Am I too late?

I am new here and also new to shade gardening. We moved over the winter and I have been looking at a pretty but somewhat dreary HUGE bed that is currently mostly just mulch under deciduous trees. I found a new friend/neighbor who has taken a master gardening class and she set me on the prowl to make a shade garden. I am so SO excited about it now that I have found the many different plants and ground covers I can use but having missed early spring planting and I know many of the flowering plants that bloom in spring what can I be planting right now? I have split and moved some hosta from another location and have a hydrangea and an azalea in the very front where there is a little sun. Also there were some iris and lilies that have com up. I will be prepared come fall but I want to plant now!! (imagine a hissy fit here) Is there anything to plant so late? Oh - I am in Iowa - Zone 5, too. Any suggestions are most appreciated!

This message was edited May 29, 2006 9:55 PM

I have never had problems planting hostas in the summer. Same with most heucheras I've put in shade during hot weather. I did lose one summer-planted heuchera, but I can't say for sure whether or not the heat was to blame.

-Greg

Hi, Pegzhere - I'm in Cedar Rapids, and am still working on a shade garden that probably won't be completed until late June. I've found that in shade you have a much larger window for planting as long as you WATER well for the first year. If you are planning on hosta, ferns, perennials, heuchera, etc., by next year they will be well established. When I plant late, I don't expect blooms the first year, and so fill in with shade annuals like impatiens and caladium for color. In fact, caladiums are just getting going right now as they need temps between 70 and 90 to grow well. So, as long as you water, your garden will do well and be alot of fun, too!! Have fun - Dax

Thanks for the thoughtful replies! They will help me not lose steam on this :)

Pegzhere,
Welcome to shade gardening your going to love it. I am still adding some perennials in beds now, I will keep watered all season, just like Dax suggested. Send pictures!
Shady

Thanks Shady :) I just dug up and divided 2 HUGE hosta that were pretty much the only other thing in that bed besides iris & daylilies. I got 15 - 17 plants out of each. Allowed me to start the boundary for my path, though. I need to take a picture so I have a before shot. I will share, too and maybe you experts can give me some ideas. Thanks!!

Oh yes - would love to see it - Dax

I keep planting all summer, and into the Fall. Nurseries have the best sales when the Spring planting boom is over. It would probably be too late to plant seeds, but go crazy with perrenials and annuals. The annuals are great to poke into places that you haven't decided what to do with yet. I don't plant/transplant when it is really hot out as I think that it stresses the plants too much, but be sure you give them lots of water as they settle in.

Thanks Marie - good to hear from someone that has BTDT. I LOVE sale shopping and for sure will be visiting the nurseries here at the end of the planting season. I am just so eager to have something bloom this summer to keep me excited about this. :)

I know the feeling- I've been blowing off getting any real work done in an attempt to get my garden off to a good start...the growing season here it so short that I wanted to make sure to get the most out of it.

Last year was the first time we attempted to do any real gardening/ landscaping in our yard. We planted liatrus, astilbe, hosta, and coneflowers along the side of our house in mid to late July, as I recall. All the plants did ok and kept flowering well...except the astilbe, which got pretty dry and brown soon after planting. BUT, this year the two astilbes look great, as do all the other ones we put in at that time.

Dax - in case you check back. Or if anyone else is interested:

Here is a shot of my shade bed/someday-soon to be shade garden! I have a color spot in the front with some sun and have some impatiens there - bought 2 more flats of fun colorful stuff to plant tomorrow. I don't know if you will be able to see the hosta. I split 4 humongous plants into 3 different areas as my very first project. One is behind the lilies (definitely can't see that one) but that is about where my seating will go. Leading from that area to the sidewalk on outside I made a path bordered by hosta - will put in stones...someday. There's a hydrangea and an azalea in the front part - might get some sun there after I have trees trimmed. Anyway - you can see I am basically starting from scratch (well except for the shade - that's there already ;). I am open to ideas!! Thanks for looking.

Peggy

What a beautiful area to work with! Looks like alot of space - about how long and wide? Is the back adjacent to another property? And you're so right about getting the trees trimmed - will give you alot more choices of plants with higher and speckled shade. You've got all kinds of fun in store. May want to think about a couple of rhododendrun for the back for height and sheer beauty of spring color. Then there's heuchera (coral bells), columbine, various ferns, astilbe, and goat's beard as well as that wonderful hosta to start with a few of my shade favorites. For annuals, I see you're already onto the impatiens, - begonias and caladium are also favorites for me. Keep sending the pictures! - Here's one of my shade gardens from last year - there is hosta, caladium, impatiens, a hydrangea (that you can't see), and the centerpiece is a trumpet vine growing on a dead stump - Dax

dax080, what a great idea for a stump. I've been wanting to keep some snags (high stumps) so that I can keep the Downy Woodpeckers around, but they're not that pretty. You've given me a great way to keep my woodpeckers happy and have beautiful stumps. Thanks!

dax, you are giving me such good ideas. I love what you've done with the combinations. Did you use bricks as edging?

Here is what I did with a stump last summer. I lost the tree in a winter storm, and the guy who was clearing it away must have thought that I was nuts to want to leave the jagged part. I made a 'pot' out of a fiber liner and filled it with caladium, asparagus fern and ivy.

