A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Gardening in the Shade Need plant ideas

Help,

I am trying to start a garden of flowers under a pine tree. I really don't want to mess too much with the soil. I would like to know the best flowers to plant that will acctually live in this environment.

Can someone please help?

here are some to look at:

Hydrangea m. serr. 'Purple Tiers'
Rhoddendrons
Azaleas toward the sunny side of the tree near the dripline
Ferns do very well under evergreen trees
lily of the valley

It's not a very long list but it's a couple that might get you headed in the right direction.

Well, it'll be acidic soil, of course, so you would want to plant somethng like azaleas etc as already mentioned by tk above. Maybe hostas too. I actually have a couple of gooseberry bushes that fruit quite happily under some pine trees at the bottom of my garden.

But I always think one of the best pieces of advice is to have a peep at your neighbours' gardens and see what's growing under their trees (and maybe ask for some cuttings while you're at it)!

The problem with hostas are they require a bunch of water and nutrients which they will be competing with the tree for. So if your going to use them be sure to do a raised bed with edging protecting the tree trunk so the soil doesn't get raised next to the tree and cause the tree problems.

I hope I'm making sense. The soil needs to stay at the same level as it currently is around the trunk of the tree. But where you are going to plant the flowers you need to raise it several inches. So if you put a solid edging around the trunk of the tree and then out at about the drip line you can fill the space inbetween with garden soil and plant your shade garden in that space. There hopefully that is clearer. I'm not the best explainer lol sorry.

I agree with using hostas. We just put a hosta bed under a live oak in our back yard--it gets morning sun, so keeps the color true on the hostas. And the deal about protecting the trunk of your tree is for real!

Perennials: For ground covers, look into sedums. There is a really pretty bright, yellowish-green one with flat, circular leaves that brightens shady areas. I don't have it anymore (I planted it in the sun--duh!) But I have another kind under my Magnolia tree that is light green, and spreads really well. I'll see if I can take a picture of it, 'cause I don't know the name. Also, wandering jews (purple heart and fuzzy) actually came back after our especially cold winter.

Annuals: Try houseplants in that space. I get tired of begonias and impatiens, so I've put crotons, asparagus and boston fern (which will probably die out when it freezes), and pothos ivy in my third shade bed.