Shade Loving Perennials

Shade loving perennials are described as a hardy plant that persists for several years in little to no sunlight areas. These plants will grow bigger and bigger every year and some even until you can divide and split them to plant more. Shade loving perennials will take the cold a lot better and won’t need as much water compared to sun loving perennials. These perennials can be planted under trees or along a house where it is cool and moist.

Ferns have stems, leaves, and roots but do not produce seeds. On the underside of the leaves are spores that contain the genetics needed to grow a new fern. They may be green, yellow, black, brown, orange, or red in color. Ferns are very beautiful, green, and lush plants. They have deep fibrous roots and love wet woodland type areas. Ferns will go dormant in hot, dry weather however will perk back up in the late summer to fall rain.

Hostas can bring lots of color and texture to your flower bed. They are low growing and clump forming which means they can be divided and planted. They have large leaf coverage, and some varieties even produce flowers that are very pleasing to the eye as well as fragrant. Leaf tips of hostas will become sun scalded and scorched in full sun. They will develop deep, rich colored leaves in cool, dark areas. Leaf lengths can range from inches to feet. Their leaves can also have many well as shapes. Textures include smooth, veined, or kinds of textures as puckered. Shapes include heart shaped, cupped, or lance like. 

Ferns and hostas will be a great addition to your flower bed. Bringing in a variety of colorful leaves are well as fragrant flowers. It will be very easy to maintain as well since you won’t have to water as much or worry about deadheading as you do most flowers. Another perk is you will save money on having to buy more plants since hostas will multiply and ferns can reproduce with their spores! Other shade perennials [see link for list] include bleeding hearts, hellebores, columbine, coral bells.

Want amazing color in your garden “where the sun don’t shine?”

Coleus (Coleus blumei)  Coleus plants are eye-dazzlers and easy to grow with impossibly colorful leaves. They are not grown for their flowers but for their leaves.In fact you should pinch flowers off when they appear so that plant energy goes to the leaves. The leaf patterns and colors are distinctly on the wild side — spotted, splashed, and edged in shades of color ranging from purple, yellow, pink, intense red, and luminous chartreuse. Coleus thrives in heat and part shade and only need regular watering to flourish all summer. Some coleus trail so they make the perfect “spiller” for shady area pots.

 

Coleus can stand alone in the shade garden but are spectacular added to the Hostas or Ferns in the shade garden.  Coleus come in so many colors and shapes that they can be placed from the back to the front of your shade garden and make a statement or blend nicely with the perennials you already have planted.  

Coleus are fairly easy to start indoors from seed or plants are readily available just about anywhere nursery plants are sold.  Coleus will be the first plant to succumb to fall frost but if you move them indoors prior to that frost they make colorful houseplants over the winter.

 

 Cornell University has great information for choosing the right coleus variety and growing them in your home garden. 

There are new varieties that grow well in the sun as shown in this video.

Let's get growin' coleus!