I have a spot on the east side of an Ash (I think) tree that has had Mexican Heather there for several years. I fear the hard freeze we had took it's toll on them. My question is, what is likely to do well there, where they will get morning sun and afternoon shade? I am located in zone 9, and the summers are hot and humid.
Just FYI, I said (I think) about the tree because it looks like an Ash tree, but web worms don't touch it and I've never seen an Ash tree that doesn't seem to attract them.
Don
What to plant?
I think that several things could work under the tree....but they will have to be able to compete with the Ash's root systems and water demands, so they need to be sort of tough! Here are some bulletproof suggestions....
Irises
Daylilies
Tuberose
Liriope
Maybe, if they get enough hours of sun, could try:
Salvia
Angelonia
Rudbeckia
Gallardia
Coneflower
Gaura
Thanks for the reply Mini. I was beginning to feel neglected. Just kidding. Now, I wish I had added another qualifier to my post and mentioned something that will attract hummers and/or butterflies.
Don
Turk's Cap is nice...both butterflies and hummingbirds use it.
Thanks Linda. Turks Cap is on the list. Gotta dig out my hummer feeders.
Don
How about Brugmansias and Gingers. If these are planted close to the tree, other plants can be planted in front of them. The further out you go the more sun you will get, so you can have plants that like shade and sun in the same bed.
Gingers are wonderful, but probably won't make it thru a freeze. I have daylily seeds if you want them. They are from my own crosses. I'm not going to plant them.
Jeanne
I have over a hundred Gingers in my yard, I may have lost some that were not well established in the last freeze 9F but most are just fine. I don't understand why so many people think Gingers are so tender. The only Gingers I find in local nurserys is the Variegated Shell Ginger. I asked a lady at Herris Nursery if they had any Gingers other than the Shell Gingers and she said they won't grow here. She was shocked to hear I had over 100 at that time.
What a beautiful plant. I know very little about Gingers, but think I will look for some. Might pot them so I could bring them in during a hard freeze. Oh, my wish list is growing exponentially.
Jeanne, I just bought three daylily sets at Lowe's, but might be fun to try my hand at starting from scratch, er, seed.
Don
The hedychium Ginger above is rated to zone 7 so there is now reason to bring then in in zone 9. There are some Costus that are rated zone 9 that you may want to mulch very well if you have a real bad cold spell but most Gingers would do very well in your area. I have a friend who liver in Liberty Nadine, Moodine here on Dave's who have over 150 Gingers. So you are in Ginger heaven.
This is Curcuma Flaveflora;
Hey Kenboy,
Are you going to be at the NTRU in the spring.They haven't set a date yet. I promised you some EE yellow splash at the fall RU last year but you couldn't make it. I'll save some for you if you still want em.
Steph
I hope to make it this Spring but it seems something always comes up. I hope to see you there.
Does anyone have a suggestion for plants that would grow in this most hostile environment......deep morning shade and blazing sun from about 2 - 6 in the afternoon. I'm in Zone 9a. Sun plants don't get enough sun and shade plants burn up. I'm desperate because this location is the first thing you see when you walk into our courtyard. I really haven't found anything that works. Help please!!
TexasJan, sounds like a place for a cactus garden. I had a pretty nice cactus garden at one time down in Alice, Texas. I even had a Peyote plant. Funny, it was given to me by a Highway Patrolman friend of mine. The stuff had been confiscated from a drug dealer, and he knew I wouldn't misuse the stuff. he he he.... Just kidding.
Kenboy, where do you get your ginger plants/seeds? I don't recall seeing them in HD, Lowes' etc. A nursery maybe?
Don
TexasJan~dwarf ruellias, some salvias, Blanket Flower, Shrimp Plant and Esperanza should work. I have them in a bed that gets shade until around noon and then hot, hot sun and they do very well.
Another ginger that is common to find and will be hardy and beautiful is the butterfly ginger. It is also delightfully fragrant and hardy.
