skip to main content

Hydrangea or alternative to plant in north facing landscape

10 years ago

Looking for some help with choosing a flowering shrub to finish my landscape here... The spot where the rocks are is where I am looking to plant. It gets direct sun until about 10:00a.m. Will that be enough for a hydrangea to do well in my area (Pgh,PA)? If so, do some varieties do better with less direct sun? Are there any other favorite flowering shrubs that do well in partial shade you might recommend?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

luis_pr
10 years ago
Yes, that should be fine and enough to produce good bloomage. I grow some hydrangeas on the north side with no direct sun; the area around the plants is brightly lit by the sun though so, I would say my shaded area has a "bright" shade.

The space on the picture may be tight for many hydrangeas though. But it hard to tell the dimensions from the picture.

Measure how wide can the plant be without touching the existing shrubbery but assume the existing shrubbery has reached their mature sizes. For example, if those shrubs will get 1 feet wide when mature and that shrinks the available space down to 3 feet, look for hydrangeas that get no wider than 3' when mature.

You usually want the hydrangea's width to fit in the planting space with some leeway... some separation between the hydrangea and the other plants. This improves the air flow between plants and minimizes fungal infections on the leaves.
PghDave
Original Author
10 years ago
There's about 4.5-5' from the house. Any favorite varieties that I could try? I put a Glowing Embers in my back yard that seems happy. It has 10 or so buds.
Related Discussions
Which plants would do well in a shady north-facing SF garden?
Q
Comments (10)
Don't underestimate the UV in foggy climates. It can actually be higher than one thinks. Looking down at plants is very different than viewing them at eye level. I have a bed that I view more often looking down from above, out of my kitchen window, than I do while passing by to work in my front or furthermost back yards. This is the triangular bed viewed as standing in my neighbor's yard on the left side of it: This is the same bed viewed from above, although the coleonema (which surrounds the lamppost) isn't in bloom here: Everything I plant in this bed is planned to look good from above. I have 15 separate beds and this is the only one I treat this way. I have fiddled a lot with the plants in it since it lives on runoff so is one of my few truly xeric beds. It gets very little direct sun but a lot of very bright shade (it looks south/southeast, instead of north like yours), so it can take even sun-lovers like the purple Lantana trailer on the RH side. One small shrub I have in a north-facing bed MIGHT work for you, but I'm not sure. It is a regular water lover, not drought resistant. I love this plant! It is a variegated fuchsia, "Firecracker". A bit tender, so it would probably do better for you in SF than it does for me in the Oakland hills.
...See More
Need Help planting in North Facing Front Yard
Q
Comments (9)
Tough, standard landscaping shrubs that can take either full sun or full shade would be best. You can add visual interest via foliage texture (and that lasts year round) and put the color of flowers elsewhere. Boxwood, Nandina 'Firepower' (which has a lot of foliage color--it reds up in cooler months--and is reliably short enough to live below windows) come immediately to mind, but I'm sure there will be a lot more suggestions. Most satisfying results come from working with conditions in each location of the garden, not against them.
...See More
Ideas for north-facing front yard
Q
Comments (3)
Where in WA state are you located? Are you new to the area? It is not as wet as most think (although this winter has been unusual) and actual annual rainfall amounts are rather low compared to many other areas. It just occurs at a slow rate over an extended period of time so it may seem like it is wetter than it really is. Summers are typically very dry. Without any overhangs to block light, a north facing planting area is not all that dark. It usually receives quite bright but indirect light so one is not overly hampered by limited plant choices. You just need to avoid things that require full sun :-) And if living in western WA (if rainy, that would be my first guess), we have a very mild climate that does not limit plant choices, including a whole host of attractive plants that would appreciate something less than full sun. If you want a more hands-on design plan with an appropriate plant selection, consider hiring a design consultant for a few hours. Many local independent nurseries will have referrals for qualified individuals if they don't offer that type of service themselves.
...See More
Need help with landscape design for smaller, north-facing front yard
Q
Comments (4)
Check out this video by Rosalin Creasy, the queen of edible landscaping. She also has a Web site. Then follow any links from there. You'll find a lot of inspirational photos and resources online. Yaardvark's basic design can be followed, you just need to figure out edible plants with the shapes he has drawn that thrive in your zone. I'm not that up on edible weeping plants, but lots of big shrub-shaped edible fruits and there are also fruit trees that have a columnar shape (column shape) such as sentinel apple trees. Raspberries and blackberry tend to get droopy and weepy-ish shaped (fountain shaped). There are edible easy to maintain groundcovers too, like lingonberry, although they need acid soil to thrive so you may have to amend. I grew bearberry which also goes by the name kinnikinnick as a groundcover. It is not really "edible" so much as medicinal, where it goes by the name Uva ursi. Lots of herb ground covers like thyme and chamomile and some low growing mints. There's also wintergreen but that needs shade and can be fussy. Not too much in the way of edible evergreens although you can grow balsam or fraser fir in some zones and collect the needles for their scent and oil. With juniper you can harvest the berries and make gin. Some junipers are columnar. Some make good groundcover, a fairly common low maintenance option for small yards. Edited to add that you're going to have to be thoughtful about planting your front yard since most edible plants like sun or partial sun, and your sun is going to be filtered at best. Try not to plant things in the shade of other things, so watch where the shadows fall during a whole day at different times.
...See More
October_Gardens
10 years ago
I'd throw an ES, Penny Mac, or David Ramsey there. A Nikko would also do well against a building but may grow past the window...

