Low Light Evergreen?

My family thinks I know everything there is to know about plants and gardening....and with the help of my friends at DG they need never know any different. LOL!

My brother really treasures his privacy. He has a property in a woods and loves the seclusion the trees afford him in the summertime. But of course that all changes in the winter when the deciduous trees lose their leaves, and he asked me about planting evergreens. Is there an evergreen that can survive the low light conditions of the woods in summer? He's asked at several local nurseries and has gotten no help. I'll really look like a smarty pants if I can come up with an answer.

I have some Nellie R. Stevens holly in full sun, and some in full shade. The ones in the sun are taller, but the ones in the shade are healthy also. Nice red berries in the winter, too. Not sure about what's hardy in your zone, though. I also have some yews that are evergreen, and some very large camellias.

Here is the search I ran of the plant files regarding evergreen shrubs for zone 5b that will grow in the shade.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/advanced.php?nn[16]=12&nn[1]=0&nn[2]=0&nn[3]=9&nn[4]=4&nn[5]=0&nn[6]=0&nn[7]=0&nn[8]=2&nn[9]=0&nn[23]=0&nn[59]=0&nn[10]=0&nn[12]=0&sname=Plants&Search=Search&offset=40

From that list I know the Yews to be quite popular and make a formidable screen, the Rhododendrons are appreciated for their spring color, and Viburnums lend a wonderful leaf texture to the landscape, the Mahonias are another interesting leaf texture, but usually are not large enough to provide the capacity to screen a particular view, and the Illex would be another good selection for shady privacy creating possibilities.

The list at the link above will give you more than enough and will just show how much of "everything" you do know!

Have fun and hope this helps.

Thank you so much! I now have a very good starting point...or should I say my brother has. LOL. I've been doing some searching on my own and I found Canadian Hemlock also meets the requirements and grows quite tall. I will compile all of these into a list and pass them on to Jim. Thank you from BOTH of us.

Have him consider mixing shrubs, for a more interesting privacy hedge. The camelia on the left is over 6' tall, and the variegated pittosporum on the right makes a nice contrast.

Sadly, I think neither the camellia nor the pittosporum would enjoy the 5b winter...
Otherwise, I definitely agree variety always is more interesting than a uniform screen.

I think there are some camellias that are hardy to 4, although mine probably isn't one of them. I really like my hollies, and they do well in sun or shade.

Thanks for the additional suggestions. I've kept him up-to-date with all the ideas you've given me, and yep....once again I'm looking like the smart one in the family. LOL!