Master Gardeners frequently get asked questions. A recent question I received was, “What can I grow in darkness?” Hmm, I thought mushrooms, but asked, “Do you mean dense shade?”
Shade can be very welcome during summers. There are several degrees of shade, and shade can have dry or moist soil and/or be filled with roots or compacted soil. Observe the area at different times of the day and consider:
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Does the area get any direct sun?
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Is the area brightly lit, but no direct sun?
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How dry is the soil?
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Is the soil filled with roots?
Four to eight hours or less of sun is considered shady and can be full or dense shade, part shade, or light-filtered shade. Plant labels and descriptions usually give the amount of sun needed. Sun-loving plants will even appreciate afternoon shade from the western sun in Florida.
Planting in dense shade
Dense shade can be from buildings and fences or from trees like mature live oaks and magnolias. The soil can be filled with roots or compacted between buildings. The area can be used for sitting or walkways, and groundcovers can be used.
When planting groundcovers underneath trees, use the smallest size pot so you are not disturbing the trees’ roots unnecessarily. Move the hole over if you encounter a big root. Do not pile soil over the trees’ roots. Two to three inches of loose mulch can be used, like leaves or pine nuggets.
Some ground covers that can be used are Asiatic jasmine, cast iron plants, mondo grass, peperomia, frog fruit, lyreleaf sage, creeping sage, partridgeberry, twinflower, mosses and ferns.
Plants to avoid in shady areas
Avoid invasive plants like coral ardisia, tuber sword fern (frequently sold as a potted Boston fern houseplant) and English ivy. Most vining groundcovers, even the Asiatic jasmine, want to climb and will need to be hand-pulled off tree trunks and walls.
Don’t use weed eaters as they will cut the tree’s bark or your house’s stucco.
The area is perfect for those tender potted tropical plants like orchids and bromeliads, etc. A dense evergreen tree canopy may even provide enough protection from frost and freezes. Check the soil moisture requirements of the plants purchased. Even ones that take dry shade will need to have supplemental water during establishment. For accent plants, some of the ones listed for partial shade will work. Many of the plants are native to Florida woodlands. Choose plants that will survive after establishment, with little or no supplemental water.
Adding an irrigation system would cut too many roots and too much water with shade leads to diseases and rot. Large trees can even get trunk and root rot from impulse sprinklers hitting their trunk.
Planting in partial shade
Partial shade allows a larger selection of plants including firespike, ti plant, beauty berry, begonias, ornamental gingers (some spread aggressively), peacock gingers, caladiums, bromeliads, flax lily, farfugium, mahonia, oakleaf hydrangea, native azaleas,
Persian shield, sanchezia, Japanese plum yew, gold dust aucuba and liriope.
Filtered shade (from pine trees and deciduous trees) is perfect for camelias, fringe trees, redbud trees, Asiatic azaleas and bulbs like Narcissus and Lycoris. The typical idea of a Southern Garden. Consider using white flowers if most days you see your garden after dark.
3 types of effective shade gardens
1. A paver patio and walkways under a mature live oak, with light colored river rock mulch between the large roots and mulched ornamental planted beds further away in partial shade. Gravel isn’t recommended as a mulch in Florida, but the homeowner said organic mulch floated onto his walkways and the light brown river rock didn’t blow like gravel when leaves were blown off. Professionally installed low decks also work under large trees when the soil is filled with roots.
2. A low access boardwalk through a moist, shady area in your landscape with native ferns as a ground cover. A higher boardwalk to accommodate seasonal high water can be used through a flood plain to access open water. Your wetland plant choices will depend on whether the water is salty or not. Do not fill in low areas left by the building contractor as these drainage swales are necessary for surface water runoff control.
3. A “lawn” of moss. The homeowners said they gently blew or raked leaves off and only had to water during severe droughts as their soil was usually moist.
Your shaded landscape can be beautiful and quite enjoyable in the heat of the summer.
Brenda Daly is a Master Gardener volunteer with the Duval County Extension Service and the University of Florida/IFAS. For gardening questions, call the Duval County Extension Office at (904) 255-7450 from 9 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and ask for a Master Gardener volunteer.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: What plants grow best in the shade? Tips for a thriving lawn, garden
