Would like help with native shade plant suggestions

I have an area in a wooded area that receives about 40% sun. I need to choose plant materials for around a very small preform pond that we just put in the ground. I need to stick with plants that are indigenous to the US and preferably east of the rockies and native to the midwest. I need an assortment of heights and if they bloom and provide nectar, that would be even better but it isn't necessary. I recently planted three 2 gallon ferns in the area as a start. That is all I have and it looks pretty naked over there and my husband said to please dress it up so it didn't stick out so bad. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Hi equilibrium,
Your pond sounds nice.
I have a lot of shade here in Missouri, and grow several natives. Some I could recommend are wild ginger, virginia bluebells, bellwort, cimicifuga, Christmas fern, Maidenhair fern, Spleenwort ferns, Dryopteris ferns, goldenstar, celandine poppy, Indian pinks, hepatica, sensitive fern, lobelia cardinalis, lobelia syphilitica, and coneflowers. Some of these will require partial sun. You need something for winter interest...perhaps a cedar, a red-twig dogwood, or a statue or interesting piece of driftwood, a boulder, etc.
Good luck...and welcome to Dave's Garden. You can go to my member page and see a lot of images of shade plants there.
Susan

Hi, how do I find your member page?
Also too, how do I post a photo of this sad little naked preform of mine?

I think I just figured out how to post a photo.

To go to my member page, just click on my name. Or you can go to the Member List (tab at top of page), type in my name (or anyone's) in the search box and it will find it for you. Then you can click on images, plants, etc and it will open those for you.
Your pond will be nice once you get it landscaped...the woods in the background will look good. Mine has trees all around it, making it very shady...it is therefore not able to grow waterlilies and other sunlovers, but I have a lot of frogs and a couple of goldfish. It gets full of leaves in the fall and smell really bad when I clean it in the spring...but I love it anyway. The ferns you planted are beautiful, but they appear to be boston ferns which will be killed over the winter if you don't bring them in. If you can get Christmas ferns, they will stay green all winter and are quite drought-resistant. Here is a picture of my pond, which is surrounded by English Ivy, definitely not native.

Here is a different view...the waterfall portion. Mine is chicken wire reinforced concrete with a plastic liner beneath it...we put it in about 12 years ago I think.

Ya Know how sometimes a person totally misses the obvious???

I flipped through my little tag file for the name and plant information that came with those three ferns I put in the ground last week. I generally save one tag inside for reference and leave the others right there in the ground with the plant. So here I am looking at this tag and thinking "What's wrong with this picture?" Hmm, tag says I bought Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris). I don't have any other Ostrich ferns to compare them to but I was feeling pretty comfortable with my purchase of those three ferns on sale at about $10 a piece UNTIL...I ran outside in my pajamas and frantically looked for the other tags just now.

Oh Horrors! The other two tags that are still by the plants tell a different story. I want you to know they are not Boston Ferns (Nephrolepsis exaltata 'Bostoniensis') but you were real close! It's worse than that- they are Kimberly Queen Ferns (Nephrolepis obliterata 'Kimberly Queen'). By my calculations, they should all be DEAD in about one month tops where Boston Ferns might have made it a little bit longer. Oh I just love these end of season sales where tags get all mixed up and idiots like me buy inappropriate plants!

Your pond is nicely nestled into the landscape. I'll go take a look at your shade photos now. I am thinking I am going to work on ordering some Royal ferns for height by my little pond and then I will work in other plant material as it becomes available. I am afraid there isn't much out there to be had at this time of year. Guess this area stays the eyesore it is until next spring. I will have more time to decide what plants I want in the area though so that's a bonus.

Check at Lowes...around here they had some dormant bagged ferns that included Royal, Maidenhair, and other hardy native ferns with the tulips and other fall bulbs.
The Royal fern needs a lot of moisture to be happy, and also acid soil.
Glad you checked your tags...I know how often that happens (tags getting switched).
Susan

Gosh, thanks for commenting that they looked like Boston ferns. I would have been wondering why they didn't come back next spring if you hadn't commented.

