The Master Gardener Articles

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Herbaceous Ornamental for Shade

If you have a shady area in your yard, don’t give in to mulching the area, but consider plants which are adapted to shady conditions. Shady areas are classified as deep shade (never received direct sunlight) medium shade (areas receiving reflected light only, ie. North side of building with unobstructed sky) or intermittent shade (dappled sunlight under arbors, trellises or sparely branched trees with less then 6 hours of sunlight).

Flowering annuals are poorly adapted to deep shade however a number are adapted to medium shade. Consider wax begonias, Coleus, Impatients, Monkey Flower and Wishbone flowers. As the light intensity increases to intermittent shade, your chooses increases.  Consider Browallia, Cosmos, Annual Foxglove, Impatients, Lobelia, Sweet Alyssum, Annual Lupines, Flowering Tobacco, Cup Flower, Evening Primrose, Martha Washington Geranium, Gloriosa Daisy, Black-eyed Susan Vine and Pansy.

If you are more interested in perennial flowers, your choices increase dramatically. For deep shade you can select Ebony Spleenwort, Lily of the Valley, Ferns, Sweet Woodruff, Hosta, Loosestrife, Harts tongue, Solomon’s Seal. As the sunlight increases to the medium level, consider bugleweed, Siberean Bugloss, Bleeding Heart, Fairy-Bells, Epimedium, Dropwart, Virginia Bluebells, Common Polypody, Lungwort and Flase Solomon’s Seal. Perennials well adopted to intermittent light include Monkshood, Lady’s Mantle, Italian Bugloss, Anemone, Columbine, Goatsbeard, Bergenia, Bellflower, Goldstar, Black Cohash, Bugbane, Foxglove, Leopard’s Bone, Horsetails, Cranesbill, Hellebore Coral Bells, Creeping Lily turf, Cardinal Flower Obedience Plant, Jacobs-ladder, Brackin Fern, Meadow Rue, Toad Lily, and Woodsin.

For more information on growing herbaceous ornamentals in the shade go to http://ohioline.osu.edu and search for Herbaceous Ornamental for Shade (HYG-1243-92) or contact gmcvey@ag.osu.edu.