Made in the Shade

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.

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.

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.

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).

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).

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.

Shade plants welcome spring exuberantly (bloodroot in this photo)