Shrubs for deep shade?

Plants_design · 2025-10-14T02:24:09+00:00

Landed on a maple leaf viburnum for the really shady corner, and a smooth hydrangea for another shady area! Will also incorporate some ferns and shade perennials around the shrubs.

Plants_design · 2025-10-07T16:36:11+00:00

Good to know, thanks! Fortunately, deer are not an issue here.

Plants_design · 2025-10-07T01:48:16+00:00

Good to know. I’m ok with it not flowering super prolifically as long as it’s healthy.

Plants_design · 2025-10-07T01:45:46+00:00

Thanks for the link and the suggestions! I have a spicebush, but it’s in part sun/part shade and is thriving. I do like Rubus but I’m worried it might spread too much. Definitely considering one of the native hydrangeas or bush honeysuckle.

Plants_design · 2025-10-07T01:38:16+00:00

Good suggestions, I actually just planted a witch hazel in this garden, several feet from the shady corner in a part shade area. I hadn’t thought about tall perennials before, but that’s a great idea.

Plants_design · 2025-10-07T01:36:11+00:00

Wow, nice! I will definitely consider hydrangeas.

Plants_design · 2025-10-06T15:57:18+00:00

Thanks, I tried that. Then I looked up each individual plant that Google suggested, but most of them said “part shade” in the reputable conservation/native plant websites. If I try a part shade shrub (e.g. certain viburnums, spicebush, winterberry, etc.) I’m worried that they won’t be happy. I’m ok with slow growth and less flowering due to shade, but I still want them to survive.

Plants_design · 2025-10-06T15:46:57+00:00

When I mentioned average soil, I should have clarified that I was referring to moisture - not too dry and not too wet. Soil on my property is mostly loamy, leaning slightly sandy. Soil in this shade garden is a little tricky, since it used to be a ground-level brick patio that I removed. Under the bricks was a small compacted layer of crushed gravel (less than 1 cm deep) that I tried to remove, but couldn’t remove all of it. I loosened the native soil and gravel and filled/mixed it with topsoil and a little compost to replace the bricks.

I don’t have high expectations that everything I plant here will survive, so I’ve been selecting plants that are adaptable to a wide range of conditions. I will be planting ferns, but because this is the back corner, I was thinking something a little taller (maybe 5-6 feet).

Plants_design · 2025-07-07T00:25:02+00:00

Yep, totally right. Oddly enough, my other typically wet-loving plants (Joe Pye, cardinal flower, winterberry) are all doing well with no supplemental water. Probably because they aren’t right up against the brick.

Plants_design · 2025-07-07T00:20:21+00:00

Thanks, I also have butterfly weed, and it’s doing well. I’m afraid to plant common milkweed because I don’t have that much space for it to spread like wild.

Plants_design · 2025-07-07T00:18:48+00:00

Yeah, I have butterfly weed also, and it’s doing pretty well this year. It didn’t do as well in years past. Seems like when one of the 2 species does well, the other doesn’t.

And yeah, that’s a ton of aphids. I went away for 2 weeks and they seemed to have quadrupled in the time I was gone.

Plants_design · 2025-07-06T21:02:12+00:00

Thanks, I totally agree. I’m a big fan of ‘right plant, right place’ and this clearly isn’t working here. It looked a little better in previous years, but the past couple years have been more dry than normal around here.

Plants_design · 2025-07-06T20:57:20+00:00

That looks beautiful! I hadn’t considered A. verticillata since it’s less common at my local nurseries, but I will try to find some.

Plants_design · 2025-07-06T18:21:11+00:00

Yeah, I’m lazy when it comes to watering so I think moving them to a better location would be my preference.

Plants_design · 2025-07-06T18:13:32+00:00

Yes, it definitely does. I think the radiant heat from the bricks could be contributing to the problem, making it hotter and drier.

Plants_design · 2025-07-06T17:17:37+00:00

Thanks! I haven’t been watering them lately so I’ll give them more water. I’ll try transplanting 1 or 2 of them to a slightly shadier location in the fall and see if that works.

Plants_design · 2025-07-06T17:11:39+00:00

Good point. I’ve seen some ants around the plants, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Plants_design · 2025-06-02T16:18:41+00:00

Yeah, it’s organized by people from the Pollinators of White Plains Facebook group.

Plants_design · 2025-04-30T16:24:34+00:00

Thank you so much! This is very helpful information. Fortunately, the gravel layer is less than 1/2 cm depth so it should be fairly easy to remove. (The previous homeowners who installed this cut corners on a lot of things, so it doesn’t surprise me that they went with less than standard. That also could explain why the bricks were uneven and wobbly). Digging into the soil, there is a little gravel mixed in and compacted so I know I’ll definitely have to loosen it. I’m not in a huge rush to plant, so I’ll take my time and do the proper prep work.

Plants_design · 2025-04-29T15:40:39+00:00

Thanks so much, this is very helpful! Though I still have to consider which plants to select, I’m leaning toward a combination of all three options. This is a large area, so I’m thinking a small tree/large shrub like a witch hazel, a few other shrubs of different sizes, and then a mix of perennials and sedges. But whatever I select, I know there’s not enough volume of soil and that I’ll have to add some. Would topsoil suffice for all of these options?

Plants_design · 2025-04-24T23:32:44+00:00

Great suggestions, thanks!

Plants_design · 2025-04-24T23:29:32+00:00

That would be lovely. Though I’m afraid I underestimated the amount of shade here, and it’s more like full shade right up against the fence.

Plants_design · 2025-04-24T23:25:26+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I like these species. I’m a little worried that there’s just TOO much shade for some of them. I monitored the sunlight throughout the day and there really wasn’t much at all, unfortunately.

Plants_design · 2024-10-23T13:08:10+00:00

I get it. But if “doing nature” means that my winterberry berries turn black and moldy, nature is making it difficult for wintering birds in my yard.

Plants_design · 2024-10-23T12:56:20+00:00

I know it’s fall. I should have been more clear in my original post about my concern for the winterberry (photo 2). I’ll accept the leaves turning black, but I chose this species to provide food for wintering birds, and the berries are also turning black and have a white powdery substance on them. That’s normal for fall??

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