For Color in Shady Spots, Choose Plants Carefully

Dealing with deep shade is one of the gardener’s biggest challenges when landscape color is the goal. Many of the most colorful annual and perennial flowering plants prefer bright light, leaving only a short list of those that perform well in the shade.

Shady sites, in horticultural terms, are described as those locations that receive no direct sunlight. Such a condition exists beneath a thick canopy of trees or where a building, fence or other structure blocks all direct sunlight.

These areas should not be confused with sites that receive partial shade, where many colorful plants can be successfully grown. Examples of partial shade include those areas that receive filtered sunlight through pines or scattered small broadleaf trees and areas that receive direct sun for half of the day.

The truly “dark” areas within a landscape can be extremely frustrating unless shade tolerant or shade-loving plants are used. When high light requiring species are planted where there is inadequate light, they usually grow taller, with thin stems, and flowers are sparse, if they occur at all. Though these plants might live for years in under less than optimum light conditions, they can never reach their potential.

When choosing plants for use in deep shade, save time, money and grief by eliminating many species that are known to require exposure to high light conditions. Grasses, both turf and ornamental, are generally poor performers where light is limited. Many popular annuals and perennials also do not grow well in the shade. Examples include zinnia, celosia, crape myrtle, junipers, hibiscus, salvia, rudbeckia, coleus and pentas.

Following is a partial list of flowering landscape plants suggested for trial in the darker areas of the landscape: begonia, crossandra, impatiens,

streptoocarpus, Pachystachys (Cardinal’s Guard), Physostegia, hosta and Jacobinia. Colorful shrubs: acuba, mahonia, nandina, cleyera, oakleaf hydrangea and sparkleberry. Ground covers: Carolina yellow jessamine, variegated liriope, partridge berry, confederate jasmine and vinca (periwinkle).

Obtain more complete information before investing time and money in landscaping shady areas. The University of Florida offers plant lists that include the light requirements of many plants.

There is another option for those dark areas. Some can be left in a natural state. Under large trees leaves can be left where they fall to provide mulch. Bare soil in other areas can be mulched with bark or other attractive natural materials.

Question of the Week: I am having difficulty keeping my Japanese maples looking good through the summer. When hot weather arrives, the leaves turn brown around the edges and some fall from the trees. What can I do?

Answer: The symptoms that you describe are probably related to excessive heat and fluctuating soil moisture. Japanese maples are valuable, highly ornamental small growing trees that are often used as specimens in the landscape.

The northern Gulf Coast is at the southern extreme of their range of adaptability. As a result, our mild winters and hot, bright summers result in stress. They do best when planted in areas that receive part shade or filtered light through an overhead tree canopy.

Supplemental waterings throughout the spring and summer can also help. The Japanese maples seem to need irrigation more often than most commonly used landscape trees and shrubs.