Good shade bush??

I planted holly bushes last year and they are on their last leg. I need to replace them. The area is rather shady. I need them for a barrier between my neighbors driveway and the side of my house.

Know of anything that will grow ok in the shade and rather fast, without alot of care?
I was thinking maybe something in the hedge area.

Thanks.
-helen

How about Laurels or Aucuba?

Sorry...the above picture was Aucuba.

Here is a picture of Skip Laurel...which you can purchase at 5' tall.

Nandina 'Gulfstream' is a nice one. 36"w x 48" h, red color when the weather gets cold.

:~D

Thanks I am really liking the Aubaba.

I am not finding a lot of info. in the plant files tab above. Am I doing something wrong?

I forgot 1 important detail. I live next to the state park and have lots of deer, so deer resistance is very important.

Thanks so much.
-helen

Hellford, what happened to your holly? I am not all that far from you (in NY just above Bergen County, NJ), relatively speaking. I planted with great care two lovely variegated holly last spring and they are both doing horribly. It looks almost like some kind of fungus. The leaves start to brown and die off. This isn't winter die back. I noted the beginnings of the problem at the late summer-early fall last year. I have been treating with a fungicide and have cut back severely. I am seeing some new growth, but I just don't know if they'll make it. Oddly enough two new pieris japonica are showing the same symptoms, and they are located somewhere else entirely. Everything else in both beds doing fine.

Variegated holly is pretty tender that far north..it doesn't even like my zone7.

Yes, it is pushing the envelope a bit -- I always give in to those bad impulse purchases when it comes to plants. But, sometimes we are rewarded for our optimism :- )

I could understand if I lost these due to climatic reasons, but this does not appear to be a climate related problem. I'll keep trying to bring them around.

irishbelle
I really don’t know what happened to the bushes. This is the 1st thing I planted and I basically just stuck them in the ground. Don’t think it is a fungus on mine.

A little background. This area had a pretty nice boxwood hedge for about 30-40 years. About 3 years ago they just had enough and died. Don’t know if it was because the area just got too shady or they just outlived themselves. Maybe it’s because of the long winter we had.

I finally got someone to cut them (sticks) down, and was left with a lot of stumps.
Maybe the stumps are sucking up all the water now, I just don’t know.

The area has a lot of shale (big rocks) and it’s very hard to dig in.

levilyla

I am a new gardener, so please excuse this if it is a stupid question. Would my local nursery sell plants that would not do well in the area?


This is my plan for next fall. Cover up the stumps with Epson salt and wrap them in a bag (Read on here this kills the stumps). Then make some kind of raised bed with good soil and such and start over.

Here is a link to the area I am talking about :

http://www.81x.com/hellford/garden

I put containers and hanging baskets in so I don’t have to mess with the shale.

I just bought the climbing hydrangea to cover up the ugly oil tank. Don’t know if it will work but I am hoping ??

Any help you folks could offer would be appreciated.

Thanks.
-helen