does your soil freeze in a normal winter? ...

whats down there.. that its necessary to suck up water in winter???? .. is this really a problem that needs a fix??

ken

Yes the soil freezes in a normal winter but with this being a wet area I'm guessing it doesn't freeze as deep as other areas. To the best of my knowledge some evergreens do have a little root grow in the winter thus sucking up a little water.

Does the plant I'm looking for need to suck up water in the winter? No but it would be nice.

why isnt the water freezing with the soil??.. if so.. no plant can suck up ice ...

and it seemed you fixed the issue water near the house.. by moving it out there.. so why is it a problem out there???... or is it just bugging you ...

it may not be legal to pipe it out to the lake ...

you sure you arent just making excuses to get out your backhoe.. lol ...

ken

Yeah with the comment about frost I knew where you were going ... my thinking was being "springy" it wouldn't freeze as deep or at all. Being pretty close to Lake Michigan and in the winter we get the perma cloud with the cold air coming across it. Thus plants wouldn't be getting much sun thus not needing much water in the winter if there was such a unicorn to begin with. This area never had any problem before this new drain field. Weird thing is further down hill the soil is drier. The problem I'm having is the lawn mower sinking in this wet area. In the 25 years I've been in my house I've trenched 2 4" pipes down to the lake for my gutters. Then the drain field I'm talking about. Later trenched electricity down to the lake and pressure pipe back towards the house for my lake pump. Then a major landscaping project, then a 4 season porch so I don't know if I can handle tearing up my lawn again.

This grassy area is about 24' in diameter and what I might do is plant some shrubs here thus I won't have to mow it.

Any suggestion on shrubs (under 5' tall) for this area? Wet, mostly sunny, clay?

I like your last idea of planting shrubs so you don't have to mow a wet area. The shrubby red-twig dogwoods would work, and are ornamental in fall and winter. Some varieties remain under 5', but you would want to research varieties since other selections get quite large. Clethra alnifolia has some types shorter than 5'; my memory is that Hummingbird and Sixteen Candles both stay short. Both species are fine with soggy ground. If you can find a short enough variety (perhaps ask on the conifer forum) and you don't have deer, Thuja occidentalis AKA white cedar doesn't mind damp feet unlike most conifers.

Thanks for all of your replies!!

What I do has to work with my existing near by landscaping.

In the winter, water supply is high and water requirements are very low, even for the thirstiest plants. Much below 38F soild temperature and water uptake almost stops anyway. You can plant things that tolerate wet (the 'winter wet' list is VERY long) but there isn't anything out there that's going to suck it up for you.

Sometimes I get these crazy pipe dreams :-)

This is a soil drainage issue and can only be addressed by correcting the drainage problem with a curtain or French drain that directs water away from the structure. Sorry, but some digging or trenching - not planting - is going to be involved.

Yes.

I believe Boxerdog has already moved the water away from the building as explained in the original post. S/he is asking what to do with the damp area where the French drain empties. Hence, my suggestion of water tolerant shrubs. They won't remove the water, but will grow and will remove the need for mowing the area which can be difficult when the soil is soggy.

I wonder if bog plants or even a cranberry would work? One the other hand, if it is necessary to dig a trench later for drainage then woody roots would likely just make it more difficult.

I've given up on plants sucking up water in the winter and evaluating my options. Thanks all!!