Native plants for very dry,very deep shade.
Jay 6a Chicago
7 years ago
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wantonamara Z8 CenTex
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Deep Shade Plants
Comments (4)I bet the jasmine you tried which made only top growth is the yellow blooming stuff, called Carolina jessamine. And making a head at the top is what that plant does, in sun or in shade. If you still have your trellis and want to use it, there is a gorgeous jasmine, trachelospermum jasminoides, also known as star jasmine or Confederate jasmine, which makes an evergreen vine from top to bottom and is covered with white blooms every year around mid April through midJune. I have it planted now along a 7 foot high 100 foot long chainlink fence, where it will in about 2 more years give me total privacy year round. My first plant covers a 4x4 post in the front yard, and the mockingbirds live in it. Here is what ONE STAR JASMINE can look like if left untrimmed: And I was surprised to see that in Tuscany they use the star jasmine to grow on fences (where I got the idea)and they keep it trimmed as a hedge. Here is what it looks like in a villa. Note there is no bare spots near the ground. And yeah, that is the jasmine covering the pool pergola too. If in shade, it might not bloom as prolifically, but it will grow and stay lush from top to bottom, year round. Another type of plant I dearly love is aspedistra. It does like shade but you can find varieties which can take a little more sun. The ones I fell in love with are the white striped varieties, awesome, and they stay green year round. Some grow about 3 feet tall. The old fashioned variety can look a little worn out but not if you keep it trimmed of the beaten up leaves. Here is the photo of my very favorite kind of striped aspedistra, which I acquired from Plant Delights Nursery in NC. And then someone mentioned hydrangeas. Since we are at the southern most limit of their happy range, shade is a better spot for them. I planted LIMELIGHT on the corner of my Teahouse this spring, and it seldom wilts when it catches the full afternoon sun, but it does love the morning shade. It takes more water to avoid the wilt but it will grow nicely in the shade. And the blooms ARE GREEN. A very striking plant. I like to use leriope muscari, the giant kind, to front any flower border. In our zone 8B climate, it appreciates having some shade. Don't we all!! Hope this gives you some ideas. LOTS of choices....See MoreShade and sun, where to plant native berries
Comments (20)I, too, am a planted native of Western WA. Throughout my childhood and youth, I foraged for berries all over Western WA. Now, in my own garden, although the majority of my plants are non-native, I have a lot of native plants interspersed here and there, that have volunteered and that I have nurtured, including both red and evergreen huckleberry and oregon grape, trilliums, etc. I have had all the berry plants growing in everything from complete shade to lots of sun. From my berry picking days, to my own plants, I can tell you that, even though they will grow in the shaded understory of the forest, the plants that produce the most berries, by far, are the ones that get more sun, and the more the better. This holds true for the flowering currents. As a berry picker, you always try to find a good thicket at the edge of the woods, with an eastern exposure. They really like several hours of morning sun. Sun exposure between 2 and 4 pm can kill young plants, but once established they can take that as well, if watered properly. I have a volunteer evergreen huckleberry growing out of a log in my back yard, in full sun, that is happy as can be. It gets enough water, because it's near a hardy fuchsia. A caution on fireweed (if that is what it really is). I have lived in Alaska, also, where it could almost be the state flower. It is a root runner and can be quite invasive, especially here in WA, where it doesn't get the winter cold to keep it in check. Salal, also a native, is also a root runner, but it is very hard to get established, if not growing there naturally. I have known people, whose yards are backed by a large forested area, that absolutely hate it. Regarding soil....all our native plants do like a highly organic, slightly acid soil. I have extremely light, sandy soil, which dries out very fast in the summer. My success with the natives has come from giving them a good, deep mulch of medium shredded bark, with fines in it. In the years I don't mulch I can really tell they are not happy. Good luck!...See MorePlants for deep shade
Comments (4)I've linked below to a thread in the Gardening with Shade forum that might be of interest. Since you say this area occurs in your woodland, however, it might be among tree roots and thus perhaps dry. That makes plant selection a little trickier. I'm not prepared to list all those plants for you as any shade gardening book or nursery can help you on that topic, but I would suggest that in such an area, it is a good idea to grow plants to a vigorous size in a more hospitable environment before planting them there. For years I kept putting hapless 4-inch pots of epimediums, hellebores, trilliums, hostas, and the like in my extremely dry shade area and despairing as I watched them die again and again. If a plant has a significant rootball it has some resources to draw on to continue to grow. Also, plant in fall to give the plants some time to establish in the tough area before the dry season hits. The one thing I will say about hostas is that many are quite ticklish about moisture, and many even need some sun. The hosta forum would probably be quite happy to help you with selecting hostas that will actually thrive in this area if you give them some more information about its moisture level. One that comes to mind is H. ventricosa. Here is a link that might be useful: Very Very Deep Shade thread...See MoreShade plants that are best for wildlife? Native prefered.....
Comments (11)I have a highbush cranberry tree that is about 12' high. I dug it up from a few blocks away and dragged it back to my woodlot backyard and planted it last fall. Despite all the trauma it experienced it has done superbly and presented the birds with tons of bright red berrries that the birds will enjoy when the winter is here. We also have a mulberry, several serviceberry (great shrubs/trees... beautiful white blossoms, berries that start out red and turn bluish black as they mature and the birds go nuts for them) and the ground cover is mostly Blue Cohash which the birds go absolutely crazy for in the fall. We just moved here last fall and the woodlot had to be cleared of dense Garlic Mustard and Oriental Bittersweet which has taken us 2 seasons to do. We expect at least one more season of dense Garlic Mustard but in the mean time we have planted lots of native ferns, various coloured trilliums, jacks etc.. and I went on a berry hunt this fall and strew about loads of Blue Cohash seeds to help take over where the Garlic Mustard has been taken out. As for more species for the birds (our family are avid birders), you could try SweetGum (awesome trees with very strange seed pods), Tulip Trees (nectar), Dogwoods, SpiceBush (this is our next bush to go into the woods... they grow in large groups so we will plant a large stand of them next spring), any of the cherry species like "Pin Cherry" will attract birds and are at least native in my region (southern Ontario) and we have several 60' as well as tons of saplings. Sassafras are good for fruit as well. *sigh* so many cool plants and so little money ;o) Barb Southern Ontario...See MoreWoodsTea 6a MO
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7 years agoJay 6a Chicago
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7 years agoJay 6a Chicago
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wantonamara Z8 CenTex