I don't have a Lowes by me but a friend does and I can have her check for me. Thanks for mentioning them, I don't think of going there since they don't have a store in my area.

Actually, Lowe's is 55 miles from us...we live in a rural area with few stores. But we go there often to get building materials for the unending projects we do here at home, so I always look at the flowers, LOL.
Let me know if you have more questions, I will be glad to help in whatever way I can.

By the way, if you do get some ostrich ferns, be advised that they spread near and far with runners. The royal ferns don't. One of my favorite native ferns is the marginal shield fern (Dryopteris marginalis).

Hi There, The marginal shield fern (Dryopteris marginalis) is a native in my area. I can't find it to purchase but I really like it. I'd like about 6 of them. Actually, I am having difficulty locating native ferns period. The ostrich ferns are pretty but I am told they can be a tad more than a little bit aggressive. One fern that I bought this summer for a different area that isn't native to my particular region is a tatting fern. Those are really neat. I bought 3 of them and am thrilled to death. They are planted over by another little pond that was recently completed. I still need fill-in plants for that area but it is a different type of pond located in more of an opening with more light so the plant material is considerably different. Thanks for mentioning that ostrich ferns can get ugly.

Equilibrium,

I planted a tatting fern this year too and I'm really anxious to see it develop. It's really tiny now, so I'm hoping it grows fast. The fronds are just adorable. Tag said it was an Anthyrium filix-femina (aka Tatting Fern) and while there other Anthyrium's listed in the PDB, there are apparently no exact matches. Assuming yours is quite a bit bigger than mine, I'd love to see a picture if you have one.

I ran out to get you your photo of one of my tatting ferns but it was pretty dark already by the time I got home. This photo was predominantly flash and I lost a lot of detail. Sorry. I grabbed a few photos of my favorites to share with you and they are pretty poor quality also. But, here goes with the photo of the tatting fern. Sadly, it has no spores but maybe next year.

Here's one of my Tassel Ferns. If you like the Tatting Ferns, you will like this too. Remember, most of my ferns were planted this year. I think I have about 20 different species out there in multiples. So far my only failures are going to be the Netted Chain Ferns and the Maiden Hair Ferns. The squirrels uprooted them so many times trying to place acorns in the fresh compost and top soil around them that it would be a miracle if they came back next year. We'll see but the Netted Chain Ferns are looking really nasty and the Maiden Hairs are barely hanging in there. I think the deer ate off the tops of most of the Maiden Hairs quite a few times too so that didn't help much either.

Oh yes, the Tatting Fern looks just like mine, only bigger. I really like it. Thanks for the pic. I'm also interested in the Tassel Fern. I'm going to look for one next spring. This isn't really fern country cause it's so dry, but I'm hoping that I can keep them moist enough to take hold well so the humidity won't be such a problem.

Hi Sharvis, you might want to see if there is a local chapter of Wild Ones for your area. They are a not for profit native plant organization that provides lists of plants indigenous to your area. This is a good thing as there will be members within their organization who may be able to help you select ferns that will survive and thrive in your particular area. It is my understanding Oregon is tricky as it has a lot of micro climates. There are many ferns that don't require high humidity or tons of moisture. Finding out which ones they are is probably tricky.

Here's a link to WildOnes to see if there is a chapter in your area-
http://www.for-wild.org/
They do not have forums.

It has been my experience they are quite responsive and there may even be phone numbers to members who you can call direct to get a list of ferns for your area. Ferns are quite expensive and I am trying my darndest to purchase only those which will survive over by me. I so hate it when a plant bites the dust considering the cost of them these days.

Equilibrium....

Hepatica acutiloba, dodecatheon meadia, celandine poppies, jacob's ladder, soloman's seal, tiarellas, dicentra, trilliums, jack-in-the-pulpit, ferns (christmas, cinnamon, hay scented, ladies, ostrich, hart's tongue, maidenhair), lady's slippers, chelone, meadow rue, toothwort, mertensia, bloodroot, may-apples, zig-zag goldenrod, wood asters, aquilegia canadensis. It's a good start to a woodland garden!

