deep shade plants

[jojo54]

I am looking for some plants for the north side of my house. It is a bare wall so could have vines as well. There is nothing there right now and I was thinking of starting a flower bed. Any ideas? I would like perennials. Thanks in advance for your ideas. :rainbow-sun

 

[Rosalind]

Big plants? Little plants?

I like hellebores, myself. For climbing things, climbing hydrangeas, especially in oakleaf, are my very favorites. They will tolerate northern walls, although they might not bloom as nice the leaves are very pretty and you can get ones that change to lovely colors in fall.

 

[Greenthumb18]

I would do clematis for that bare wall, that would be very nice. There are varieties of clematis that are more shade tolerant than others.

 

[journey11]

Hostas would do well. A wee bit too tired right now...trying to think of more! I have nothing but sun up here, so I am no expert!

 

[digitS']

Second the vote for clematis . . .

Beside the old-fashioned jackmanii clematis vine on the north side of my house are a lady fern, bleeding hearts, coral bells and lilies of the valley. Late in the year, the fall crocus will bloom. Against another north wall are Canterbury bells.

The hostas are on the north side of a tree. The Vinca minor, periwinkle vine, is on the north side of a plant table . . .

Steve

 

[patandchickens]

Wait, is this *deep* shade (e.g. the north side of a house amongst large dense-canopied trees), so it is really always quite dim there, or is it merely "almost never recieving direct sunlight, but entirely open to the sky other than the presence of the house" (which would be more like light or open shade)?

If it is truly DEEP shade, you will not find much flowering to grow there, although there are a few things we can recommend.

But if this is merely a conventional north-side-of-the-house location, there are LOTS of things. I agree, clematis would be the most logical vining plant, most of them tolerate N side planting and some like Nelly Moser actually do *better* there (keep color better). And there are LOTS of good perennial flowers that will do well in that situation... really, almost anything that tolerates a half day of 'real' shade will flower at least decently on the N side of the house.

The main thing you have to make allowances for, when planting on the N side, is that for the three non-summer seasons of the year it is often the windy and cold side of the house. So in some cases you can get away with delicate moisture-loving wind-shy plants like bleeding hearts, but in other cases you need to pick more tolerant species, and ones that are definitely winter-hardy in your area.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[wifezilla]

I have a clemetis growing the the shade of a big maple. It isn't growing very FAST mind you, but it flowers every year. Not only does my maple shade it, the neighbor's huge pine tree blocks late day sun. I wasn't sure it would do anything at all, but it is 7 years old now and already starting to bud leaves for this year.

 

[jojo54]

Thanks for all the ideas. I now have a starting place. It may not be a this year project but I can start to design it in my head. I guess it may not be classed as deep shade as it is on the north with only one tree shading it part of the day. I'll keep you posted as to what we do. Thanks again. :rainbow-sun

 

[ducks4you]

Coleus did great on the north side of my garage last year. It's NOT shaded by trees, but the spot is never full sun, just reflected sun.
AND, Coleus is really easy to grow from seed!

 

[Lavender2]

As Pat mentioned, I wouldn't hesitate to try anything that does not require full sun, in open shade or part shade under trees.
Although it's a good chance to take advantage of the easy care shade perennials ... and include some variegated leaves, white blooms, and a few shade annuals to brighten things up ...

This is my north wall ... hosta, astilbe, ligularia, caladium, Jack in the pulpit, fringed leaf bleeding heart, foxglove, coral bells, impatiens ...