Evergreen shrubs for moderate shade
Jpolk34 (New Orleans, LA, Zone 9B)
3 years ago
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Jpolk34 (New Orleans, LA, Zone 9B)
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Fruiting shrubs that tolerate moderate shade?
Comments (6)Nick: Northwoods is right. If your walnuts are grafted to black walnut rootstock, as most are, they will seriously retard the development of other plants in a radius equal to their canopy. The bigger the trees grow, the larger the area affected. I saw this first hand when I planted to Capathians grafted to BW in my front yard. As the trees grew up, a flower bed about 20 feet away from either tree became sicker and sicker. When I finally cut down the miserable Carpathians, it took five years for the soil to recover. I could clearly see the fine BW roots in the flower bed when I dug it up each spring. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA...See MoreWhat evergreen shrubs will grow in shade?
Comments (0)Rhododendrons (Rhododendron spp.) are well known for blooming in the shade, but many, especially the small-leaved species, can grow in sun. In general the larger the leaves the more shade is needed. For warmer zones evergreen azaleas (Rhododendrons) will grow in part shade. Mountain and Sheep Laurel (Kalmia spp.) will grow in full shade, but will flower better in part shade. Other broad-leaved evergreens include Andromedas (Pieris spp) as well as Leucothoe spp, Mahonia spp, Gaultheria spp, Hebe spp. and Skimmia spp. Boxwood (Buxus spp.) and small leaved hollies (Ilex spp.) can be useful in foundation plantings and in hedges. Among the needled evergreens, dwarf forms of Cypress (Chamaecyparis spp.) and Hemlock (Tsuga spp.) are useful in the rock garden with light to nearly full shade. The Yews (Taxus spp.) are useful, but are often overused. Many of these shrubs have forms that are native to North America and are available in species and cultivars (cultivated varieties improved for size, fragrance, beauty or other desirable characteristic). Not all shrubs listed here are hardy to all zones, please evaluate them carefully for your site and conditions....See MoreRecommend a small , evergreen shrub for shade?
Comments (20)OP is back ;-) I appreciate all the answers I've gotten and I realize that I didn't give you enough to work with. In the first picture, you see the spot. The distance between the house and the hedge is 5 feet and 9 inches. The window is facing north and there's a public walk/bike path on the other side of the hedge (so more or less right outside the window) as you can see in the second picture: The hedge is carpinus betulus and not particularly dense, especially not in the winter: The room (behind the window) is going to become our bedroom. The window sits rather low (knee-height) and it gets very dark here in the winter (from 3.30pm to 8.30am), so when the lights are on, we'd feel rather exposed :-( Blinds would be ok, but I'd also like some kind of plant outside the window that together with the hedge would make it less easy to see every little detail in our bedroom when the lights are on and the blinds open. I'm afraid I have no idea whether I have acidic soil... I'll look up the suggestions you've all given me, but please feel free to share your opinion now that you have more information....See MoreShrubs and evergreens for shade
Comments (25)Ah yes, the Houzz whackiness ;-( You absolutely need a professional test. Sulfur is a lot less forgiving than lime for a variety of reasons, so adjusting soil pH down isn't a trivial matter. It takes a long time to begin to work, and overapplications can make the soil uninhabitable. This is magnified with a heavy soil. It isn't like the common idea of liming the lawn every spring, whether it needs it or not. Lowering pH isn't something that is usually recommended unless the gardener is up for a regular monitoring routine. Anywhere there is a lime pit, lime kiln or other historical lime operation can have pockets of relatively high pH soil. The county Soil & Water people will know if it is reasonable. The group that seems to be also quite informed on the subject is plumbers. Those are the people who told me that the standard pH indicator fluids don't do a good job of distinguishing between about 7.1 and 7.4. Gardening, and general horticultural types tend to assume that the soil is acidic just because it is in the east. The Taconic range used to be limestone mountains as high as the Himalayas. All that lime had to go somewhere, and some of it is in my yard. At this point, I'd say almost all of my 'mysterious' problems with plants that should do well here can be attributed to soil pH issues. OTOH, according to William Cullina, the easiest ladyslipper to establish in a garden prefers neutral to alkaline soil. Someday . . . ....See Moreken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years agoJpolk34 (New Orleans, LA, Zone 9B)
3 years agoJpolk34 (New Orleans, LA, Zone 9B)
3 years agoJpolk34 (New Orleans, LA, Zone 9B)
3 years agoJpolk34 (New Orleans, LA, Zone 9B)
3 years agoJpolk34 (New Orleans, LA, Zone 9B)
3 years agoJpolk34 (New Orleans, LA, Zone 9B)
3 years agoemmarene9
3 years ago
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