Work With The Clay (Not Against It) – Here Are 20 Plants That Love Clay Soils

Gardening on clay soil can have its challenges and limitations, so why not embrace it and grow plants that will thrive in clay conditions, rather than battle against it?

If your garden is on clay soil, you probably already know that it can be rather hard work to work with.

Clay soil tends to feel slightly sticky to the touch and can become bone hard in the hottest months and waterlogged during the rainy season, but it can also be very fertile.

Clay soils should always be improved by adding organic matter such as composted bark, well-rotted manure or garden compost either lightly worked into the soil or left as a mulch for the worms to incorporate into the layer beneath.

As well as continually improving the soil, it’s also best to grow plants that positively love clay soils.

We’ve put together a selection of plants that will embrace clay soil and thrive, rather than limp along sulkily.

1) Fuchsia

• RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: ‘Swingtime’, ‘Pink Marshmallow’, ‘Lady Boothby’ (Pictured)
• PLANT TYPE: SHRUB
• HARDINESS RATING: VARIES
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

Fuchsias are popular here in the UK for good reason.

Hardy fuchsias are reliably hardy and can survive temperatures of down to -10°C.

They can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs that grow well in clay soils and come in a wide range of colours from cool white and pink to vibrant red and purple.

The flowers are stunning in their pendant form and can be either single or double.

Usually smallish shrubs, they are perfect for most gardens, though some can grow very large.

Fuchsias like to be planted in moist and fertile soil and prefer full sun or part shade.

They require a sheltered spot, so it’s best to avoid a windy and exposed site.

Bees love their flowers and fuchsias are included in the RHS plants for pollinators selection.

Fuchsia ‘Lady Boothby’ is a vigorous variety producing vibrant red and purple flowers from June until September.

It is perfect for the back of a border, growing up to H4m x W1.5m.

“Once an established framework of woody stems has developed, it’s best to prune these hardy Fuschias back to that framework in early to mid-spring as they flower on new growth,” shares Master Horticulturist Roy Nicol.

“This pruning method prevents the shrubs from becoming tangled and leggy and keeps the growth fresh and producing lots of flowers.”

2) Laurustinus

• BOTANICAL NAME: Viburnum tinus
• PLANT TYPE: SHRUB
• HARDINESS RATING: H4
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

Viburnum tinus or ‘laurustinus’ as it is sometimes known, is a large evergreen shrub which produces wonderful clusters of pink buds which turn to white flowers in late winter.

It can be grown as a hedge, but is often used as a specimen shrub in a border.

V. tinus will grow in any moist, but well-drained soil. An adaptable and hardy shrub, it will grow in either full sun or shade, but prefers a sheltered spot away from cold winds.

Potentially growing up to H4m x W4m over time it can be kept to size through annual pruning in spring after flowering.

For a smaller variety, V. tinus ‘Eve Price’ is still a sizeable shrub and will eventually reach H2.5m x H2.5m.

“Viburnum tinus is particularly prone to Viburnum beetle larvae eating the foliage and causing a foul smell,” adds Roy.

“Biological control nematodes are available for this beetle, applied by watering onto the affected plant. Alternatively, an organic pesticide spray can be used between late April and early May to eradicate this pest.”

3) Lady’s Mantle

• BOTANICAL NAME: Alchemilla mollis
• PLANT TYPE: PERENNIAL
• HARDINESS RATING: H7
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: WELL-DRAINED; KEEP MOIST

More commonly known as Lady’s mantle, Alchemilla mollis is a herbaceous and clump-forming perennial.

With light green leaves, it produces frothy yellow flowers extending above the foliage during the summer.

Growing to roughly H.5m x W.5m it will tolerate any soil, including clay.

It’s a hardy and tough plant and will happily self-seed if you let it.

Perfect as ground cover or at the front of a border it will even happily grow in shade, as well as full sun.

Perfect in a cottage garden scheme or for softening hard landscaped edges.

Being perennial, it will die back over winter, but if cut back after flowering it will produce fresh new growth and even flower again later in the summer.

“This mid-summer removal of flowered stems and leggy leaves really improves the appearance of the plant, which becomes quite tatty looking after flowering in early summer,” shares Roy.

“The fresh growth coming later often stays looking good until the first frosts.”

4) Rose

• BOTANICAL NAME: ROSA
• RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: ‘Aloha’, ‘Champagne Moment’ (Pictured)
• PLANT TYPE: CLIMBER, RAMBLER OR SHRUB
• HARDINESS RATING: OFTEN H6
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

Roses are often the summer show stopper of a British garden and thrive in clay soils due to the excellent range of nutrients available in healthy soils of this type, but may struggle if the roots become waterlogged due to poor drainage.

Drainage in heavy clay soils can be improved as mentioned earlier, by adding organic matter to the soil.

