Plants for Shade

Good landscape design is based upon putting the right plant in the right place. This is especially true of shade tolerant plants. You will not achieve the landscape you desire and could lose your investment altogether by placing these green goods in the wrong light conditions.

Plants that thrive in the shade can be likened to hands which have not worked. Hands which have not worked are more tender and the skin is not as thick as fingers and palms which have worked for long periods of time and have built up calluses to toughen the skin to the elements.

Plants which thrive in the shade, usually have different tissue than plants that grow well in the sun. Shade plant cells are probably larger and more porous which causes the plant to lose water quicker in full sun.

If plants which thrive in the shade are planted in full sunlight, they could burn to death. The foliage wilts quickly and the tips of the leaves will become scorched.

The most popular annual flowering plant for the shade is the impatiens, also known as sultana. It grows one to two feet high and comes in a variety of colors. Other popular shade annuals include wax begonias which grow six to ten inches tall and lobelia, which grows six to eight inches tall. Both work well as border plants.

Perennials which thrive in the shade include the early spring blooming bleeding heart and the late spring blooming columbine. A good choice for early summer color is the astilbe which has white, pink or red flowers that grow four to eight inches high on a stem 18 to 30 inches tall. The bleeding heart with its pink, heart-shaped flowers grows 8 to 24 inches high depending on the variety and the columbine also grows 8 to 24 inches high and has tubular-shaped white, burgundy, purple or yellow flowers.

Two popular evergreen groundcovers which grow well in the shade are myrtle and pachysandra. Myrtle has waxy, green, inch long leaves and very pretty sky blue flowers in the spring. Pachysandra has white flower clusters which bloom in early summer. Sweet woodruff is a shade loving deciduous ground cover which loses its foliage in the winter. Its dark green leaves grow in star-like clusters and produce a white flower in early spring.

Shrubs for shade include low spreading evergreens like the Siberian cypress and upright varieties such as viburnum and hydrangea. Viburnum grows from 6 to 25 feel tall depending on the variety and has white blossoms, some of which are fragrant. Hydrangea also has white flowers and grows from 2 to 15 feet tall.

Some small trees also grow well in the shade of larger trees. These include the popular dogwood, serviceberry and witch hazel. The serviceberry has dainty white flowers in the spring and grows from 15 to 25 feet high. The dogwood grows from 10 to 20 feet high with different varieties having white, pink or red blossoms in the spring. The most common varieties of witch hazel are known for their bloom times. The vernal witch hazel produces small yellow flowers in the spring and the autumnal witch hazel displays its flowers in the late fall. The tree grows to the same height as the dogwood.

Shade tolerant plants can add beauty and color to the darker areas of your property and thrive in that location. Get the most from your investment and achieve the landscape you want by placing these plants in areas where they can prosper.