Well it looks like our days of 95% shade are rapidly coming to an end.
The tree guy just left and our 55' hard maple in the S/W corner of the lot is a wash and will have to come down.
We're still left w/ one on the S/E corner and a HUGE oak across the street, but now from about 3 PM on we will be in full sun in the front-yard and east side of the backyard.
As we have been shade gardeners for 10 years and have about 60 or so shade perennials in the affected areas it will mean a big change in look, style and way we operate.
Course that does mean we can finally grow some plants in quantity we have only been able to tuck in the few sunny spots we have now.
Any ideas on a smallish 20' or so deciduous, full sun canopy tree that's a fairly rapid grower but also fairly long lived?
Also plants you wish you could grow if you just had a little sun?
Ric
Diminishing Shade in the Garden
Ric, you might post your query for a replacement tree in the Trees & Shrubs forum.
Ric, How about a redbud? Sunlovers I love: penstemon (Husker Red is amazing), daylilies, stokes asters, Russian sage, candylily and blackberry lily, Asiatic and oriental lilies, coneflowers of all kinds, chrysanthemums, butterfly bush and blue mist spirea (caryopteris). I have found that Japanese anemone also like the sun, and do better there than in the shade. Have fun!
Ric, Kay again here. Since you're in Ohio, how about a buckeye?
keff... Why is 'Husker's Red' a white bloom?
The plant was named for its reddish foliage and stems--and the football team. I didn't think I'd like the white blooms, but they are beautiful. The flower stalks are 3 feet high, and because of the red stems, the white flowers seem slightly pinkish.
Thanks for the info., kneff
Hey Ric, Congrats! About time you finally see the light. giggle. You know ALMOST anything in my 99.9% full sun yard is fair game. Might cost ya though. he he he Next week is Craig's last weekend of working the Coney gig and I dropped Friday's a work. The mortgage is final!!! Woo hoo! Give me a buzz. Tell me you are not outside today???
Um, Kneff, I have a big plant in my back yard, given to me as Huskers Red Penstemon. It is about six feet tall with vivid red flowers and it's been blooming all summer. Hmmm, wonder if it is mismarked??
Badseed, your plant must have been mismarked. There's a nice photo of Husker's Red penstemon in the plant database, showing the white flowers. If your plant is still blooming, I wonder if it's a penstemon at all--maybe something else, such as Queen Victoria cardinal flower (lobelia), which also has red foliage and the vivid blooms you describe. It grows very tall and likes wet soil. Mine didn't make it through last winter :( --too cold, too long.
Hi Kneff! I forgot where I posted this and trust me I looked! LOL My plant has been identified as Lobelia. :) Thanks much for your help. Now I will have to find some of the REAL huskers! LOL