I'm hoping someone can suggest a shrub that will retain its color in the shade. The garden in question is very shady and also very dry, though we do water it. It is beneath two huge limbed up spruces, a 30" diameter tulip poplar, and several smaller Norway maples--couldn't be much worse. My experience has been that red things turn green without sun. I haven't tried anything gold. The underplantings are hosta, epimedium, brunnera, ferns, hellebore, Japanese forest grass, sweet woodruff--nothing tall. The area really needs something with some height, and even though many of the hosta are chartreuse and some of the plants are variegated, the area is too green, so I'd like a colored shrub or even a small tree. Help!
Any ideas for a red or yellow shrub?
How about Sweetspire (itea virginica Little Henry). It's a little one, but it has nice red fall color. Blooms white in the spring. Mountain Laurel would be pretty too - the foliage isn't red or gold, but the blooms are stunning and I think they would be evergreen in zone 5
Thank you for the suggestions, sstateham! Do you think the mountain laurel would tolerate all the tree roots? I have a sweetspire growing elsewhere in similar conditions, and it does well enough. Another would be nice; the fall color is pretty and the white flowers do break up the solid green.
I would think so - you could also use tall shade plants. Lugularia or lobelia both give some height and a lot of color.
Try Hydrangea Sun Goddess...yellow leaves and pink or blue flowers. Cimicifuga 'Hillside blackbeauty'...black foliage and white fragrant flowers in September. Dicentra 'Goldheart' gets pretty big. Acous 'ogon' and minimus. are small but stay yellow. Variegated Hydrangea also.
Thanks for the great ideas! The area has been a real frustration. Nothing I've tried that's red stays red, and the yellow/variegated plants are all nice, but too low (hosta, brunnera, Japanese painted fern). The only color I've been able to introduce that stays is coleus planted in a couple of barrels in the treeline. It's the area in front that's so flat--in color, terrain and plant height. Sort of the typical summer woodsy garden after the wildflowers melt away. It's begging for two or three tall, dark (or light) and handsome additions.
I forgot about cimicifuga - that's a great suggestion! Gorgeous plant and it deffintely makes a statement. In my full shade areas I have lobelia siphilitica and it does great. If you want red use cardinalis. Also have tricyrtis that does nicely.
The other problem with this area is dryness because the big spruces (they're easily 70 feet tall and limbed up about 15 feet) prevent rain from reaching the ground and the area is solid tree roots. I water it deeply, and it is dry again in hours. I just read an article in Garden Gate magazine that suggested planting astilbe in a mini-bog created by lining an excavated area with a plastic garbage bag with a few holes poked in it. I'm thinking something like that might be worth a try for the lobelia. It might also work with ligularia. The single ligularia I have in that garden now just limps along and is 1/3 the size of two I have growing in better conditions. I really appreciate all the great suggestions, sstateham and levilyla.
You could add a couple of inches of organic matter to richen the soil up and help it retain water a little better. Not too much, or you risk depriving the shallow roots of oxygen. I'd be concerned about the bag blocking off too much oxygen for the roots. I have peach blossom astilbes in a pretty dry area, and they do just fine. They're a little more tolerant of dry than the others I've tried. The lobelia took a little more work there - I ended up finding a couple of spots where I could dig between the roots, and mixed in some peat to help hold moisture. I watered them to get them established, and now just when they look like they'll die if I don't. I top dress it with a little compost and peat mixed each year. We're on year 3 - so far so good
kneff, Fallopia japonica 'Variegata' (aka Polygonum cuspidatum) http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/57523/index.html is a great plant for a shady location. The variegated foliage really brightens up a shady spot and grows 3'-5' tall with 'frothy' white flowers in late summer, early fall. We have this plant growing in full shade as well as full sun. In the shade it retains more of its variegation, but doesn't get as bushy - a quick whacking back in early summer would help. In the full sun, it holds its variegation but not as bright as it would be in shade - but it fills out nicely, 3'-4' tall and 3' wide. Also, Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey' would be great with its brilliant gold foliage. http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/59722/index.html.
Wow--great ideas! I am not familiar at all with the Fallopia/Polygonum and am excited to see if I can find it and the hydrangea locally before I try mail order. This particular garden needs to be renovated; I plan to move several things that have been limping along for four years either because of light or water challenges and replace them with plants that are better suited to the space. I did quite a lot of homework before planting originally, but the plants tell the real story! I got the textures right, but I especially didn't plan for enough height, thinking that the bushes and saplings in the tree line behind would suffice. They don't! Color variations in the plantings simply don't show up unless I'm standing right on top of them because they're too low. From any distance--like 30 feet!--it comes off as a flat green area. I really appreciate everyone's help.
Kneff, you're welcome - where is Dearborn anyway? We have property on Lake Charlevoix where we'll be heading in several weeks - can't wait to get out of this Virginia heat! Good luck with your 'renovations'.
Just a quick word of caution - some Fallopia can be very invasive. I've been battling some for over 3 years, and it's still popping up in flower beds and in the lawn. Even round-up (multiple times) has not done the trick. I cut about 1/2 a wheelbarrow full out of my tradescantia just this morning.
Dearborn is a western suburb of Detroit, home to Ford Motor Company's world headquarters and Greenfield Village (now called The Henry Ford). If you are driving on your trip, you will probably pass this way on your way to Charlevoix (unless you switch over to US23 in the Toledo area), and you are welcome to stop.