Poifect!

Thank you! Each and every one you listed is a native too!

Thank you so much!

Equilibrium
You might also think about putting in some hosta. If you have any growing in your yard already, just split some next spring and replant. The picture below is my shade garden, and it's only 3 years old - they grow fast! The ostrich fern are really lovely, especially when the breeze blows!

I'm in zone 5 as well so most of what I plant would work for you. I have a variety of hostas, bears breeches (acanthus), astrantia (very pretty!), wild ginger, ostrich, cinnamon, and New York ferns, turtlehead, foxglove, ligularia and pulmonaria. In spring I suppliment with annuals - impatiens, coleus, lobelia and perilla.

Hope this helps!

That is a dynamite shade garden, Imelling.
Do you have a newer cultivar of hydrangea that blooms on new wood? I have one of the old ones and most years the buds get killed by cold, even though I am in zone 6. It is lovely in your picture.

I like ligularia "The Rocket." I don't have a picture of it but it's bound to be in the Plants database. You might check out the trading forum and see what you can get there. If you don't have much to trade, many will send you plants for postage.

Thanks Toxicodendron, I'm very pleased with how the garden has grown so quickly. I have both "The Rocket" and another type of ligularia that is similar, but the leaf structure is deeply lobed. They both have the spike type blooms and are stunning in summer.

Yes, the hydrangea is called "All Summer Beauty" and blooms on both old and new wood. I provided 6 absolutely gorgeous blooms that I dried this year - the largest was over 12" across! I purchased 2 more ASB from hydrangea select .com this fall for next year, and I'm also planning on getting an Endless Summer or Penny Mac (all bloom on new/old wood) next spring.

That an absolutely beautiful garden, Imelling!

Columbine all do very well in part shade, better than in sun so I've been told. Astilbe would do great in this spot since they like humidity. Toadlilies, daffodils, violets, hosta, yellow iris have great tall foliage, jack of the pulpits, hardy ginger, solomon's seal.

Just wanted to mention that I think the request was for native plants of the United States, preferably east of the Rockies. Hostas, toadlilies, daffodils and maybe more of the plants suggested in this thread are not native plants of our continent. I don't want anyone to plant these and think they have a native plant garden.
Personally, I like them all, and have grown nearly every plant listed in this thread so far.

Good point Toxi!

What about bluebells, bleeding hearts, and Christmas ferns; are they considered native? I just planted some of each. I would like to know if they are native plants. I dug the bluebells and the fern from the old home place of my HB's family farm and I am really not sure of the name of the ferns, here is a picture of the ferns if you can ID for me. TIA. Yvonne

Is digitalis a native plant?

Try this google: your state followed by the plant name e.g., ohio passiflora
Should return the answer, me thinks.

Hi Toxi- I ordered 3 of the marginal shield ferns (Dryopteris marginalis). Really great looking plants. Natives can get out of hand too just like you mentioned the Ostrich ferns. I am putting the marginal shield ferns where the mistakes originally were. Awesome looking ferns.

Ok, there is a native columbine. It is Aquilegia canadensis. Most of the others have origins that make some people want to cry. The hostas are all exotics but they are well behaved. They are all native to areas of Japan, Korea and China. Some purists won't use them because of their origin. I'm not a purist although I won't plant anything anymore that has the ability to outcompete a native. The daffodils are all members of the genus Narcissus. These are all mostly native to the Mediterranean region, but a few species are found through central Asia to China. They have naturalized everywhere. By toadlily, I am thinking- Toadlily (Tricyrtis hirta)? Those are all from the far east. Many native violets but also many violet exotics so it pretty much depends on the botanical name as the common names mess everything up sometimes, at least they do for me. Most iris are not native to the continent of North America. All that are native belong to the subgenus Limniris which would beardless. I have native blue iris here (Iris virginica and Iris virginica var. shrevei ) and they are awesome... I also have hundreds of the non native exotics... they are my weakness but they aren't aggressive. Forgive me any plant purists who may be reading this but I can not part with my iris- no way no how! For the most part, new introductions here are all native in origin unless I make a mistake or unless it is an iris... or a hosta... or a daylily... or a tulip... or anything that I had here already before I chose to go "Wild". Just my personal choice and may not be within the comfort range of many.

