Considering the heat we in the northeast have experienced this summer, I'm thrilled with the way the shade plants have performed.
Please post photos of your favorite shade plants.
Foliage in the shade
This hydrangea, a gift from someone in the PNW, grows beautifully in the shade.
It was easy to fall in love with the begonia planted at the top of the strawberry jar. The coleus were just leftovers but they work well. It's in part shade.
The clam basket has done well in view of the heat.
Most of my yard is shady, so I have lots of shade plants.
I have probably posted these on other threads before, so excuse the repetition.
But here are a few of my favorite shade foliage plants.
This is syneilesis (shredded umbrella plants).
Hakonechloa All Gold (Japanese Mountain Grass).
Asarum takoi (Japanese ginger).
I have many varieties of asian asarums, which are all a little different and are all adorable!
This one has an awkward name - Peltoboykinia watanabei.
It has big, nicely textured leaves.
My plant is just a few years old and unfortunately,
the deer nibbled it completely to the ground this year.
This picture is from last year - I hope it comes back next year.
And finally, my favorite polygonatum, called Chollipo.
Richly textured leaves.
These are some of my favorite foliage plants for shade.
Other than hostas, of course!
Lovely shots, Weerobin, and lovely plants and settings.
Polygonatum is a favorite here as well and it grows as well in sun as it does in shade.
We have the variegated Hakonechloa in a few gardens. I like the solid color one as well.
Pirl and Weerobin, how old is your Hakonechloa? Mine's two this past Spring and seems to be very slow in maturing. What are your growing conditions for it? ie, moisture level, soil type...
Doug
Mine is three years old, Doug.
I can't see the dates on the thumbnail but they are as follows:
Left, just planted, 7/13/07
Upper right 9/7/07
Lower right 9/29/09
Edited to add: average soil, average water, dappled shade. I've taken a few cuttings from this one already and will take new photos today for you. I give them no special attention or care.
This message was edited Jul 16, 2010 11:25 AM
Hakonechloa Aurea as of today...
Comparing the original planting to today...
Here is one piece of it transplanted last fall.
A small piece was transplanted this past May to another location so it's now on three sides of the house. It's just above the center in this photo.
Doug, I have found the All Gold cultivar to show much faster growth than the more famous Aureola.
I think it does best with at least 1/2 day sun. Needs adequate moisture too.
I have many clumps in a little more shade which languish.
When I went to Google to try and verify either Aurea or Aureola I found both shown numerous times. Smithsonian and Fine Gardening say 'Aurea' but maybe 'Aureola' is a different Hakonechloa or maybe it's the same one for all I know.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.finegardening.com/CMS/uploadedImages/Images/Gardening/Issues_91-100/041092070-01_lg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.finegardening.com/design/articles/strategy-for-long-border.aspx&usg=__GiQGoil_9ARbcX1AM1mQZtFeubo=&h=322&w=555&sz=104&hl=en&start=7&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=izrsUgRIwdCj8M:&tbnh=77&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHakonechloa%2Baurea%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2GPEA_en%26tbs%3Disch:1
I have Aureola and it's been very slow growing for me.
Doug
Do you have it mulched to keep the roots cool?
How much sun do yours get?
They seem to like any kind of mulch and dappled shade though the transplanted piece that gets the most sun has really put on great growth.
I agree with Weerobin that the more shade they get the more they seem to languish.
My "Aurea/Aureola" seems to be growing pretty well...I'll have to find pics from last year to compare. And I would rate it as one of my favorite shade foliage plants, for sure. It's virtually the only thing that came thru the hailstorm unscathed. (Astilbe foliage did ok too, but not the scapes). I planted some nice size "All gold" ones this summer that don't seem to be growing much this season...I hope they take off next year, but I may have them in too much shade.
Rodgersia is another shade-tolerant perennial with impressive foliage.
I don't have a shot of it in bloom, but here's the foliage last weekend.
Big astilbe-like creamy white blooms which age pinkish.
I love dramatic foliage for shade.
Compensates at least somewhat for less showy flowers found in the shade.
Very impressive foliage.
Of course you'd post that. That's one of the plants I've been wanting. You got an arboretum there????
DC
Hardly an arboretum, Doug. But I certainly enjoy trying less common plants.
My wife laments that despite all the time I spend in the yard, there aren't many flowers to show for it...
Certainly not a typical flower garden. Always a work in progress.
But the satisfaction of gardening doesn't always require a perfectly manicured flower bed.
I know you appreciate that, as I've enjoyed the posts of your woodland.
Rodgersia blooms early. Mine didn't bloom last year, then was all set to bloom this year when I went over to look at it and saw that every stem carrying the buds had been snapped off by some unknown critter. I was so mad! I've only seen mine bloom once, and it was lovely. I like Rodgersia but so do the bugs (and evidently little furry creatures), so it never looks as pretty as I would like it to.
Mine bloomed long ago. I agree with Noreaster the blooms aren't as luscious as I would like.
But the foliage is really nice. Carefree plant.
It's on my list to buy this weekend along with the shredded umbrella plant, providing I can find that one.
There are a bunch of new Rodgersia varieties I've read about with pink flowers. There has been a 'pink' cultivar in the past, but it was a pretty sorry approximation of pink. The new ones are touted to be closer to real pink. Does anyone have experience with them to know if they're really as nice as the promotion sounds? I can't remember where I read about them; I presume one of the hundreds of nursery catalogs I peruse..