Growing these hardy perennials adds foliage and color to your landscape where other plants won’t grow. Some of the best flowering plants for shade include hydrangeas, violets, hellebores, and astilbe flowers. Shade-loving perennials grow under trees, large bushes, or landscape areas that are in constant shadows. Perennial flowers for shade are perfect for growing in areas of your garden that get little sunlight. Check out our list for a few of our favorite suggestions.Email Pinterest Facebook Twitter Linkedin You may want perennials that repel flies and mosquitoes, or you might prefer brilliant flowers. Decide what characteristics you would like your plants to have and choose from those. There are many more than seventeen shade perennials from which you can choose. Colorful Shade Perennials for Your Garden Keeping an eye on your shade loving plants ensures that they not only do well but thrive in the environment in which you grow them. Get rid of debris and weeds every couple of weeks, check for insect damage and fertilize your garden with 1 to 2 inches of compost once a year. In times of drought, check on the leaves to see if they are wilting or turning yellow. If you’re experiencing dry weather, then you will have to water your plants at least one morning a week. Planting in the shade requires a little extra effort, as well.Īs with all gardens, your perennial shade garden needs water. However, you need to make sure your plants for shade are well-tended if you want them to come back next year. Perennials are popular because they come back every year, so you don’t have to keep planting new shrubs each spring or fall and you don’t have to spend money each season to buy new plants like annuals.Īnnuals for dry shade or wet conditions do give you instant color and fill in spaces quickly, whereas perennials take a while to grow and establish. Winter is too harsh and cold, and the soil is not soft enough. The summer weather is too hot and the days are too long for the plants to thrive. Summer and winter are not the right time for planting. One perk to planting in the fall is that most garden centers will have sales at this time, so you’ll save money. Spring is a good time for planting because the soil is warm, the sun is out, and the days are getting longer.įall is also suitable as it gives spring and summer blooming perennials the time to grow strong roots. The two options you have are spring and fall. Planting perennials for shade at the right time is essential. Water the plant well and fertilize a week later. Place the plant root-first in the hole you dug and fill it with soil and compost. Carefully pull your perennial plant out of the pot before gently loosening the roots. To plant your perennials, dig a hole that is twice as wide as the container and just as deep. The easiest way to plant shade perennials is to purchase them in a container, and that is what we’ll focus on now. The bare-root option requires that you soak the roots in water before planting in the ground and requires close attention until they sprout. As they grow, be sure to put them in a larger container and ensure that they get the nutrients they need with fertilizer or by amending the soil. Growing plants in pots is quite easy and you can even keep them in pots throughout their lifetime, rather than transplanting them into the garden. Seeds are the least expensive option but are also more difficult to grow, so this may not be the best form for beginners. There are three different forms of perennials for shade that you can purchase: container-grown plants, bare-root perennials, or seeds. The most important part of perennial plants for shade gardening or even those that prefer the sun is the roots, so be gentle during handling and planting. Take into consideration how tall and wide the plants will grow and place them accordingly in the garden. Figure out the area you want your plants to go and decide how much space you have for planting. Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)Īs with any other plant, the first step to planting shade loving perennials is planning.Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) – Color in Winter with this Shade Loving Perennial.Old-Fashioned Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis).Toad Lily (Tricyrtis) – The Beauty’s in the Details with this Shade Perennial.Japanese Pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis).Barrenwort (Epimedium grandiflorum) – Bright Colored Perennial for Shaded Areas.Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum var.Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium).Bigroot Geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum) – Fragrant Multi-Season Shade Perennials.Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’).Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) – A Classic Perennial for Shade.Colorful Shade Perennials for Your Garden.