Half sun/shade bed dries out: fast - perennials?

13 years ago

I have a circular bed in back that dries out very quickly. So far what has been successful there includes daylilies and several varieties of hardy geranium.

I also have 3 hydrangeas in there but it dries out a little too fast for them to be really really happy.

Any other suggestions for a dry half sun half shade bed?

Also want things rabbit resistant as the primrose and trollius have been eaten to shreds.

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Comments (8)

echinaceamaniac
13 years ago
I've had good luck with Echinaceas in dry places that only get morning sun so I bet they would do good in your bed. Gaillardias is another one you could try, especially since the daylilies are doing so well there.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
is it properly mulched to retain water?

what delineates the bed??? is that heating in the sun.. causing the lack of water??? such as brick ...extend the bed and plant some plants that will shade the brick... maybe????

fix the problem.. and your choices will become innumerable

ken
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Hi Julianna - Of COURSE I'm interested in what you're growing! This "bright shade" situation is most interesting and will require experimenting. I started this thread LESS than a month ago and already I see a difference in the number of hours the back of my balconies get sun. On the same token, the sun spots for the items hanging off the balcony are also lengthening. Right now, due to the containers I used for most of my succulents being bulky, they've been placed to the back of my patio where they get a brightness all day long (bright shade, as you called it) but direct sun is for but an hour plus a day? I have to wait and see how these do moving forward... This is balcony 1 -- the one with full sun up front. I bought a bunch of those white balcony pot hanging thingamagics -- and it's pretty useful. It's smaller than balcony 2, but deeper. What's not shown is that further in to the left, you have two shelves full of plants--where most of the succulents are as well as my infamous gardenia, which Purple has been helping me with, haha. This was taken moments ago and today is a bit stormy and cloudy but it's still bright out there at 3:30 pm. This is balcony 2. It's significantly wider with about 3-4 feet MORE to the left than is shown here; that part is obviously full shade. The remainder is all less full sun than balcony 1 and in the afternoon, it quickly goes into no sun as to the right of this balcony, the building juts out with an overhang to the lobby area below. That seems to block out the sun instantly. Unlike you, my area requires me to bring in virtually nothing as we rarely hit 40* and if a plant's lowest tolerance is 50* (which is basically our entire winter) -- then either I don't get it, or it evolves quickly, haha. Thank God, because my house is full enough with houseplants -- I need outside plants to come in like I need a hole in the head. I was browsing some ferns yesterday! Are they hard to grow? I have a Venus Maidenhair here inside, but I don't believe I've ever had ferns in my yard. In the past when I had homes, I've usually had full sun and have much, much less experience with shade plants. I'm messing with the idea of hostas and I'm definitely getting some coleus and begonias, but on balcony 2 - where most of my shade gardening would be -- you can see that the depth of the balcony is minimal; putting large pots out there means no walking area. This puts a damper in my idea of creating cascading containers w/ spillers, etc. I might have room for... uh, ONE. After all of this, I'm of the mindset to move back to a house, haha. I find myself driving around town and looking at homes to figure out, "Is that yard facing south? No, wait...east?" It's sad, really!! Your post is missing photos. I'd love to see!!!!!!!!!!!! -Grace.
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It sounds like budget will keep most things from happening, but at least you can have goals and get to what you can. Trimming of trees is a lot easier/less costly if one keeps up with it and ANTICIPATES what's to come. 1.) A branch that's 10" in diameter is hard, time consuming and troublesome to cut. That same branch was once only 1" in diameter and could have been removed in about 10 seconds. 2.) As branches grow longer and thicker they hang down further. So branches that are only 4 or 5' off of a roof now, will be resting on it in a year or two. 3.)There's a store of energy in a tree that is in relative balance between foliage and roots. When the roots contain a surplus of energy relative to the foliage, the foliage will have a growth spurt. (For example, if one cut off all the foliage, the tree would have a major growth spurt. I'm not suggesting do this.) However, the growth spurt will most likely not to be channeled into what was cut... but in what remains. Therefore, A tree can be shaped much better, faster, and more efficiently (less waste of the stored energy) if it is pruned judiciously right along from babyhood. The wrong way is to let it get too out of bounds in places and ways it shouldn't, and then try to fix it long after it was needed. I understand that you are using the maple tree to solve a problem, but it looks like a case of using a hammer to kill mosquitoes. Why not consider some sort of screen close to, and wrapping the corner of the lot that will obscure traffic? It could possibly be combined with fencing that was mentioned earlier. I'm thinking along the lines of lattice or some kind of grill work with wines growing on it or some such thing. There's lots of possibilities. Just a thought. Hopefully, you don't want to grow the globe arborvitae as two separate balls. The house does not seem to be asking for any. I'd move the right-most globe leftward, as shown, to at least give these hope of growing together. The Euonymus coloratus is the shaggy reddish plant. I'd move it over to the Maple and start making groundcover out of it. I've marked up one of your pictures to suggest a bed line. And to show where you should have pruned the Maple.
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https://www.houzz.com/photos/garden-spaces-traditional-landscape-new-york-phvw-vp~3417617 That photo has been shown several times as the classic white picket fence with pink (Heritage) roses. https://www.houzz.com/photos/family-pool-traditional-landscape-manchester-phvw-vp~100429 There is another beautiful bed with a white picket fence. I would take the person's advice and not wind the roses through the fence as it does make it a problem for pruning. I have had my vinyl fence for probably 10 years and it never needs anything done to it other than a good scrubbing in the spring. A small shrub rose planted in intervals would work great. Roses can sometimes have "naked knees" during the summer months so planting other plants around them will help to hide those times. Another pretty rose would be Pretty Jessica or if you want a deeper pink/red, Munstead Wood also would work (I think--I am in a very different plant zone than you are). This is Munstead looking rather pink on that hot summer day. In cooler weather he is almost a velvet deep burgandy red. A very young Pretty Jessica--not the best picture of her
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Thanks! Is there a tall upright shade-tolerant, slow-growing grass or plant that I can plant at the back of this bed for vertical interest? The Japanese forest grasses I looked at appear to be short. I am a little afraid of the climbing hydrangea, it might be hard to control...? For ferns, I originally had my heart set on Tennessee ostrich fern since it is more upright than the other varieties I looked at, but then I read that it spreads rapidly and so dropped the idea. Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’ looks very nice, but not sure if I want an orange shade in there. I will keep looking. I want to have Dicentra 'king of hearts' in that bed. Not really finding a source, but there are seeds available. Can they be grown from seed easily? I planted some astilbe from home depot in a different location, and I think maybe it is too much sun, though only morning sun .. they are dying. I am hesitant to try again here, considering in this location they get 11am-1pm hot sun. So, on the whole, now I am thinking some bright colored hostas, ferns, king of hearts dicentra. I will go to the nursery this weekend, I hope they have some nice varieties that were discussed here. Otherwise I will have to order online. I am wasting way too much time on this.. :) Thanks so much.
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laceyvail 6A, WV
13 years ago
Hydrangea paniculatas are much less fussy about moisture than macrophyllas and arborescens. You might look into those--many cultivars.

