A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Flowering Bush for shady area

Looking for suggestions for what to plant in front of my house. I want something that will flower all summer, grow no taller than 6-7ft, and will do OK in partial-full shade.
I would love to put rose of sharon there, but I am afraid it may be too shady for them. The front of my house faces north, so it gets shadier and shadier as the summer wears on.
Ok, lemme have those suggestions!

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/ps~trees.html

Hi Murphyette,

I don't know what zone you are in as Michigan has zones 3 to 6, but I can't think of any shrub in those zones that would bloom all summer under those light conditions. You might want to consider either a variegated shrub or planting other variegated plants in front of green shrubs for color. There are many varieties of hosta and heuchera with beautiful leaves for color all summer in shady conditions.

Newt

Hey Murphyette,
I have "Miss Kim" Korean lilac bush
only recieves a tiny bit of sun in the morning,
and a wee~bit at 4:00pm to sunset...
And it blooms beautifully for me...
(*I personally am not overly crazy about the smell, I love the regular lilac's alot better...
but my mom likes it alot, so to each may be different)
But it's almost carefree, I clip a branch or something if a big branch from my really old maple tree that's towering over it, I did a tiny bit of pruning it in the begining until I read it said hardly needed any pruning... so I've left it alone since...
Draw back it only blooms once and it's in late spring/early summer..
It's also only about 5' 6' tall...

The rose of Sharon's bloom alot later in the summer.

Weezie

Murphyette, I planted lorapetalum in front of my foundation when we first moved here two years ago. They are shaded in the morning, but they do receive some late afternoon sun. Every time I have looked at them this year, I have seen plenty of blooms. Still blooming with the cold front that SC is having, as a matter of fact. I don't know how they would do there in your area, but you might could google them to find out. If you can't find lorapetalum, check for Chinese fringe tree.

Dianna

Dianna,
What color did you plant?
The white or pink??
I think those are very pretty flowers....

Not sure of the zone for her though,
They are growing zones 7-10..

What zone are you Murphyette?????

Weezie

I planted the pink/burgundy, Weezie. They are just gorgeous!

Dianna