We are enlarging the green space around the house. Living in the woods, I worry about a fire barrier.
The new area has been thinned out. The trees are deciduous but it would not even be considered high shade in summer. It will be full shade. I want it to look cool and inviting as is on the approach to the house and can be viewed from the front porch swing.
I realize there will not be an option for much bright color so am thinking variegated. There will be tree roots for competition.
One plant I am thinking of is hosta which I have never grown. I am probably looking for Sylvia ~ or anyone else that can offer assistance on these. I am also looking for other suggestions as the area is 80' by 12'. I do have Aspidistra elatior which I intend to relocate as well as sword fern. The Aspidistra (cast iron) plant does remain green thru winter and I like that idea. Plants that remain evergreen will aid in the fire barrier.
Suggestions anyone? TIA, pod
This message was edited Feb 25, 2008 9:58 AM
Inviting plants for full shade?
In my full shade garden I have toad lilies, hostas, ferns, hellebores, columbine, azaleas, pulmonaria, tradescantia, and oxalis.
I also have a Lady in Red hydranga which does grow and bloom, but would prefer a little more sun. And, I have astilbes, but they aren't very successful in this climate. Some elephant ears also will grow out there. I got a firespike at the RU last fall which I'm going to try there first.
Most of those are spring- and fall-blooming. Sometimes I add caladiums, Persian Shield, shade coleus, impatiens for summer color.
I started growing hostas for the first time last year and love them, except wish that I had more shade for them. As it is , with our heat, hostas are water hogs so if it is not an area that you can or wish to water frequently, you may wish to consider others. Tony Avent from Plant Delights has a wonderful list of ones to try in warmer zones at http://www.plantdelights.com/Tony/warmhosta.php. also, check out the Aruncus and pulmonaria plants. Very pretty for shade.
Annie
I've always loved impatiens. Then there are camellias and some azaleas, orchids. To me who lives w/a lot of sun and practically no shade those sound like heaven to me.
Ann
Pod, I forgot to mention something. There is a very popular hosta called Frances Williams that gets fairly large in our mild climate, and is one of my favorites. It has one big flaw, though, which is that ANY sun that touches it burns the leaf margins. I planted one for my dad last year in a difficult spot. Deep shade, but it got about 30 minutes of dappled morning sun. That (along with the heat) was enough to crisp the margins. Didn't kill it, just ruined its looks.
So, anyway, if you get no sun at all, that's a good choice. It otherwise does well down here and is readily available. I think Sylvia has them on her website this year too.
There's also a thread where some of us have discussed hostas that seem to do well in the South. Some came from Tony's list, and some were added by those who have tried them. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/738133/
With my limited experience last year, the hosta Guacamole held up very well to the heat and sun down here.
Annie
pod, you mentioned worrying about a fire barrier. I found some sites that mention plants that help retard fires in contrast to those that become a hazzard during a fire. Some of the sites are Australian but many of the plants are sold here in the US. So the sites are still worth looking at.
http://www.glenforrestfirebrigade.org/files/species.pdf
http://www.sbcounty.gov/floodinfo/landscape.htm
http://www.iinc.org/pdf/fire_retardant_plants.pdf
http://cahe.nmsu.edu/news/1996/061096_fireplants.html
Guacamole is a good one! Needs a little sun, though.
Cocoa I have Acanthus Mollis and I have had it everywhere ... for sure it dont like too much sun. Since I moved I have it under a tree, but its just there ... it stays green for sure, but it grows slow, I must have had mine for three or four years. anyway if you got a seedling to spare.... I will take one to place it in another spot. One thing for sure its a thug!I dont care how much you dig it up, it will come back. lol
HEY POD! Take a picture of the location and lets see what we can come up with!
OH Boy ... for sure we are going to get a Texas Hosta Society going here. :[
You too Cocoa! I am serious guys ... you will be hearing more from me. ;[
Pod don't forget to post a picture of your site.
Good to know,Sylvia. I was worried it wouldn't grow in the South. I only had five seeds to start with, but if I can get them to healthy adults I'll bring you some to the October RU (I may need reminding). I need to get my shade area seriously amended before I can get any hosta in there. I would really like to try some of those mentioned here!