The jack in the pulpits, hardy ginger, Christmas ferns, and solomon's seal are all natives to the continent of North America and to my area and I have all of those planted here in quantity. They are great plants!

We have a native bluebell. Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica). We also have a few native bleeding hearts. Dicentra eximia and D. Dicentra eximia come to mind but the ever popular Dicentra spectabilis is native to Japan. When I go to check out a plant's native range I type the botanical name of the plant into a search engine and add native range or USDA. That should let you know exactly what you're dealing with. From there I then check the plant out for invasiveness if it is something I am interested in. So just type the botanical name of the plant and add exotic or noxious or something like that and you'll end up with more information than what you probably wanted. Wish I would have known to do that before I planted all those plugs of English Ivy and sowed the packets of Dame's Rocket seed a few years ago. Nasty plants plants for me in my zone!

The digitalis depends. Most people are thinking foxgloves when they refer to digitalis which would be Digitalis purpurea. Those are European BUT... there are awesome NA natives such as Penstemon digitalis and quite a few others which I actually prefer.

Mayapple, geranium, bloodroot, Cohosh, Trilium, Ginseng, Twinleaf, Celadine Poppy, Baneberry,

Oh oh oh! CaptMicha strikes gold with American Ginseng. Oh my gosh! I never knew there was a ginseng that was native. I thought it was all from Asia! Nice looking plant with a dainty bloom! Native range is right where I am yet I have never seen one of these anywhere around me. Maybe I have and have been steering clear of it thinking "leaves of 3, leave them be/ leaves of five, stand aside". Too cool. Here's what I found-
http://www.2bnthewild.com/plants/H277.htm
AND
http://www.2bnthewild.com/plants/H278.htm

The twinleaf is actually a plant that I have lusted for seed for a while. I frgot the botanical name so I had to go look it up-
http://www.2bnthewild.com/plants/H296.htm

CaptMicha... do you have these twinleaf plants? If you do, may I have some seed from you to try my hand at this?

Where do I get some?

One clarification from above as I do not personally have those plants but when I wrote, "We have a native bluebell. Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica). We also have a few..." I meant "we" referring to North Americans. I do actually have jack in the pulpits, hardy ginger, Christmas ferns, solomon's seal, cohosh, baneberry, mayapples, native geranium, 1 bloodroot, and some trilliums left that the deer didn't eat. I planted most of them last spring and lost quite a few to drowning and then to drought. I am hoping some of my plants come back.

Sorry, if I have them, they're growing some where in the woods but I can't find them.

I don't know if you have acidic soil but what about lady slipper orchids? Or neutral soil Showy Ochis? I love showy orchis b/c they go dormant quickly and the foliage is silvery and delicate.

I have/had some cypripediums, don't know if they will grace me with their presence next year or not. Some like acid some like alkaline. I have not been having good luck with them. I'm going to be trying them again and again and again until I get it right.

I have no familiarity with Showy Ochis. What is it? I like silvery foliage. A welcome break from all the greens.

Calypso bulbosa? It should hopefully. It'd be a shame to lose them!

Showy Orchis:

This is my pic http://davesgarden.com/pdb/showimage/40684/

Hccu posted a pic of an older flower which will produce more flowers than my younger plant http://davesgarden.com/pdb/showimage/14204/

Toxicodendron posted this picture and it comes closest to capturing the irredescence (I know I spelled that wrong!) quality of the leaves http://davesgarden.com/pdb/showimage/40289/

I just hope mine will come back next year b/c I transplanted some to avoid my dad's crazy mowing. I mulched which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do b/c of winter dampness.