Peggy, You might also be interested in a type of grass that I have had a lot of success with in the shade that can really brighten things up. It is Hakonlechloa, or Hakone grass. You've got a beautiful spot there and the grass might help with some texture. As an added bonus, I put this in last year in the dead of summer and had no problems with it. It is quite thirsty, and you'll have to give it plenty of water so it can establish itself, but it really flourishes in shade. It's a Japanese forest grass, so it is adapted to growing in woodlands, unlike a lot of the water grasses and prairie grasses from North America that need lots of sun to stay in good shape.

I'll attach a shot of a clump I got going last year. It isn't a large grass, so if you like it, you might need to get a few pots, but I think the home improvement places are starting to sell it for decent prices. It doesn't spread particularly fast either, but that makes it ideal for accenting other plants without worrying about it crowding them out. This cultivar is called 'Aureola', but there are more and more new ones coming out all the time.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54890/index.html
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/76570/index.html
http://www.plantsafari.com/Images350/Hakonechloa-macra-Albostria.jpg

Thank you for the suggestions and the pictures! It really REALLY helps a beginner to see what to shoot for. I appreciate it!

Dax - I would estimate it to be about 15 yards x 5 yards - running the length of the backyard on the outer edge. The outside length ends and then there's a slope downward to the sidewalk and the back part as you correctly saw attaches to a neighbor's yard (continuation of the same bad)

Oh and yours is BEAUTIFUL!!! I wanted coleus for my annuals but they were out of them already here - besides in the big pots and I didn't want that - I wanted them to run the back length of that spot with thew impatiens. I added a bit more annuals today and spent the rest of the time trying to get rid of a nasty mushroom situation. I have astilbe coming to me and heuchera, some ferns, cyclamen, pulmonaria, something called a persicaria red dragon, and hydrangea for a spot with a bit of sun.



This message was edited Jun 1, 2006 11:14 PM

This message was edited Jun 1, 2006 11:19 PM

Love the pics and the ideas - I'm also a wildlife lover, and the additional ideas for stumps are perfect for me to follow-up with. Those high stumps make such great homes!

Marie_ - yep, my paths are lined with paving bricks laid on top of the ground - found the height a great way to keep the paths and beds separated without having to do alot of additional work.

Pegzhere - looks like you're a natural for gardening - be sure to keep the pictures coming as you complete it (and then change it, and change it) - Half the fun here is sharing and getting new ideas from everyone else. - Dax

gregr18, I just bought some of that same Hakone cultivar today...not totally sure of where to put it but I just love it. Is that area you have it in full shade, and did you have to do anything special to get it to survive the winter? I understand I'm just on the cusp of zone hardiness with it.

Also, which home improvement stores have you seen that in? I've only seen it in only local nursery so far.

pegzhere, I'm a complete beginner here so I can't offer advice, but I must say that I love your spot there...looks like it has loads of potential to me.

Dax, your garden is very pretty as well.

Hi Noreaster, I wouldn't worry too much about the Hakone's hardiness. There's a lady on DG from Ontario that grows the cultivars in her zone 4 garden and has had no trouble with them. I have also read some reports around the net that the original zone designations seem a little conservative for Hakone grass.

The area that I have it in gets quite a bit of dappled sun until noon or one o'clock, and the soil is moist and rich, but it will work in anything but the deepest shade. The darker the spot, though, the less water it will need. If you decide to go with an area that gets some sun, you'll just need to make sure it stays very moist for this summer.

I didn't protect it at all this winter and it emerged earlier than any of my other grasses. You might give it a mulching this fall just to be safe, but after you've established it, I think it would probably handle a zone 5 winter up in Maine unprotected.

I saw it early in the spring at a Lowe's around here. Not sure if HD sells it yet, but I'll take a look next time I go there. Mine comes from Avant Gardens which is very close to me, but I think it would be safe to buy it at a place like Lowe's and HD since it's so tough and can take the neglect that I sometimes see in the home improvement places' nursery areas.

-Greg

Argh, I figured it was Lowe's...I live in a Lowe's and Target deprived area (yes, they exist).

Well, I'm relieved to hear it has a decent chance of making it, especially if it is a slow grower. It has such a pretty form.

I grew my Hakone last year in complete shade, and it did just what it was supposed to do.....brightened up the shade. After I got it home from the nursery I noticed that it said zone 5. We did have a milder than usual winter last winter, and mine came right back up this spring. I feel that I'm on borrowed time with it. Even if it did not survive the next winter, I probably would buy it as an annual because it's bright yellow color in the shade is great.

I just went out and looked at my Hakone grass..the tag says the height is 2' but doesn't tell me how to space them. I have several in gallon containers...how far apart would you suggest I put them? Also, I was incorrect about the cultivar- I have the non variegated one, not the Aureola. It's still very pretty though!

If they grow to 2 feet tall you should space them at least 2 feet apart. That's a general rule of thumb for grasses if you want to keep each clump distinct.

On the other hand, if you want a large stand of Hakone grass immediately, you can plant them right in next to each other, but I think a better idea would be to space them a little while they establish themselves, and then let them grow into each other with time.

-Greg