plants for under evergreens

does anyone have any suggestions for what will grow under large evergreen trees? i recently moved to a house in Portland Or and am a fairly new gardener. Please help.

If you like Impatiens, a mass planting looks nice around trees. They like shade and, here in Zone 9a, they will bloom from spring until frost.

impatients were my suggestion too, and Hosta's. You could mass plant the inpatients and then border them w/Hosta.

Thanks,
Traci S

Thanks for your suggestions, I think I'll give the impatients and hostas a try.

I have 3 humongous pines in my front yard, and under them I have hostas, bleeding hearts, cinquefoil, and jacobs ladder. And the violas, but they planted themselves there!

yeah, I forgot about Bleeding Hearts, you would just have to find them on sale, or plant one side 1/4 w/bleeding hearts, and the rest Impatients. I would plant some Bleeding Hearts, b'cause, I had mine for a year or so, and was able to divide it into 3, but you have to be very careful. So, you could eventually wind up, w, a ton of bleeding hearts, which would be gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!

Traci S

We have two large firs out back with the bottom limbs removed. Under them I have a himalayan hydrangea, bleeding hearts, iris, astilbe, and a variegated hydrangea. The outskirts get a little dry, but the other plants thrive under them. The soil is so nice and loose there.

HI Jilles, welcome to another Oregonian. I have lots of fir trees in my yard and it is a struggle to get color under them. Impatiens like lots of water and so unless you can irrigate , I wouldn't do impatiens. The roots of Douglas fir are pretty shallow. I found I can grow Shasta daisies fairly well under them, I have bridal's wreath spirea there, sweet woodruff will take the dry shade.Contoneaster will grow under firs. I am thinking of various plants I have growing under firs.

Someone told me last year that hostas will do well under fir trees so I planted 5 and they all came up and are doing well. Also saw 4 o'clocks underneath firs so I'm going to try them too. Has anyone tried them?

I have lots of iris under low branches that have be moved because heaven forbid I butcher a precious conifir limb. I leave them untill thay don't bloom and move them again. I would think non stop begonias would do well they like it on the dry side. Ernie

I have a couple of hosta around the perimeter of our fir bed, too - forgot about those. Here's one: