Tips for gardening in dry shade

Most shade plants prefer moist soil, so dry shade presents a special challenge for gardeners.

My own shade garden (pictured below) is quite dry because it's under a grove of evergreens, but it was only shady area I had to work with.

It's a common myth that nothing will grow under pine or spruce trees because dropped needles turn the soil acidic. But as you can see, perennials can thrive in these conditions.

In fact, the big reason many plants don't thrive under evergreens is extreme dryness. The cure: watering deeply once a week, and layering a few inches mulch over the soil.

Shade too dense? Try letting in a little more light

To let more light into your shade garden, consider limbing trees up by cutting off some of the bottom branches.

Selective pruning to let in more light works with deciduous trees, pine trees or thin older spruces, but don't do this if your evergreen is a perfect Christmas tree shape with branches down to ground level. Instead, mulch under the tree rather than disfigure it for the sake of a few impatiens or hostas underneath.

If all else fails, put shade-loving plants in containers and use those under your evergreen trees instead.

Choosing perennials for dry conditions in the shade

You're most likely to find dry shade under trees with spreading, shallow roots, such as Norway maple, beech, and willow, and, of course, evergreen trees.

To give your plants the best possible chance under such conditions, water them regularly and fertilize more often than you normally would.

The following plants will perk up a dry, shady spot in your garden – which is not to say that they prefer dryness, just that they'll do better in dryer conditions than other shade plants. Be sure to remember to water them well in the first couple of months while they're getting established.

Dry shade survivors:

Barren strawberry (Waldsteinia): A low-growing, dense mat of leaves that slightly resemble those of strawberries.

Big-root geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum): Attractive and aromatic leaves, flowers in late spring in colors ranging from white to pink and magenta, depending on cultivar. Not to be confused with the common annual geraniums of the genus Pelargonium.

Bishop's hat, or barrenwort (Epimedium x versicolor): Attractive heart-shaped leaves. With its delicate yellow flowers, 'Sulphureum' is the most popular cultivar.

Dead nettle (Lamium maculatum): Look for cultivars such as 'Beacon Silver' with rosy pink flowers and silver leaves edged in green or the white-blooming 'White Nancy'.

Heart-leaved bergenia (Bergenia cordifolia): Large, leathery leaves and rose-pink flowers in early spring—looks great in a big grouping.

Sweet woodruff (Gallium odoratum): Finely textured leaves and white flowers in spring—top-flight ground cover in the shade garden. Will spread.

Ground cover plants: To make dry shade gardening really easy, consider the big three ground covers – ivy, pachysandra, and periwinkle – which are all tough evergreen perennial plants, perfect for the shade garden.

See also perennial ground cover plants and how to use them effectively in your garden.

Related information:

Go from Dry Shade to Shade Garden Soil Improvement

Main Shade Gardening page

Helleborus × hybridus, 2005 perennial of the year,
a terrific shade plant

Also for shade - Japanese Painted Fern

Hostas - queen of the shade perennials

Flower Gardening Home