Yet another problem...dry, shady and acidic!

I would really like to plant something under my pines. I know it's a long shot...it's dry. It's deep shade and it's acidic. Watering won't be a problem...but it's a large area.

Another view

And the last...

You can do custom searches on most flower companies websites here's an example.
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/search.html?mv_session_id=axb2ZQoj&mv_more_alpha=yes&mv_more_alpha_chars=1&tf=name&ml=45&co=yes&rf=code%2Cname%2Cshort_desc%2Cprice%2Cqty%2Cnew_plant%2Cdisc&sp=results_pics&st=db&mv_value=nametype%3Dscientific&mv_value=srchtype%3Dcustom&sf=disc&op=%3E%3D&nu=1&se=1&sf=zones&op=rm&nu=0&sf=p_color&op=rm&nu=0&sf=soil&op=rm&nu=0&sf=ht&op=rm&nu=0&sf=bloom&op=rm&nu=0&sf=sun&op=rm&nu=0&sf=ty&op=rm&nu=0&from_search=1&se=z6&se=&se=da&se=&se=&se=s4&se=tc
Hope this helps

doesn't look like deep shade to me, but i would say for sure whatever you plant will need lots of water.

It's funny that the pic has sun in it! I took it at 7:30 in the morning...it gets a little teeny bit of sun in very late summer...and only at sunrise.

I may just end up mulching and putting in some containers.

Michelle in Michigan

Something to think about as far as shade goes, is something that i have learned the hard way. The books don't really explain it as such but i will attempt. I consider shade and/or deep shade, forest. a few trees with space between is not forest. the difference will be if you try to plant "shade" under a few trees situation. i think some people call it bright shade. For example hydrangeas in general. They demand a rich, moist, shady location. a forest provides the shade but more importantly the tree canopy keeps the moisture from escaping. if you have only one or a few trees the moisture will escape more rapidly, the sun and wind will penetrate causing a degree of drying and the trees themselves will use more water from the soil creating more arid conditions for any plant that must compete for moisture.

so long as you dont plant right against the trees trunks, then enough light should get to the likes of Azaleas, Rhododendrons etc as these like an acidic soil, you can get all different colours final sizes etc, some Azaleas are perfumed also, to alter the water retention at the soil under the trees, you will need to add lots of peaty acidic soil and when planted up, a thick mulch should help moisture retention, but you will also need to keep watering, especially just after flowering, this is when these plants actually form the following year flower buds, there are several other shrubs that will suit you shade/acidic soil so may I suggest you go along to your local book store or library to look for books on Acidic gardening, or under tree plantings, these will give you pictures of mature beds in your very conditions and help you make a better choice and maybe save you some costly mistakes. there are even some climbers that you could grow up and into your trees to give you some nice colour at other times of the year as most acidic plants flower early on in the season but are green all year except some Azaleas, these flower mostly on bare stems and the foliage follows, your pine trees also keep the soil acidic, the needle drop from the trees will keep the acid levels up. Good luck. hope you find some plants you can really enjoy. Weenel.