Cornell's Urban
Horticulture Institute
has released the second edi-
tion of its Woody Shrubs for
Stormwater Retention Practices
(Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
Regions). The updated and
expanded 57-page guide is an
essential resource for choosing
plants that can provide low-main-
tenance, attractive cover for fil-
ter strips, swales, rain gardens,
and other stormwater reten-
tion and infiltration practices.
"For plants to thrive in stormwa-
ter retention areas, they need to
be able to tolerate both dry and
periodically saturated soils," says
UHI Director Nina Bassuk, pro-
fessor in the Horticulture Section
of the School of Integrative Plant
Science. "These can be tough
sites with high pH and salt lev-
els, so it's important to choose
the right plants for the job."
u p d a t e d
Woody Shrubs for
Stormwater Retention
a free, 57-page guide by Dropkin, Bassuk, and Signorelli
In addition to profiling more than 35
shrubs—including their hardiness, sun
and soil requirements, potential pest
issues, and deer resistance—the guide
also details site assessment and design
considerations for stormwater retention
structures. Descriptions also include
cultivar information and ecological
impacts, such as attractiveness to pol-
linators. Download the guide here.