Not sure what you mean by half sun/half shade--morning sun/afternoon shade, vice versa, or half the bed is in sun and half in shade.
redsox_gw
Original Author
13 years ago
Good questions! What I should have said is morning sun, afternoon shade. Mother Nature did some severe pruning this Winter with a January ice storm that took out major limbs all across the state so there might be a little bit more sun this year. But basically, morning sun.

The bed, which was inherited with the house, had hydrangea limelight, astilbe and lots of liriope. We took out the liriope and put in more hydrangeas, cranesbill and daylilies.

It is a very peculiar bed, it is not very deep and my Husband swears there is coal under the bed. Unlikely but maybe it is a hardpan, so the bed is not very deep. That is one reason it dries out quickly. So I am going to try three inches of mulch this summer.

Also there is a magnolia tree nearby. I'll bet the tree roots are interfering in the bed so I am going to try watering the trees more during drought.
steve22802
13 years ago
How about sedums and Russian Sage?
spazzycat_1
13 years ago
I have a similar bed (sun to around 2 pm, then afternoon shade and dry). Here is what works for me...mostly hot colors tempered by purple/blue. Not all these would be hardy in your zone (and I'm too lazy to look up the hardiness ratings):

- Salvia guarantica 'Brazil'
- Diclipteria suberecta
- Allium senescens
- Oreganum vulgare 'Aureum'
- Oreganum compactum 'Nana'
- Galliardia 'Fanfare'
- Hippeastrum 'Ackermanii'
- Canna 'Bengal Tiger'
- Solidago 'Golden Baby'
- Coreopsis 'Tequila Sunrise'
- Geranium 'Rozanne'
- Aster 'Professor Kippenburg'
- Habranthus tubispathus var texensis
- Gladiolus 'Violetta'
- Vernonia arkansana (you may not be able to find in the trade, but you could substitute any similar Vernonia)
- Physocarpus opulifolius 'Mindia'
- Crocosmia 'Jenny Bloom'
- Crocosmia 'Warlhead'
- Lysimachia congestiflora 'Persian Chocolate'
- Thalictrum flavum 'Glaucum'
- Common orange daylilies
- Narcissus 'Avalanche'
- Narcissus poeticus var. recurvus
- Narcissus odorus plenus
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
for me... i would dig a small hole and find out whether it is roots or coal .... or both ....

and then i would take appropriate action ... why speculate ...

and then i would refill the hole .. and at a minimum ... mulch ...

if you lack soil depth.. it may take many years to achieve a proper soil depth.. depending on what you use for mulch ...

maybe you need to add 3 to 6 inches of soil.. and raise your plants.. and then mulch ... though that might not work if it is a root issue.. since roots tend to just grow into the new soil ...

find out what down there.. and let us know.. the more facts you give us.. the better answers you get ...

ken
torajima
13 years ago
My Nepeta (catmint) seem pretty happy in part shade. And they never need supplemental water...

Half sun/shade bed dries out: fast - perennials?

Comments (8)

echinaceamaniac

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Half sun/shade bed dries out: fast - perennials?

Comments (8)

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