From small patio varieties to larger shrubs and climbers there is a rose for every garden.

Roses tend to love as much sun as they can get, but thankfully there are some varieties that don’t mind receiving a little less.

English shrub rose ‘Harlow Carr’ is one such rose and will happily cope with partial shade.

It produces the most perfect pink scented flowers on a bushy habit, ideal for a border or container it grows to 0.9m in height and 0.9m wide.

A repeat flowering rose, it will bloom from early summer right through until the autumn if deadheaded.

5) Juneberry

• BOTANICAL NAME: Amelanchier lamarckii
• PLANT TYPE: TREE
• HARDINESS RATING: H7
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

Better known as the snowy mespilus or juneberry, Amelanchier lamarckii are deciduous shrubs or small trees.

They are a great choice for any garden as they produce beautiful delicate white flowers in spring, good autumnal foliage and berries.

A. lamarckii will grow in clay, loam or sandy soil, in either full sun or part shade.

Growing to an eventual size of H12m x W8m, they need to have room to flourish.

It is possible however to prune the trees to keep them to a smaller size of 3-4m, with perhaps a single stem for effect.

Easily available here in the UK; they can be bought as single stem or multi-stem trees and as a bush.

It is a wonderful tree or shrub to attract wildlife into your garden as birds love to eat the berries it produces.

Having proven to perform reliably well, it has been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

6) Climbing Hydrangea

• BOTANICAL NAME: Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris
• RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: ‘Mirranda’
• PLANT TYPE: CLIMBING SHRUB
• HARDINESS RATING: H5
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: WELL-DRAINED; KEEP MOIST

If you are looking for a climber that is happy in clay soil then the climbing hydrangea or H. anomala subsp. petiolaris is definitely worthy of consideration.

A self-clinging climber, it produces large white flower heads up to 20cm across between May and June.

Tolerating clay soil, it can grow to an excess of H12m x W8m.

It is an extremely versatile climber which will grow in either full sun or part-shade and can even cope with a shady north-facing wall. 

Having proven to perform reliably well it has been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

7) Hardy Geranium

• RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: ‘Mavis Simpson’, ‘Orion’, ‘Rozanne’ (Pictured)
• PLANT TYPE: PERENNIAL
• HARDINESS RATING: H6-H7
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

Hardy geraniums or cranesbill geraniums are generally very easy to grow, tolerating all but the heaviest clay soils and being waterlogged.

Requiring minimal maintenance, they can bloom for months on end during the summer months and brighten up any border.

As a perennial, they will die back after the first frost with new growth appearing in spring.

Generally hardy geraniums will grow in full sun to part shade and do best in a moist, but well-drained soil.

If there was one to grow it must be G. ‘Rozanne’. Growing to H0.6m x W0.6m it is perfect for a border or container and produces masses of violet-blue flowers from June until the autumn if deadheaded.

8) Greater Masterwort

• BOTANICAL NAME: Astrantia major
• PLANT TYPE: PERENNIAL
• HARDINESS RATING: H7
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

Astrantia or Hattie’s pincushion as they are sometimes known, are a group of summer flowering herbaceous perennials.

They produce stunning star-shaped flowers in cream, pink, red and purple.

Tolerating full sun, but preferring part shade, they will grow in clay or loamy soils as long as they are not allowed to dry out.

Growing to a maximum of H1m x W0.5m they are well suited to a border or a pot and will bloom from June through to August.

9) Dogwood

• BOTANICAL NAME: CORNUS
• RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: ‘Flaviramea’, ‘Elegantissima’, ‘MIDWINTER FIRE’
• PLANT TYPE: SHRUB
• HARDINESS RATING: H6-H7
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

Better known as dogwoods, cornus are a group of deciduous shrubs.

Often grown for winter interest, some have wonderful stem colour to brighten up a border on a winter’s day and others are grown for their pollinator-friendly flowers.

The dogwoods grown for winter interest include C. alba, C. sericea and C. sanguinea and are very tolerant of heavy clay soils and will often do well where other plants have failed.

C. alba ‘Sibirica’ is a great variety that produces stunning red stems that turn almost crimson during the winter and cream flowers in early summer.

Growing to H2.5m x W2.5m it prefers a sunny or part shaded spot and moist, but well-drained soil.

Originating from Siberia, it is naturally hardy and is a great shrub to add some winter colour to the borders.

“In order for Dogwoods to produce these colourful stems, established plants should be hard pruned in late winter or early spring followed by a feed and mulch,” Roy explains.

10) Hosta

• BOTANICAL NAME: HOSTA
• RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: ‘Halcyon’, ‘Patriot’ (Pictured)
• PLANT TYPE: PERENNIAL
• HARDINESS RATING: H7
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: WELL-DRAINED; KEEP MOIST

Originating from Japan and China, hostas are easy to grow and are mainly favoured for their beautiful foliage.