Does the Acanthus mollis bloom in shade Sylvia? I see many over in the MidSouth forum grow these.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions and good links, I can tell I will be researching Hosta for a while. LOL What I had in mind was only one type that could endure the heat, competition from trees and lack of sun. I had intended to plant a cluster of them... I am afraid I wouldn't be a good candidate for the Hosta society. Totally ignorant here... LOL
Incidentally, after reading Pbtxladys' link, I have to say I have moles and voles here. Will they devour the Hosta roots? Am I in trouble?
I will try to take photos but right now it is pretty rough. We spent yesterday expanding our fence on it. The fence is not pretty but we believe good fences make great neighbors. We are in the woods so no one needs to see it. It serves to keep my dogs home, creates a safe haven for my cats and keeps neighbor dogs and horses on the outside. The deer too but enough apologies for a utility fence. You may not be able to tell much from the pictures but I'll take some.
Meanwhile, please feel free to make more shade plant suggestions. Native plants would be welcome too. I think there are many of us needing some shade ideas.
I forgot to mention the heuchs, heucherellas, and tiarellas. I can't say I've had great luck with all my heucheras, but I'm trying some that are good for the South, and they've doing better. The tiarellas don't seem to have any problems. I just don't have enough. Haven't grown any heucherellas yet, but hopefully that's about to change.
Some other ideas I've picked up on the forums are rodgersia, epimediums (sp), and trilliums. I don't see these in our nurseries and don't know anyone in our area of the country who grows them. But they might be worth a try. I have a rodgersia coming next month.
Someone told me that clethra alnifolia would grow in deep shade. I'm trying one now, but it was so small--all I can say at this point is that it didn't die last year, and is coming back this year.
The guy at Calloway's told me that fringeflower, lorapetalum, would grow in shade. I have one in deep shade and one in dappled shade. The one in dappled shade is growing well; the one in deep shade is slow. Neither have bloomed, but they're pretty anyway.
American beautyberry will grow in shade.
I read on one of the forums that cimicifuga would actually thrive in deep shade. Haven't tried it yet myself.
I have the bears breeches. Got it at HD last year. When I planted it was told that it can get as large as a VW bug. Wow! Moved it and put metal edging in deep to try and contain the roots. It is coming back with a bang. Also coming back in the first location...don't want that. Saw it full grown at Dallas Arboretum with a beautiful bloom.
LouC
I saw one at Calloway's last year and had to drag myself away. I'd love to plant one, but I don't have much room and am afraid to!
I'm glad you started this thread, Pod! I'm trying to help my dear old grandmother decide what to plant in her shade garden as well. We love hostas but she has tried them and they failed in this particular area (don't know why as it was several years ago and I wasn't gardening then).
I love the idea of beauty berry.
How about ginger? There lot of varieties from very tall to very short. Kaempferia genus like Kaempferia pulchra is sometimes listed as a hosta alternative for the south. Gingers can give a lush tropical look.
http://www.gingersrus.com/cart/index.php?productID=2642
This message was edited Feb 26, 2008 11:41 AM
My variegated ginger does wonderfully in the shade. It is called alpinia zerumbrt 'variegata'.
You might also try Frostweed, it does well in the shade and it is very hardy.
AnnieJo: Do you bring your zerumbet inside in winter? Or do you let it die back?
Deb
I will answer for myself. This is my third winter with zerumbet ginger. It dies to the ground the first hard freeze and comes back early spring as the ground warms. It is what I consider root hardy. I have many tropicals that fit that definition.
LouC
Holly fern is a great shade plant, very tuff around here. Also oxalis. My skullcap (not really sure which one it is though) gets dappled shade in the morning and no afternoon sun at all. It gets about a foot tall and has pink flowers. Very droubt tuff. A dwarf Burford holly gets the same sun and only rain water and does great. I also have a loropetalum in pretty deep shade and it's doing well and does bloom, but grows slow. But there are different kinds I think with different needs. Black and blue salvia - mine gets mostly dappled shade all day, but since it's next to a rose it does get supplemental water.
