Flowers for Full Shade

I know the law----if a tag says "full sun" it doesn't mean full TEXAS sun :) but I have an area under the shaded canopy of an oak (not directly near the trunk) and I would like a perrenial flower. I was hoping for white vinca's as that'd fit my color scheme for the area and the white tricks the eye to provide "light" to the area. Problem is it isn't even filtered light. Surprisingly it does have some Augustine there that's not sparse but the area never does have sun.

Are there any long-lasting bloomed flowers...or a plant with a lot of color in the leaves that will do well in HOUSTON, thinking about a foot tall or less?

I considered heuchera...but crowelli wasn't sure that would do well here or not....?

TIA.

Josephine would tell you Brazos Penstemmon because that's what she told me! LOL You might also try columbine, but they don't bloom for an extended period of time, just early spring to about now. Maybe also lyre leaf sage and toad lily.

I would also add partridgeberry, salvia coccinea, mother betony and lambs ears. All good for shade and the lambs ears would fit in with the white theme.

lambs ear. one i'm familiar with and a nice option! thanks! i will PF the other suggestions :)

Turk's Cap. Rose Campion. Pigeonberry. Cedar Sage. None of those are white, though.

Carla

Isn't turks cap huge?

I think there is a dwarf Turks Cap. But, you're right, a Turks Cap in Houston will probably get bigger than a TC in the Dallas area (even in full shade).

Carla

Pigeonberry would probably go with your color scheme. It's a light pink/white with red berries.

Here's mine from last September.

Thanks for clarifying loonie1 :)

Stephanie, thanks for uploading the picture! Is it in PF's? Hint hint. :)

Dead nettle...horrible name but very lovely. I have a lot of shade and am always looking for white/light plants . This is the first year I have it and I love it. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2886/

Looks like this is just in your zone too. In my zone , it can even take some sun. Japanese Painted fern
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/365/

I have a shaded area under a huge oak tree. I have painted ferns, some kind of fern I dont know, hostas, coral bellls and caladiums, all do okay with shade ranging from filtered to heavy..

banana, thank you so much for providing links ! you sure are helpful !

blk, yes, all those options seem to meet my height requirements.

i'm still toying with the idea for the bed and i'll take the list of those mentioned when i hit the next garden store and see what i come up with.

I have yellow columbine, lyreleaf sage (salvia lyrata), and gulf coast (or Brazos) penstemon in the shade. I love all of them. Only the columbine seems to have bloomed for a long time, though. Mine's been blooming since early May. My gulf coast penstemon got to be pretty tall this year, though.

My yard is mostly shady now. I have not found any one plant (besides annuals) that will bloom all summer in the shade. But it is possible to plant a variety of things that will bloom one after the other and have flowers most of the season that way. I don't have much in July, but my earliest toad lilies start in August. So the only really bare month is January.

In full shade, I grow columbine, hostas, hellebores, toad lilies, ferns, heucheras, purple oxalis, pulmonaria, solomon's seal, frogfruit, rain lilies, firespike, American beautyberry, the purple wandering jew with pink flowers, and even hydrangea. I also scatter annuals for extra color: begonias, impatiens, lobelia, coleus, caladiums. They all do okay without any direct sun as long as the shade isn't mushroom caliber. :) In addition, since my shade beds are under deciduous trees and get some winter/very early spring sun, I also plant early bulbs. I've had good luck with daffodils, grape anemone, hyacinths, and freesia.

Alternanthera does well in shade and comes in many different colors. Not sure if it survives the winter and comes back, but you could always take cuttings to root over the winter and plant in the spring.