Swamp whites and bur oaks are doing pretty good. Sometimes i go back and find one i planted in a puddle and it wont look healthy. But they handle wet clay pretty well. Persimmon does well. Buttonbush and silky dogwoods look happy also.
I have a native shrubby type willow that grows pretty thick. I fought it early on, but im learning to like it.
 
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