There are many to choose from, varying in leaf colour, size and shape and most flower on tall stems rising above the foliage.

In general, hostas are happiest in the shade and are perfect in a container or a border.

Some varieties are more tolerant of sun than others so it worth checking before you buy.

Once planted, hostas tend to look after themselves, only requiring deadheading and their dead foliage removed in winter.

As a perennial, new foliage will emerge in the spring. They are however, a favourite of slugs and snails!

Wool pellets or copper rings around the base of the plants are advised for protection, particularly as new foliage emerges.

“It’s an ongoing battle to prevent slugs and snails from eating hosta leaves, which is a pity as they are mainly grown for their foliage,” Roy says.

“Additional methods of protection are choosing a resistant cultivar, watering slug nematodes into the soil, placing sheep’s wool around the base of the plant and lastly spraying a garlic solution at regular intervals – a method recommended by Hosta growers!

“Hostas are considered hardy here in the UK and prefer fertile and moisture-retentive soil.”

11) New England Aster

• BOTANICAL NAME: Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
• RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: ‘Helen Picton’, ‘James Ritchie’
• PLANT TYPE: PERENNIAL
• HARDINESS RATING: H7
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: WELL-DRAINED; KEEP MOIST

Asters flower late in the season, generally from September to November, and provide colour in ranges of pink, blue and purple to garden borders that are otherwise starting to run out of steam.

12) Willow Leaved Pear

• BOTANICAL NAME: Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’
• PLANT TYPE: TREE
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

Often known as a Weeping Pear, this is a great specimen tree which can be pruned to an umbrella shape.

It is covered in white blossoms in spring.

13) Birch

• BOTANICAL NAME: BETULA
• RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: ‘Jermyns’, ‘Red Panda’ (Pictured), ‘Snow Queen’
• PLANT TYPE: TREE
• HARDINESS RATING: H7
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

There are a number of Birch trees with attractive bark which stand out in the winter, ranging from the sparkling white of B. utilis var. jacquemontii to the pinkish-red of B. albosinensis.

The only caution is the general lack of drought resistance of these trees due to their shallow root systems.

14) Swamp Cypress

• BOTANICAL NAME: Taxodium distichum
• PLANT TYPE: TREE
• HARDINESS RATING: H7
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: POORLY-DRAINED

This tree has bright green, soft, needle-like foliage and produces a bright orange display before losing its leaves in the autumn.

It tolerates waterlogged soils and is often planted at the edge of ponds. 

15) Barberry

• BOTANICAL NAME: BERBERIS
• RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: ‘Stapehill’, ‘Georgeii’ (Pictured)
• PLANT TYPE: SHRUB
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

Many cultivars of Berberis have brightly coloured foliage, but do require well-drained soil.

Watch out for the spiked leaves!

16) Checkerberry

• BOTANICAL NAME: Gaultheria procumbens
• PLANT TYPE: SHRUB
• HARDINESS RATING: H5
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: WELL-DRAINED; KEEP MOIST

This is a low-growing evergreen shrub with glossy leaves and red berries in the autumn which will tolerate shady positions.

17) Creeping Juniper

• BOTANICAL NAME: Juniperus horizontalis
• RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: ‘Wiltonii’
• PLANT TYPE: SHRUB
• HARDINESS RATING: H7
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: VERY WELL DRAINED

A low-growing, spawling Juniper which forms a ground cover with blue-green needles.

It is good for dry soils or banks.

18) Yellow Deadnettle

• BOTANICAL NAME: Lamium galeobdolon
• PLANT TYPE: PERENNIAL
• HARDINESS RATING: H7
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: WELL-DRAINED; KEEP MOIST

A perennial with buttery-yellow flowers that spread easily (often too easily and can become a nuisance), forming ground cover in shady areas.

19) Japanese Rose

• BOTANICAL NAME: Kerria japonica
• RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: ‘Golden Guinea’, ‘Flore Pleno’
• PLANT TYPE: SHRUB
• HARDINESS RATING: H5
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

The Japanese rose is a deciduous shrub with attractive double yellow flowers which can brighten up the shady corners of a garden. 

20) Chinese Silver Grass

• BOTANICAL NAME: Miscanthus sinensis
• PLANT TYPE: GRASS
• HARDINESS RATING: H6
• PREFERRED DRAINAGE: ANY

The large range of cultivars of this grass produce a variety of coloured golden, pink and purple plumes which stand over winter when other perennials have faded away.

If you garden on clay, improving the soil can go a long way, hopefully allowing you to grow a wider range of plants.

However, there are some plants, as above, that love fertile clay soil, so why not embrace what you have got and work with it, rather than against it?