My native understory list

17 years ago

Over the past three to four years we have been creating a series of gardens and small woodlands on our property either from existing lawn area or reclaimed scrub brush. Our priorities until now have been to put in many trees and shrubs and not focus too much on the 'floor'. These areas were either mulched (in the case of the lawn to kill the grass) or I have spent a large amount of time mulching and trying to eliminate invasive weeds (especially garlic mustard). This year, I would like to really work on the perennial layer.

Another development over the past four years or so is that I have gravitated towards more and more natives. Although I still use some 'exotics' I would say I now plant about 70-80% native trees and shrubs. Having said that, I've come up with a list of native perennials I'm thinking of adding this year. As I don't have experience with many of these I'd really appreciate some feedback on the list. I'm trying to steer away from any aggressive varieties or varieties that will seed to quickly and becme hard to control as much of our woodlands still have small trees and I already spend a lot of time keeping up with the current invasives.

For areas where I already have filtered to full shade, average to moist conditions:

Anemone quinquefolia

Arisaema triphyllum

Asarum canadense

Cornus canadensis (may be difficult in my soil)

Cypripedium parviflorum

Dicentra cucullaria and canadensis

Erythronium americanum

Hepatica acutiloba

Heuchera americana

Mertensia virginica

Podophyllum peltatum

Polemonium reptans

Polygonatum pubescens

Polystichum acrostichoides

Sanguinara canadensis

Smilacina racemosa

Tiarella cordifolia

Trillium grandiflorum

Viola canadensis

Viola pubescens

Areas where trees have not really created full cover yet but will as they grow.

Aquilegia candensis

Erythronium americanum

Gernaium maculatum

Lilium philadelphicum

Penstemon digitalis

Lupinus perennis

Heuchera americana

Sisyrinchium montanum (I already have some I can use)

Viola canadensis

Viola pubescens

In these areas I already have some hostas, exotic coral bells, sweet woodruff, tiarella cultivars in the shady areas from my other gardens. I will remove these over time. Similarly in the sunnier areas I have filled some spots in with some non-natives for now.

Thanks for any thoughts and ideas. It will be quite a dollar investment so I want to make good choices.

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Comments (5)

amelanchier
17 years ago
These look like good lists to me. Some small comments:

* Polygonatum pubescens - not as widely available in the market as Polygonatum biflorum
* Lupinus perennis - I think this is more of a full-sun species in the wild, but could probably be grown in part sun
* Have you considered ferns? In my area ferns tend to grow in the part-sun openings in deciduous forests.
* You may want to read up on which species tend to occur together in the wild, to simulate natural plant communities.
hoyess
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks amelanchier. I'll look up plygonatum biflorum. For the areas where I'd like these I don't want anything too tall in a mass setting. I've got a Christmas fern on my list & I have some Maidenhair fern already. Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamonea) says it takes full sun if wet. How wet? This area is moist but if we have a dry summer it will not be and I don't water here (although I do for new plants). Are there some others that would work in an area with more sun now but less down the road?

Where I will put the lupins will be in full sun now & then on the edges of the woodland in the future. I'm hoping that will be ok? If not, I'll rethink since I know they do not like to be moved.
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ontnative
17 years ago
The penstemon digitalis needs mostly sun or it will get floppy and not bloom well. Someone else suggested planting a group of them so they will help support each other. Other heucheras you could try are h. richardsonii and h. villosa. They ae both easy and tough. The mertensia, trillium and sanguinaria need mostly sun in the spring when they are blooming, but summer shade is OK. I have Sweet Woodruff (unfortunately), and I find it is not exactly aggressive but very persistant. The hostas can be moved or not as you wish, as they don't interfere with the natives. I would definitely try to pull out all the Woodruff roots before it spreads anymore. Mayapple grows in large colonies in the wild in Ontario, often along with trilliums and jack-in-the pulpits. If it likes your area, it may crowd out your other less aggressive natives. Your choices of natives to grow are excellent. Do you know where to obtain these in your area? I belong to a wildflower society that has an annual plant sale in May. The Univ. of Guelph also has a fantastic sale in September. NANPS (North American Native Plant Society) has a sale in Toronto in May.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mayapple
gonativegal
17 years ago
Great list - just a couple I would add if you can find them. Jeffersonia diphylla (Twinleaf), Iris cristata (Crested Iris), and some wood sedges such as Carex pennsylvanica (Pennsylvania Sedge)& Carex rosea.
naturegirl_2007 5B SW Michigan
17 years ago
I see lupines in sun and partial shade. In hot, dry years the ones in sunny spots dry up and do poorly. The shaded ones do great those years. In moister years the shady one do very little and the sunny ones thrive. So your plan sounds good. If you water the ones in the sunny spot the first year you can harvest seeds from the plants and scatter them around the edges or grow them yourself in nursery pots for later planting.