Plants for Shorelines

Plants and shrubs play a critical role on marine shorelines. When waterfront homeowners preserve or enhance shoreline vegetation, they experience a wide range of benefits including erosion protection, slope stabilization assistance, and stormwater management services.

Maintaining mature, diverse trees and shrubs is an effective and cheap strategy for homeowners to reduce the risk of problems with slope stability, drainage, or accelerated bank erosion.

HOW PLANTS PROTECT YOUR SHORELINE PROPERTY

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EXAMPLE PLANTING PLAN

NATIVE PLANT LIST FOR MARINE SHORELINES

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Marine Shoreline Native Plant List_preview

NATIVE MARINE SHORELINE PLANTS

The pictures below represent many of the common native plant species found along marine shorelines in South Puget Sound.  All of the plants below play an important role on the shoreline by stabilizing slopes and banks with their roots, by helping to manage rain water and shallow groundwater, and by providing food, shelter and cover for local wildlife.   We are also extremely fortunate that so many of them are beautiful landscaping plants!

Plants found on beaches and tidal marshes

TREES FOR MARINE SHORELINES

Where Can I Buy Native Plants? 

Pierce Conservation District hosts an Annual Native Plant Sale of bare-root native plants. Ordering Nov.-Jan; plant pickup in Feb./March. Other Conservation Districts in the region may have different availability at their annual plant sales. 

Pierce County maintains a list of native plant nurseries where plants may be available year-round.

Also check out your local Master Gardener plant sales!