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Arizona Gardening

Low growing shrub

17 years ago

I have a very shady (as in no light) garden in my backyard that I have decided to turn into something like a formal English garden with small boxwood-like shrubs surrounding it. The space is a relatively small area (10x10). What would be a low growing 2 ft. max shrub I could use??

Thanks, Pam

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Comments (2)

waterbug_guy
17 years ago
What zone are you?

Zero am or pm sun?

How much reflected light? For example, bright sun hitting the ground 1 foot from the bed will provide more light than if the entire yard is under a dense tree canopy.

Shade and being able to clip is tough. You might have to try some different plants. I've had plants do OK a foot from direct sun and not do well 3' from direct sun. Shade is a very relative term.

Here are some you could check into:

Yew could be kept small. Deer eat it though.

Gardenia. Shaping could be a problem.

Russian Cypress if clipped. I don't know how it does in AZ.

Privet gets leggy in shade, but maybe with trimming.

You could try one Boxwood to see how it does in the shade.

Jade plant. I like them better in shade. More of an English garden in India.

Another choice, if clipped shrubs just wouldn't work is to make raised beds the size of clipped shrubs. These can be as small as 6" high and 10-12" wide with really thin walls. Then you can plant shade loving ground cover and it'd at least have the formal look of a formal English garden.
lazy_gardens
17 years ago
In central AZ? Wander through the shaded area of a nursery and see what's there.

If you'll give up the "clipped" part, have "dappled shade" like under a tree instead of the solid shade cast by a patio cover and accept a looser look, these will take near full shade in AZ:

Justicia candicans, Dicliptera resupinata, Justicia sonora

Also look into houseplants: You might be able to keep a Ficus benjamani hedge under control for quite a while.
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I'd look at yews. They are evergreen, shade tolerant and very hardy......which is definitely a limiting factor in your zone. Spreading yews would work well for this situation. They will take forever (if ever) to exceed your height requirements and can be easily pruned to maintain the desired width (yews are immensely prunable). I'd look for Taxus cuspidata Emerald Spreader, Taxus baccata 'Repandens' or Taxus x media 'Densiformis'.
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I'm not near Tampa, but I will actually BE in Tampa Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday-ish this coming week. (Helping my sister move) I don't have a definite plant for when I'll be there or how long I'll stay, but I'd love to try to arrange something. Where in Tampa are you? I don't know the area, but my sister lives in what she calls the "Carrollwood" area, near Bearss and Dale Mabry roads. Any of that make sense to you? I"ll email this to you, too.
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We fell for those photos and planted 1 gallon dwarf yaupons in front of windows only 2 ft above the slab. They wanted to max out at about 4 x 4 ft in these east facing beds by 8 or 9 years. We pruned them back to two feet over a couple seasons and they look nice, but foliage begins to thin near the base with age. Didn't try cutting them off at the base to rehab like boxwoods; anyone know if this works with dwarf yaupons? We're thinking of either replacing or under planting with something short. One possible native alternative we've been trying in the back is autumn sage (salvia greggi). Our generic ones get pretty bare in winter, but a couple named cultivars seem to retain most of their leaves, at least in Dallas 8A. While here they never get as dense as yaupon, even in the summer, their flowers are at least a nice tradeoff. Would love to learn of other evergreen natives that hold to ~2 ft when mature.
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