TexasJan ~ I have a spot similar and the first two plants that do well in that spot are Pavonia known as Texas rock rose and Senna. Both do well in that spot. Dgals' suggestion would work well too with Hesperaloe parviflora and some of the agaves, aloes, Manfredas. That could be pretty if you like the desert look. Just be sure the drainage is excellent if you do succulents.
I second the Esperanza.
TexasJan,
I would suggest irises for your location as long as the drainage is good. Another thought is shrubs such as Abelia. This sounds like a western exposure with possibly a tree overhead......if so, Is the tree deciduous?
TexasJan, again I say Gingers. The White Butterfly does better with several hours of good sun. Several of the Costus also love lots of sun. You are far enough south that you can have blooms late in the year and sometimes all year long.
I found this site showing some cold-hardy gingers. Pretty! I'd probably worry about watering, however...I'm not very motivated to water a lot.
http://www.centralfloridafarms.com/gingers.htm
Great site, Linda. Thanks for sharing. I think I might try to make it over to Liberty soon if Nadine has some for sale. That way, I wouldn't have to worry about shipping.
Don
Oh my gosh! Thanks to all of you for your helpful suggestions.
I'm going to sound so stupid with this question, but hope you all understand that my gardening experiences up to now have pretty much been to just put shade plants in the shade and sun plants in the sun, add water, fertilize ocassionally, and that's it. However, over the past couple of years I've had more time to work in the yard and am enjoying trying to get the landscape the way I really want it. Trying for a tropical look, but am rethinking that because of our recent deep freeze that has pretty much killed off the pygmy palms and palm trees.
Now for the stupid question........when I stand in the door of my courtyard, I am looking toward the NE and my problem area. (I checked by parking my car facing that direction and reading what the compass said.) Now, if I'm looking toward NE and the area I'm having problems with is in front of a fence, is my exposure NE or is it SE because it's on the south side of the fence? I hope this question isn't quite as stupid as I'm afraid it may be.
This planter area has a row of evergreen cedar trees. I've trimmed their lower branches to about 7' above ground.
Ken, you're right. The only plant that has seemed at home there is a varigated shell ginger. She's only had one bloom on her, but at least she grew and was beautiful. She'd get a few burn places on her leaves in the summer and they would fold up a bit when the sun was at its worse, but then when it cooled down again she'd open them back up. If she hasn't died off with this past deep freeze, she could be my centerpiece and then I could plant some of these other suggested plants in front and to the side of her. White butterfly gingers grow too tall for that area because of the trees.
Linda, I just looked up the ginger site you found and its great. Saw several I'd like to try if they'll grow there and not get too tall.
I appreciate all of your suggestions. With your help I know I can make this planter work. Please don't give up on me.
If you are looking NE and you see the fence.....and the problem area is on the south side of the fence, then I'd say that it is definitely a southern exposure. In other words, in what direction does the area receive its sunny exposure? It sounds like a southern exposure.
To me nothing is worse than the western exposure. A southern exposure is not quite as blistering if there is some shade in the afternoon hours. Full western exposure means there is no relief from the afternoon sun whatsoever as it sets in the west.
I think your bigger problem is the row of mature cedars. They are not easy neighbors for many plants to live with. They are greedy about water, and their needles (if they drop) can change the ph of the soil. That could be the source of your problem.
Thanks MiniPonyFarmer. I thought it would probably be considered a southern exposure, but wasn't sure. You're probably right about the cedars, too. They keep that area in a deep shade until around 1:30 and then its blazing sun until around 6:00.
stephanietx, I looked up the dwarf ruellias, shrimp plants, and esperanza you suggested and think they would add color in that area. It sounds like your planter has the same extremes between shade and sun as mine. I'm glad to know that there are some things that will work. I had about given up hope.
I'm going to keep the shell ginger and add some of these other plants around it. If it all works out, I'll send all of you a picture of it this summer. Now I'm all hyped up to get started gardening again, but guess I'd better wait until March. February isn't a very kind month sometimes.
Thanks for all your suggestions and help. I really appreciate it!!
Some other things that I have in that bed are cuphea, mealy blue sage, coneflowers, butterfly bush, Mexican Mint Marigold, and gomphrena.
