These flowers, herbs, and other plants for sandy soil dont mind less-than-perfect growing conditions.
Sandy soil can be a challenge for gardeners.
Sandy soil has one big upside, though: It drains well.
Credit: Edward Gohlich
Its an excellent choice for plants that like dry conditions and are prone to root rot.
Check out this list of flowers, herbs, vegetables, and trees that thrive in sandy soil.
This plant tolerates poor and rocky soil and is very heat- and drought-tolerant.
Credit: Matthew Benson
Yarrow is native to North America and popular with pollinators.
Plus, deer and rabbits wont eat it.
Firefly Sunshine is a popular yarrow hybrid that produces yellow blooms.
Credit: Carson Downing
Size:2 to3 feet tall and wide
Zones:310
Cosmos
Cosmos(Cosmosspp.)
are annuals with daisy-like flowers that thrive in well-drained, alkaline soil in full sun.
Theyre drought-tolerant plants that grow best in relatively dry soil.
Credit: Laurie Black
They attract pollinators and produce pink, purple, orange, yellow, white, and maroon flowers.
They grow best when sown directly in the garden.
Size:1 to 6 feet tall and 1 to 3 feet wide
Zones:211
Lavender
Lavender(Lavandulaspp.)
Credit: Joshua McCullough
Deer wont eat lavender, and it can handle a slope.
Some are ornamental only.
Size:1 to 3 feet tall and wide
Zones:59
Black-Eyed Susan
Pollinators loveblack-eyed Susans(Rudbeckiaspp.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
), and so do people.
These golden-yellow daisy-like flowers can be perennials or annuals, and they light up a garden all summer.
Black-eyed Susan is a North American native wildflower.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Plant breeders have created several black-eyed Susans.
One of the most popular is Goldsturm, a perennial that lives for decades and blooms in late summer.
Size:3 to 8 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide
Zones:49
Sedum
Sedums(Hylotelephiumspp.)
Credit: Mark Kane
are a group of succulent plants that come in a range of shapes, colors, and sizes.
What all sedums have in common is a love of sandy soil and sun.
So many species and varieties are available that sedums can be found in bloom three seasons a year.
Credit: Jerry Pavia
Bees and butterflies love the flowers, so sedums are excellentchoices for pollinator gardens.
They are heat- and drought-tolerant and can flourish in poor soil.
Autumn Joy is a classic sedum, producing pink flowers that resemble broccoli heads on 2-foot-tall stalks.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
They are perennials in most regions.
Givealliums(Alliumspp.)
full sun, and theyll fill your spring and summer garden with dramatic shape and color.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Theyll give you clover-like clusters of pink flowers on 18-inch stems.
It loves dry soil and hot, sunny weather.
In warm climates, rosemary can grow into a shrub.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
In colder climates, it can beoverwintered in a containeror grown as an annual.
Size:1 to 3 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide
Zones:810
Daylily
Daylilies(Hemerocallisspp.)
There are daylilies that rebloom and daylilies that bloom continuously.
Credit: David Speer
They like full sun and well-drained soil and are heat- and drought-tolerant.
Sandy soil is just the ticket for growing great radishes.
They are usually grown as a cool-weather crop in early spring or autumn.
Credit: Kindra Clineff
Radishes are fast-growing, with most varieties ready to eat just a month after planting.
Size:1 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide
Catmint
Catmint(Nepetaspp.)
is a low-growing perennial that forms mounds of gray-green leaves topped by spikes of purple flowers.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
This tough-as-nails plant blooms all summer and is extremely heat- and drought-tolerant.
Its a fast-growing plant that thrives in the worst soils.
Deer and rabbits do not like to eat its minty, aromatic leaves, but pollinators love this plant.
Credit: Bob Stefko
Walkers Low is an easy-to-grow hybrid that grows to 30 inches tall and wide.
Cats Pajamas is a compact catmint that only grows about a foot wide.
This tough herb makes tasty leaves that flavor Italian and Middle Eastern cuisines.
Credit:Denny Schrock
)usually are cheery shades of red and yellow, and pollinators love them.
Their sensitive roots do not like to be wet, so they were born for sandy soil.
Coneflower
People and pollinators loveconeflowers(Echinacea purpurea).
Credit:Denny Schrock
They need full sun and can tolerate a lot of drought and heat.
Purple coneflower is the most popular species, producing purple flowers on 5-foot tall stems.
Some coreopsis are perennials, and others are annuals.
Credit:Denny Schrock
Moonbeam is a popular perennial coreopsis that produces pale yellow flowers and looks great in borders.
Also known as Northern red oak, they can live for 150 to 300 years.
They are slow growing but worth the effort because you are investing in future generations.
Credit: Robert Cardillo
This is a classic tree in the coastal South.
Longleaf pines are fast-growing, gaining up to 3 feet of height in a year.
Unlike many fast-growing trees, longleaf pines are long-lived, with some growing for more than 300 years.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Mulch them to keep those shallow root systems cool and moist.
They thrive in sandy soil and are prone to root rot, so they like soil that drains well.
Water them deeply and infrequently and confirm they get full sun.
It adds nutrients, slows water runoff, and keeps the roots cool.
