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A sweep of foamflower and creeping phlox |
I am encouraged by the number of folks deciding to choose
more native plants for their yard. They speak about helping the insects, the
birds, and ‘doing the right thing’ for the environment. It is a bright spot in
an otherwise discouraging year that more people have had the time to explore
the outdoors and make changes in their landscape. This week I realized that I
haven’t done a post specifically about more shade-tolerant native plants for
the garden and some folks need ideas for shade.
Any topic about shade needs to start with some parameters
around what “shade” is in the garden. I’ll start by saying what it is not. Full
sun is a term that is used in the garden and it is defined by the number of
hours of sun that the landscape receives (most specifically during the time
that leaves are on the plant, of course). Full sun is defined as 6 or more
hours of direct sun; it could be in the morning (the gentlest type of full sun)
or the afternoon or a mix of both. In this post I talk about measuring amount of sun.
Shade is therefore something less than 6 hours and that is
what gives us the variety of terms such as “part sun,” “part shade,” and “full
shade.” The first two terms are similar in number of hours (4-6 hours of direct
sun) but are distinguished by the amount of morning vs. afternoon sun (part sun
having more of its hours in the afternoon—which is harsher—while part shade has
more in the morning). Full shade is defined as less than 4 hours.
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Red columbine with scorpionweed |
With that in mind and with one more caveat at the end of
this post (so read all the way), let’s talk about some Georgia native plants
that can handle various shade conditions (and I’ve probably forgotten a few so
please add your favorite in the comments if I did).
Ferns: Of course ferns are great for shade;
while Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
is one of the best throughout the state, read about other native ferns at my
earlier blog: Ferns That Work For You.
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Ferns in a large group can be a strong design element |
Perennials: foamflower (Tiarella
cordifolia); coral bells (Heuchera
americana and H. villosa); galax
(Galax urceolata); black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) and the related doll’s
eyes (Actaea pachypoda); evergreen
native gingers (Hexastylis spp.) and
the deciduous Canadian ginger (Asarum
canadense); native pachysandra (Pachysandra
procumbens); Trillium
species; toothwort (Cardamine spp.);
Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum)
and Solomon’s plume (Maianthemum
racemosum); mayapple (Podophyllum
peltatum); Robin’s plantain (Erigeron
pulchellus); green & gold (Chrysogonum
virginianum); red columbine (Aquilegia
canadensis); scorpionweed (Phacelia
bipinnatifida); woodland stonecrop (Sedum
ternatum); partridgeberry (Mitchella repens); fly poison (Amianthium muscitoxicum); bellwort (Uvularia spp.); rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) and other
Thalictrum species; bloodroot
(Sanguinaria canadensis); spring beauty (Claytonia
spp.); trout lily (Erythronium umbilicatum);
Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica);
woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata and P. stolonifera); geranium (Geranium maculatum); golden ragwort (Packera aurea); dwarf crested iris
(Iris cristata); woodland violets (like Viola hirsutula and
many others); star chickweed (Stellaria
pubera); wild bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia and other relatives); and Jack in the pulpit (Arisaema
triphyllum).
Note that many of
these shade-tolerant perennials are spring bloomers because they take
advantage of the extra sun they can get before deciduous trees leaf out.
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Trillium maculatum with trout lilies in South Georgia |
Shrubs: hearts a bustin’ (Euonymus americanus); mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium); red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) and bottlebrush buckeye (A. parviflora); doghobble (Leucothoe
spp. and Eubotrys racemosus) and the
related pipestem (Agarista populifolia);
Florida anise (Illicium floridanum
and I. parviflorum); yellowroot (Xanthorhiza simplicissima); spicebush (Lindera benzoin); Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica); mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia); rhododendron (such as
Rhododendron catawbiense or R. maximum); devilwood (Cartrema americana, formerly Osmanthus americanus); witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana); leatherwood (Dirca palustris); Alabama snowwreath (Neviusia alabamensis); lowbush blueberry
(Vaccinium pallidum); and our native
hydrangeas like oakleaf (H. quercifolia)
and smooth hydrangea (H. arborescens).
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Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) |
Small Trees: American and bigleaf snowbells (Styrax
americanus and S. grandifolius); silverbells (Halesia tetraptera and others); musclewood/ironwood/hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) and the similar
hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana);
pagoda dogwood (Swida alternifolia,
formerly Cornus alternifolia) and
flowering dogwood (Benthamidia florida,
formerly Cornus florida); southern
sugar maple (Acer barbatum) or chalkbark maple (Acer leucoderme); Carolina buckthorn (Frangula caroliniana) as well as Carolina
cherry laurel (Prunus caroliniana);
and Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis).
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Alternate leaf dogwood (Swida alternifolia) |
One more item to clarify is how plants do when placed in
light conditions that aren’t what they prefer —or if the light conditions change due to trees maturing or trees
dying/falling. Plants that get less sun than they require will have fewer
blooms and grow at a slower rate. Plants that get more sun than they prefer
will look stressed, and if the moisture of the area is too dry they may die.
Good moisture may help a plant survive more sun than usual up to a point. If
the moisture is too much (e.g., standing water), the roots may not get the
oxygen they need and the plant could die.
Enjoy exploring some of these choices to make your shady spot come alive. Plants that were made for the shade are the ones that will do best and natives offer lots of choices.
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Shade plants welcome spring exuberantly (bloodroot in this photo) |