I love the color on the loropetalum but doesn't it need the sun to make the color more intense? Is the same true of the Heucherellas?
The beautyberry grows wild here and although I ( and the bees ) like it, it is plentiful.
Will the gingers bloom in shade? Or does your variegated ginger not bloom?
The Frostweed plant, by virtue of being native as well as hardy catches my interest.
I also have an interest in feeding the birds so planting to provide for the birds and bees does interest me.
Lots of different plants you have listed here for me to research some... I was thinking of a small Japanese maple for color. I know they can endure shade but not sure how much. I also like the Oakleaf hydrangea for Fall leaf color but again I think it needs sunlight to bloom.
I'm not sure about the heucherellas needing sun. Might depend on the variety. But many of the heucheras bloom in shade, and all the tiarellas do, so I would imagine most heucherellas would too.
LouC: Thanks, I debated whether to bring mine in or not. Left it out and it's toast. What I'm really wondering I guess is do they come back well? Mine was pretty big. Do yours get back to their previous size - or larger - over the season?
Podster: I have shade similar to what you describe and have had good luck with fatsia japonica which is evergreen ( all of mine came from PDN), and in summer, you can get tons of color with caladium. Most azaleas like shade and bloom really well in it.
Deb
Hardy White Gloxinia, Sinningia tubiflora http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56463/ says pt. shade, but did well for me in full shade. It's low growing which is a bit cruel, because it smells so good. Worth crawling for tho.lol
LOL ~ there we are on our hands and knees again. Man, it is hard to get up! I got a Gloxinia from PDN ~ will have to go see which one.
I'd love to try some of the wild azaleas but they are too rare. I may have to look for a similar common version.
Caladiums are bulbs ~ would the voles/moles enjoy that meal?
All right per Sylvias' request. It was gloomy this morning but this is one view of the spot... I hope to camoflage the new fence look with plants.
This is looking the other direction. Cast iron plant, Aspidistra on the left. To the right, the ground is covered with honeysuckle. I haven't removed the old fence or started clean up yet.
Sorry, here is that photo...
This fern is growing on a tree. I don't know what it is but it dies down in drought and greens up like this after a rain. I hope to not disturb it.
This is a nasty plant that comes up in clutches from roots and I imagine I will have to dig to remove. Don't know what it is but I don't like it!
And that is the last of the "new ground" photos. Not much to look at yet.
Ohhhh.....I'm jealous of your forest.
Some people feel claustrophobic in these woods. You can't see the horizon or sunrises or sunsets.
Lots of leaves to compost for sure... Since we thinned the timber, I can see our neighbors' house. Always knew they were close but don't want to see them. In this photo ~ standing off the front porch, to the right of the porch post you can see their house. When things green up, it should disappear.. 8 ))))
It can be a challenge with so much shade and lots of tree root competition for water and nutrients. There is a dead pine in this area that we need to remove and I intend to take out a few of the small trees and limb the rest up.
I visualize a glade but know grass won't grow there and am still scratching my head.
This message was edited Feb 27, 2008 6:22 AM
You might try wild violets as a ground cover, they do well in shade and are so pretty.
They are, I agree and I have many I can relocate. Good idea ~ thank you!
By any chance, Ms. Josephine, would you know the ID of the tree fern in the 10:35pm post above?
I think it is this one Japanese Climbing Fern, but I am not sure, here is a link.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/32029
What do you think?
Pod.... there's also a fern called Resurrection Fern...grows on the oaks and pines...
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/21969/
I tried to "rescue" some from MS coast cousin's tree few yrs ago. Tree trunk and limbs were nearly covered. Didn't survive, but it was early summer and record heat here when I "stuck it" on my tree.
bigbubbles, Resurrection fern doesn't seem to grow on healthy live branches. Down by the creek where the woods are really dense, a few of our live oaks have it. Those branches that do have it have some damage of one type or another, are dead or dying. I tried to start some elsewhere and failed also. None of the oaks around the house or down by the river, where the woods are more open, seem to have it. It may need more humid conditions that open woods can provide. I even tried to start some in thin layers of soil in a shallow pot, but that didn't work either.