If you have a swimming pool, you want to keep it clean. Get expert picks for the best plants and trees to grow around swimming pools.
Best Trees and Plants to Grow by Swimming Pools
Updated on Nov. 01, 2024
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Choose Low Litter Plants Near Pools
Who doesn’t love to take a dip in the pool on a hot summer’s day? I certainly do. But I must admit that I don’t have a pool of my own. Because of that, I don’t have to worry about trees and plants that may drop leaves and/or flowers.
To be honest, I like how fallen flowers look when they fall on my grass on directly on the ground, underneath my plants.
But for those of you who have swimming pools, this can be a huge headache. So, here is a list of plants that are recommended for use around swimming pools.
Backyard Tip: Most of the following plants are low-litter…NOT litter-free. It is difficult to find plants that do not drop the occasional leaf or flower.
Best Trees for Around Pools
- Willow Acacia Acacia salicina
- Shoestring Acacia Acacia stenophylla
- Mediterranean Fan Palm Chamaerops humilis
- Desert Fern Lysiloma watsonii
- Pygmy Date Palm Phoenix roebelenii
- Southern Live Oak Quercus virginiana
- Queen Palm Syagrus romanzofianum
Best Shrubs Around Pools
- Mexican Bird-of-Paradise Caesalpinia mexicana
- Red Bird-of-Paradise Caesalpinia pulcherrima
- Red Fairy Duster Calliandra californica
- Natal Plum Carissa grandiflora
- Bush Morning Glory Convolvulus cneorum
- Hop Bush Dodonaea viscosa
- Valentine Eremophila maculata ‘Valentine’
- Mexican Honeysuckle Justicia spicigera
- Lantana Lantana species
- Texas Sage Leucophyllum species
- Heavenly Bamboo Nandina domestica
- Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis
- Autumn Sage Salvia greggii
- Chaparral Sage Salvia clevelandii
- Arizona Yellow Bells Tecoma stans
- Orange Jubilee Tecoma x ‘Orange Jubilee’
- Cape Honeysuckle Tecomaria capensis
Perennials/Groundcover Plants Around Pools
- Desert Marigold Baileya multiradiata
- Blackfoot Daisy Melampodium leucanthum
- Iceplant Drosanthemum speciosum
- Gazania Gazania rigens
- ‘Katie’ Ruellia Ruellia brittoniana ‘Katie’
- Verbena Verbena species
- Canna Cannaceae species
- Lily of the Nile Agapanthus orientalis
- Daylily Hemerocallis species
- Fortnight Lily Dietes bicolor
- Whirling Butterflies Gaura lindheimeri
- Angelita Daisy Hymenoxys acaulis (Tetraneuris acaulis)
- Penstemon Penstemon species
- Rain Lily Zephranthes species
Vines Around Pools
- Pink Trumpet Vine Podranea ricasoliana
- Purple Lilac Vine Hardenbergia violaceae
- Star Jasmine Trachelospermum jasminoides
Accent Plants Around Pools
- Agave Agave species
- Aloe Aloe species
- Sago Palm Cycas revoluta
- Desert Spoon Dasylirion wheeleri
- Golden Barrel Cactus Echinocactus grusonii
- Red Yucca Hesperaloe parviflora
- Deer Grass Muhlenbergia rigens
- Red Fountain Grass Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’
This list is by no means meant to include all low-litter plants suitable for use around swimming pools, but it is a good start.