Wow, what a lot of activity on this thread.
MsMaati, yes those are Christmas ferns in your picture and they are natives. A couple of native Dicentras here are Squirrel corn and Dutchman's Breeches.
Equilibrium, I am glad you answered all those questions! The links to the American ginseng and twinleaf are great. I have not seen either plant here, but will continue to keep my eyes open for them. A dealer used to run an ad in the local paper here to buy native roots, and so most of the stands of ginseng were decimated here a few decades ago. What a shame.
CaptM, I finally broke down and dug my little showy orchis too. We have had so much damage to plants from deer and squirrels and chipmunks I could not bear the thought of leaving it unprotected (and unappreciated) way off in the woods. Hope I did the right thing. I like how you noticed the iridescent quality of the leaves.
Say, 2 of my yellow ladies slippers ripened big seed pods and I have them stored....I have heard of sowing them on gelatin or agar but I have not found a good description of how to do this. Do any of you have a clue? Wouldn't it be great to have a few dozen orchids to share?

Hi CaptMich, even with the correct spelling I am still not familiar with the Showy Orchis but now that I have been introduced to it, I am liking it real well. Wonder how quick I could kill that off?

Hi Toxi, don't look to me on Lady Slippers! As fast as I can get them in the ground they keel over while waving bye bye to me. The yellow ladies slippers are supposed to be the easiest to germinate. I have never had a yellow ladies slipper or it would have probably taken its final breaths and keeled over on me too. You might want to send a private message to bogman and a Jessamine as if I am not mistaken, they both are into high tech germination.

Deer and Squirrels are swear words around here right about now. Toss rabbits in too. I just lost a bog of native carnivorous plants to squirrels. We had to enclose the entire thing in chicken wire and cover it with netting to save the lousy 3 remaining plants. Wild Collection is a major swear word around here and it makes my blood pressure go through the ceiling. I am so sorry about the American Ginseng that got wiped out by you.

Say Toxi, if you send me your e-mail address privately, I am pretty sure I saved entire files with photos on culture. I thought someday I might try it. No great rush as I have to find the files on the hard drive.

I have been looking for that darn squirrel corn to give as a gift to a girlfriend of mine who gave me Dutchmans Breeches. Those are the most beautiful plants. I have 3 baby Dutchman's Breeches here from her. I suspect they will come back next year. That same girlfriend of mine said she has run across Twinleaf. She said she would keep her eye open for me for next year and if she ran across it, she'd take note of where it was and try to get some seed. If you would like, I will split whatever I get with you. Best to get seed like that to two people as it doubles the chances of germination.

I just spent a good while looking at info on germinating the orchid seeds...for some reason an internet search came up with lots of leads...however it still looks very difficult and not one source actually stated exactly what media to use or where to get any of it. Even if they germinate, the majority do not make it to maturity. I just hate to waste the seeds, though.
Thanks for the offer of the twinleaf seed, but please don't send it if there are only a few seeds...I don't have the greatest luck with germination sometimes, either, LOL. I don't have any of the squirrel corn here, but the little Dutchmans breeches come up here and there and surprise me each year by moving around to new locations. I suppose I should collect some seed from those and many other natives, but I usually just let them scatter it around on their own.
Well, we have company coming today, I better get busy.

This is going to sound silly but... if I get 6 seeds from her and I send you 3 and keep 3 for myself... and mine fails for whatever reason yet yours makes it... That means that there are plants out there somewhere that will ultimately seed to be passed to other people who might have a shot at getting them to germinate. I have had uncanny luck with germinating seed to the point that old timers are gasping. Yet on the other hand, I have failed on germinating several plants that people just stand there and shake their heads in disbelief because allegedly "everyone, even kids can get those to germinate". There really seems to be no rhyme or reason. I pretty much go by the consensus of the seasoned veterans when germinating so perhaps that is why I had such good success last year. This year I am only going to be germinating 50 different types of seeds and most of those will be native grasses & sedges and native insectivorous & carnivorous so we'll see if I have a horseshoe up my rear this year.