I have ES against an addition room that's just as wide as the wall in your pic with two windows in the exact same spots, all facing north. They do great there!
luis_pr
10 years ago
A rebloomer would "change" things as new blooms appear and old ones are deadheaded.

Just wondering... how many sets of blooms for a complete growing season do you guys get from rebloomers in PA? One around late May maybe? Plus how many more? Two more?
October_Gardens
10 years ago
I'd say two cycles total, in most cases. Late May would be right, then anywhere from July-Sept. depending on how much rain, etc. Right now everything in my yard has up to 1" florets, but nothing larger. So it will probably be June before any actual color is seen.

Garaged pots did break dormancy in March, and they're just starting to bloom now.

Imagine there'd be three cycles, if everything broke dormancy in March, got plenty of rain, and encountered no other adverse conditions through October...
PghDave
Original Author
10 years ago
Penny Mac in. Thanks for the advice!
October_Gardens
10 years ago
Looks good! My PM is right on the northeast corner as well - didn't suffer much dieback and there are tons of buds on old and new wood. That one there will likely bloom a second time once you cut the spent ones off in a month or so. Congrats...

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Garden-Friendly Native Alternatives to Overplanted Exotics

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

There are lots of gorgeous, wildlife-friendly native plants ready to make an appearance in your garden

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Oakleaf Hydrangea

By Becky Harris

Consider this full, flowering shrub for year-round beauty in the garden as you plan your fall plantings

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Have a Ball With Hydrangeas

By Living Small: City & Small Space Consulting

Even if you don't tinker with the hue by changing the soil, hydrangeas have an entertaining range of uses in all kinds of landscapes

GROUND COVERS Native Alternatives to English Ivy, Japanese Pachysandra and Periwinkle

By Curtis Adams

These shade-loving ground covers are good for the environment and say something about where you are

MOST POPULAR Meet a Lawn Alternative That Works Wonders

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Carex can replace turfgrass in any spot, is low maintenance and adjusts easily. Add its good looks and you’ve got a ground cover winner

TREES Native Plant Alternatives to Invasive Common Buckthorn

By Pollination Press LLC

Learn how to identify and control this aggressive plant, and what to grow in its place

LANDSCAPE DESIGN 7 Low-Maintenance Lawn Alternatives

By J. Peterson Garden Design

Turf isn't the only ground cover in town. Get a lush no-grass lawn with clover, moss and other easy-care plants

GARDENING GUIDES 6 Plants That Beat Butterfly Bush for the Wildlife Draw

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

It's invasive, a nonnative and a poor insect magnet. Check out these better alternatives to butterfly bush in the garden

LAWN ALTERNATIVES Stop Fighting the Patchy Lawn!

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Here are 3 situations where a garden may be a better idea than more turfgrass

GARDENING GUIDES Great Garden Combo: 3 Wonderful Plants for a Deer-Resistant Screen

Protect your privacy and keep deer at bay with a planting trio that turns a problem garden area into a highlight

Sponsored

Wannemacher Interiors

26 Reviews

Customized Award-Winning Interior Design Solutions in Columbus, OH

More Discussions

Too many to list anymore

11

A -Blind Prune-

0

Transplanting Hydrangea

0

Hydrangea bobo vs. hydrangea little hottile.

2

Hydrangeas Pruning?

2