Suggestions for shurbs - wet and shady

reball517

17 years ago

I am looking for suggestions for shrubs that can take shade and wet. I already have:

Clethra, Itea, some of the wild Viburnams (arrowood and hobble bush, I think), Button Bush and Swamp Holly.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

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Comments (8)

bob64
17 years ago
Red osier dogwood and elderberry work around here.
loris
17 years ago
The first additional ones that came to mind were the the ones bob64 mentioned. I would think the ones I'm about to list are native to your area, but please check. I'm mentioning some wildlife benefits, in case you care about that too. These are for partial shade:

Lindera benzoin (spicebush) - host plant for spicebush butterflies, and I think the reason I get catbirds hanging out here. It's not a very showy plant, but I think it's pretty.

Aronia arbutifolia (red chokeberry. The one I have is a cultivar) - when other food is gone in winter, this can come in handy for wildlife

Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry) - wildlife like the berries, and some pollinators like the flowers.
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Mad Gallica - We aren't in a swamp, as you suspected. After two more days of rain, many areas of the yard are under water and even the neighborhood drainage ditches will take several days to empty out. Our "yard" is mostly moss, and the dirt is mostly clay. We also have several very tall trees, so I can't imagine how bad it would be without those roots to soak up some of the water. It looks like the witch hazel and hornbeam will get quite large over time. I'd rather not add yet one more giant tree to our already too shady backyard for someone else to inherit. Maybe I'll look for a shrub that gets about the size I'm looking for. Thanks!
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I've had Camano Island deer clip camellia leaves. If you try to grow diverse plants on property where deer are not excluded you always have the limitations they impose hanging over you, with the possibility of long-ignored specimens being browsed to the quick during a hard winter - on top of everything else. When I used to volunteer there during the early days of the Seattle Rhododendron Society taking over the Meerkerk garden on Whidbey Island I saw that the Meerkerks had non-rhododendrons planted in a fenced enclosure near the house, with most (but certainly not all) of the unprotected plantings being rhododendrons - that is how much selective pressure deer can exert.
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I'm putting in a new bed with mostly shade because it's under a bald cypress tree. Very poor drainage there, so moist is an understatement. I'm going with Winterberry (said to LOVE boggy situations...we'll see!). Know we'd have more berries w/ more sun, but should at least have some, since I'm also planting a male Winterberry to take care of the berry situation. I have Red Sprite Winterberry and Berry Nice Winterberry, with the male being Jim Dandy Winterberry. Am looking forward to watching them develop. Am also putting in ferns of various heights, then have galvanized washtubs there that I am going to plant without worrying about the drainage.
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I have a boggy area like that and I grow black elephant ears, Endless Summer hydrangea, hostas, white ginger, calla lilies, elephant ears, umbrella bamboo, sweet olive, native redbuds (came up on their own) tradescantia, astilbe, chocolate mint (smells just like a York peppermint patty), and water celery. Be careful of the water celery. I planted it in one spot and it galloped across the garden to the other side by the end of summer. (even the mint is intimidated by it!) But it's so pretty with its green, white and pink leaves that I just hate to pull it out. For the hydrangeas, I mounded the soil about 3" higher in a 2-foot circle for each of them to keep them from getting water-logged and they're doing great. Here is a link that might be useful: Water celery in my bog garden
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reball517
Original Author
17 years ago
Many thanks for the suggestion - I would like to try the chokecherry (I actually have plenty of spicebush, cornus and blueberry) - how much shade can it take? And how much water?
loris
17 years ago
Chokeberry and chokecherry (berry versus cherry) are two different plants, but you may have lucked out at the confusion. If this site is correct about growing conditions, it could work for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: link on chokecherry for Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center.
stl_natives
17 years ago
Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica)?
jpaulmoore
17 years ago
I second Itea virginica. Calycanthus floridus is another great one for shady moist (or wet) and there are some wonderful cultivar's available. The cultivar 'Athens' is wonderfully fragrant and has chartreuse colored flowers.
macarius
17 years ago
If you're still thinking of a shrub for wet shade, you may want to consider Rhododendron viscosum and Dirca palustris. New England Wildflower Society sells both at their location in Whately MA, and you can check out their gardens in Framingham MA for ideas on shrubs. Good luck.
jpaulmoore
17 years ago
As an added note, I have found that Dirca palustris is equally drought tolerant too as it survived the record heat and drought in Nashville, TN in 2007.

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Suggestions for shurbs - wet and shady

Comments (8)

bob64

loris

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reball517
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Suggestions for shurbs - wet and shady

Comments (8)

bob64

loris

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reball517Original Author

loris

stl_natives

jpaulmoore

macarius

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reball517
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