need tall shade loving flowers/plants?

[Anny]

I would like to add some color and excitement to my boring 6 ft privacy fence along the back of my yard. The problem is the fence makes a shade about 3 ft out from the fence. What tall colorful plants would be a good match for the mostly shaded area. It might get at most a few hours of sunlight during the summer. I would prefer something that comes back every year.

I live in south east michigan and have cold winters.

 

[kellygirrl]

Are you still looking? Off hand comes to mind actaea, bugbane, which is a heavenly fragrant bottlebrush flower, pink or white, depending on variety 3-6 feet, some have purple foliage (interest when not blooming). Many people sell them, just noticed some @ bigdipperfarm.com.

Kerrias are shrubs that bloom heavily, yellow flowers, then intermitantly all summer. Saw one @ highcountrygarden.

Some viburnums are edible for both people and birds, and flower and fruit in shade, supposedly; I shopped carefully this year, so I'll find my notes if you're interested.

Hydrangeas, of course.

Primroses, but I've never kept one alive, probably need too much water.

Alchemilla, astilbe, and corydalis (killed that once, too, but it sure sounded nice).

I'm sure I'll think of lots more if you're still looking. Otherwise, I'd like to hear what you find!

 

[Anny]

Thanks so much for all the great suggestions, I'm going to spend the next hour googling each of these plants

 

[wvsheila]

Where are you at? I use bee balm in the dark north corner by my house with a couple native azalea but the humidity is pretty high here they might be to high maintainance out west. but they are beautiful.
I have both of these plants growing in my moms yard and she is in west central michigan.

 

[patandchickens]

How dry or moist is the soil. Sometimes if the sun doesn't get to the base of the fence neither does rain.

If it is reasonably moist, consider Veronicastrum, bugbane, taller astilbes, actually there are a number of other possibilities too.

If the soil is more on the dry side (but not actually severely droughty), consider foxgloves (ok, so the usual ones are biennials not perennials, but they usually self-seed well; also there is a nice, albeit only 3' high, pale yellow one that is fairly perennial, D. grandiflora), some of the more shade-tolerant lilies such as martagons, and taller daylilies.

If it is *really* dry, taller daylilies will not flower as profusely as they would in sun and moist soil but they will indeed flower *some*. Or there are some shrubs that will tolerate dryish mostly-shade (snowberry, coralberry although that is only about 3' IME, kerria although that can be kinda straggly looking, red Aronia [come to think of it, that would probably get my vote for best dry shade candidate], etc)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Anny]

The soil is actually pretty horrible. I've been working on it over the last two years to make it "growable" when we moved in it was mostly cray and rock and trash (it's right up against an alley way in Detroit which used to be brick but now is paved, so you find bricks in the soil all the time.

It's "better" now but still needs some help. I'd say it's moist though.

Thank you all so very much for all your help. You've put all kind of wonderful ideas into my head.

I wanted lots of nice blooms since my bee hive will be near that area, and I want them to have flowers in the shaded area too. Plus it would make the fence look alot better.

 

[kellygirrl]

Just realized that bigdipperfarms.com has a shade tolerant search engine that will put many possibilities at your brain tip.

Also, I'm sure you've heard the adage about planting your $10 plant in a $100 hole? My survival rate skyrocketed and perennials thrive since I learned to dig a deep hole, replace with some original dirt, peat, compost, perlite (or not), and Turface (a baked clay product for aeration and moisture accessibility), in proportion according to specific plant.

Oh yeah, there are some phloxes (low) that like shade, and asters too (keep the bees feeding all season).