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Gardening in Shade

Suggestions for something to grow on dry/rooty soil?

flowersandthings

18 years ago

I know this question or one like it has probably been posted before.... but I have the most AWFUL large patch in one part of my shade.... stuff DOES NOT like to grow in it.... it is dry and very compacted with roots..... (maples) it also has wild cherries overhead whose pits fall on the ground (and stay there!!) they don't seem to decompose and make this dry rocky (pitty) soil. I just want SOMETHING there..... it is so yucky to look at.... just dirt and a few surface roots and cherry pits! Any suggestions? For something decorative (native or otherwise) that would thrive and spread? The shade itself is also pretty deep little to no sunlight....

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Comments (6)

susan6
18 years ago
Well, I just gave a talk today about groundcovers and showed several thugs. One of them will, indeed, grow in this type of situation...lamium archangel or Herman's Pride. Other lamiums will, too. I stuck some Silver Beacon in around some maple roots without amending the soil at all and it has spread nicely. I do water it some during droughty periods, but just enough to keep it from dying. The Herman's Pride is pernicious if it gets moisture or good soil so you don't want to let it loose in the woods, lawn, etc.
thistle
18 years ago
I have two HUUGE!!! Norway maples at the back of my garden which soak up every drop of moisture I give the garden.However I have managed to develop really nice shade beds underneath them. I grow the dreaded variagated Goutweed which is beautifull and has never gone beyond the perimeter I planted it in,probably because of the dryness.I also have Pachysandra, Lamium,Pulmonaria,Sweet Woodruff and Periwinkle in the same beds.I sink large pots into the ground and plant them with impatients or begonias for colour.They look full and lush and I get compliments all the time.My husband laid some soaker hose in the beds so that I can deep water every now and then.With this and lots of compost they are thriving.I hope this gives you some encouragement. Good Luck.
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Hamilton, I have the exact same setup - east facing strip against the house under a maple - and I have my share of problems as well. But right now the best performers have been hellebores, and they are now among my favourite plants. They grow about a foot tall and spread over time. I also have barrenwort and lungwort, and as debbie noted above, they do well in dry shade. I'm still trying to decide on some shrubs for this area myself, so I can't help you there. Some euonymus varieties should work though. However, you also need to start adding some organic matter to the area to help with water retention....shredded leaves and/or compost will do wonders. And you have to be mindful of the rain shadow created by your house. Just because it rains doesn't mean things have been watered....I made this mistake a couple years ago.
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I have the same conditions only a little further north than you. I would never let the Hoopsii be the only blue spruce. Scatter some others around and tie the color theme together. I have 9 different cultivars of P. pungens in my yard and it isn't much bigger than yours. I have a 1/2 acre lot but that includes the horse barn and corral out back. Use one or two globes and perhaps a columnar blue spruce. I love 'St. Mary's Broom'. I have Picea pungens 'The Blues' and love it's weeping form. It will never get too big. I have a pendula out front and a little P. pungens 'Blue Pearl' in the same bed echoing the color theme as an accent. There are also a number of cultivars of P. omorika that won't get too big for your yard. Check out Coenosium Gardens web site for a wealth of ideas for the smaller yard. Much of what you find there will not be found locally though. You should be able to find what I mentioned above except perhaps 'Blue Pearl' or 'The Blues' Picea abies has an almost endless range of sizes and forms. I too covet the Skylands but have been afraid to give it a try with our dry heat in the summer and burning sun. If you try it I would certainly put it in an area where it isn't going to get full sun at least while getting established. I have put a P. abies 'Gold Drift' under a globe willow that will eventually come out -in hopes that it can get established in the shade and then show off it's gold color after the willow comes out. There are also some golden junipers that would work for you. The northern Utah nursery that I have found to have the best selection of the less common conifers is Alpine Gardens in Perry (south of Brigham City) but that is also a little hit and miss.
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One thing about ornamental grasses is their size - so many would take up a great deal of room in a 5'x4' area, and the smaller grasses often don't have the height. I'm growing Koeleria glauca in my rock garden - lean soil and no supplemental watering. So far I'm really impressed with this grass - with blooms it's between 2.5' to 3' tall (granted, we've had a lot of rain in May & June this year which could have caused it to be slightly taller than the normally stated 2'). It's blooming now and isn't taking up a great deal of width (maybe 8") - looks great with the dianthus, sedums, gypsophila's, etc. I started them last year from seed. I grow Overdam in the grass bed - they get the same treatment as everything else in that bed which is well drained soil, full sun and no supplemental watering. It's a nice grass, somewhat smaller in height than Karl Foerster. The variegation isn't pronounced enough (IMO) to make it special. Hope this helps.
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catbird
18 years ago
I have several varieties of epimedium growing under my maple tree and I love it. It has pretty flowers in the spring and nice heart-shaped leaves.
koby
18 years ago
a low growing sedum, maybe sedum acre
susanlynne48
18 years ago
I second catbird on the epimedium. Just started growing them this summer. They take DRY shade, I'm told, and so far, the one I bought is faring well. If nothing else, you can always grow mint! LOL. Also, I have variegated gold and green ivy. It's not as invasive as the common ivy. Also, liriope, which comes in the regular green, green & gold, and green & white. The regular green is much more invasive than the varigated ones. None of these plants mind the tree roots. I have dry shade and tons of trees all around the perimeter of my yard. If you want, you can also grow moneywort, chameleon plant (invasive nature), and most ferns don't mind tree roots either. That is where they mostly grow naturally is under the canopy of trees. A truly pretty one is the Japanese Painted fern.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Susan
eibren
18 years ago
Hellebores would probably do well there if you give them some compost and mulch them; they will need adequate watering until established.

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