Astilbes in Houston?

I'm researching plants for a shady backyard. The yard is currently completely bare with just some scrubby grass. I've found lots of great ideas here on DG.

One of the classic shade plants is Astilbe, but when I look at the profiles on DG, I can't find any that are reported growing in the Houston area.

Has anyone successfully grown Astilbes in the Houston area, or am I just out of luck there? Anybody know?

I've grown them. They did pretty well for two years then finally fell to our high summer heat and humidity. They didn't really flourish for the two years they lasted. I love them, but I'm giving up anything that has to be pampered. I want something that I can get lots of mileage out of with little work!

Thanks crowellli. That's kinda how I feel, too. I don't want something I have to baby all the time, but I do want a nice looking yard.

Too many variables is the real problem, I think! I'm new to the gardening thing and narrowing things down to something that looks nice, isn't too hard to maintain, fits this climate, AND my yard specifics..... well, it's sometimes kinda overwhelming!

Thanks for the input!

Valerie

There are lots of things out there that fit the bill for us. I'm using lots of the Knockout roses and they've done really well. They've been in for 3 years and have never been sprayed for black spot (the fungus that attacks rose leaves). You can also try plumbago (blue or white), esperanza (yellow), magnolia (white), daylilies, salvia, abelia (pale blush almost white), iris, loripetalum (hot pink), vitex (purple), butterfly bush (varies) and on and on. All of these are perennial and all except the iris have a long bloom season. You can look at my journal and see pics of a lot of my stuff. Anything I've given up on is marked under status as "finished". But the pics will give you some idea of the things that do well with little or no care. Most of my stuff gets fertilized with Ozmocote 3 times a year and that's it. No other spraying of coddling! Here's a pic taken this morning of the front walkway.

That's beautiful! I've got some plants going in my front yard, starting small and will add on as things get established.

But the backyard is just this huge, empty expanse. Mostly very shady with one sunny fence. It's hard to know where to start. I'll definitely check out your journal for some ideas. Thanks a bunch!

Valerie

This thread is perfect for me, I have to re-do some major landscaping at my new Houston place! Not many in the neighborhood have flowers, mostly shrubs, flowering shrubs and some flowering trees. I really appreciate the sight and smell of FLOWERS but I to don't want to baby anything---can't afford to with real babies to tend, HA.

Crow: glad to know we can reference your findings! I had roses before but yeah always black spot once I put in that stinkin' Queen Elizabeth rose. Where did you buy your roses? Do knockout roses have a high petal count or does that vary? I'm to new to know these things!

Tir, there are some new Knockouts available. There is a new double red with high petal count and the new Rainbow which is a coral pink color. I would have preferred the pink ones, but they came out the year after I put the last of mine in. I'll add a picture of the yard from another direction viewing one of the rose beds. I took out some crepe myrtles that were in a corner planting by the street and put in red Knockouts at the back, pink Nearly wild in front of them and then blue daze edging the bed. The blue daze has just gone in, but once all this is blooming, it should be spectacular. I've added in a lot of Lycoris Radiata lilies in between all these just because I can't stand a square inch that doesn't have something in it! I've also just found a wonderful new nursery. Great Western Growers is a wholesale place for landscapers, but they're open to the public on Saturday and Sunday. The prices there are about 1/3 to 1/2 of what I've been paying at Cornelius and the plant quality is really good. It's a huge place with a ton of stock. They are located on Stancliff just off beltway 8 and 59 south. If they're close to you, check them out for great prices. I just wish I'd found them before I was mostly done!

These are less than one year old Knockouts with Forsyth Lemon Drop daylilies in front. The blue in the foreground is East Friesland Salvia and Dianthus edging that bed.

WOW, I need you to help re-design my new beds! LOL! Do you have an HOA in your community? I heard that is most popular in Houston.

I don't live in Houston, Cj does. She says that cardamom ginger grows really well. Don't know if it flowers, but it is atleast a wonderful foliage plant. Beautiful rich green and doesn't send out sucker roots.

We do have a HOA in our neighborhood. I specifically looked for a place that had strong deed restrictions and an active HOA. I saw the value of my last home drop drastically because the association couldn't afford to enforce the deed restrictions and wound up with junk cars in yards, purple houses, weedy yards, etc. We've been in our current house almost 4 years. We bought in an older, established neighborhood and gutted the house and remodelled the inside. I've been working on the yard for about a year. I took out the mandatory ligustrum hedges and replaced them with dwarf oleanders and roses, depending on the location. We deepened the foundation beds, took all the grass out of the back yard and put in raised beds to avoid mowing around the pool. I love my garden. I've designed a few yards for some of my friends and neighbors. I drew mine up to scale with a CAD program before I started, but I've still had to move a few things. Here's one of the beds in the back yard next to the pool. It has LA Iris and Stella daylilies.

oh I LOVE your Iris's!!!!

That dark blue and yellow combination is outstanding!

Thanks for the tip Suze! I'll check that one out!

Cedar Sage is an excellent plant for shade. It is also evergreen and a Texas native.
Of course it doesn't look like Astilbe, but it is very pretty.
Josephine.