Hello. I am newbie to gardening. There's an area in my garden under a Rhodo that gets afternoon sun. I have tried geraniums there and they don't do so well. Some actually die because of the lack of full sun. There is sunlight but it starts about 2 pm. I want to try tulip bulbs there but I don't think they will survive. Can anyone suggest a nice flowering annual or perennial for that spot. It has to be 12-24 inches in height. For perennials, I was thinking of lungworts, hostas, or heucheras. What about annuals? The area is about 10 feet long and 2 feet wide. Its slightly sloping so I can put small plants in front and taller plants in the back. Thank you.
Try impatiens - they should give you a good choice of colours. You might also consider foliage colour - what about coleus?
Thank you. Aren't Impatiens more like ground cover? I was looking for a taller plant. I was looking at lungworts or pulmonarias. Do you know any similar plants. Coleus are nice. I may try a few.
you'll need something that can withstand the heat of the afternoon sun, so shade lovers really won't work too well. also, the roots of the rhody will interfere with other plants if they're too close to it (similar to the problems of planting under trees). vinca would be a nice cover and then you could plant annuals interspersed or even various bulbs that would bloom at different times. daffodils, tulips, daylilys, etc. you could also plant some sedum - there are a lot of varieties, some 8 inches and many others taller. although most of them bloom in the fall, they provide nice accent beforehand. if you go with annuals, you'll have an almost endless selection...thing with that is you'll need to replant each year. you could mix a couple perennials in and then spice up the area with a few annuals (which you could change out every year). if you like geranium, try one of the 'cranesbill' types. they're perennial and would do well in that type of sunlight.
Where can I get "cranesbill"? I am a little confused with the term 'geranium'. I read that some geraniums are perennials. Is that true for our climate in Vancouver? What do you suggest for that kind of sun? Dahilas are very pretty. I might try them for that spot.
The tender plants with the common name geranium are Pelargonium. The plants commonly called hardy geranium are botanically Geranium. Geraniums of the latter type would work well for your garden space.
Campanulas may be a possibility. Hardy geraniums are good too. Wooly euphorbia is a good ground cover. You could scatter winter aconite seeds, an ephemeral late-winter plant. Epimediums? good foliage and pretty spring flowers.
Euphorbia Robbiae, Ophiopogon, Hellebores, Carex, Ferns, Dicentra eximia, Heucheras, Rubus calycinoides, Wood poppies, Corydalis, Anemone canadensis, Astilbe chinensis (does'nt need as much moisture), Lamium, Hardy geraniums, Hakonechloa, Epimediums, Ceratostigma, Brunnera, some of the sedums (they don't all need full sun).
I have a number of shade perennials to give away, including lungworts & geraniums. I'm located in south-east Vancouver but am generally unavailable weekdays due to work. If you are interested in coming by to see what I have and get an idea of what things look like send me a private message with your contact info.
I suggest you try _Campanula rapunculoides_. They are hardy and reliable, and bloom all summer into fall. I started with one volunteer (about 6" in diameter) and by whacking off and replanting any piece (with some root), now have dozens (maybe 100s?) of them. Trim them after bloom (at virtually any heighth - nearly to the ground, if you wish) and they will rebloom again and again. If you let some of them go to seed and you'll be able to gather/save/share bags full.
If you plant Campanula rapunculoides, you will NEVER get rid of it. It has deep fleshy roots, sends out new plants in all directions, and produces a kabillion seeds per flower. We've had them among the rhododendrons we moved from the back yard; they will always be with us.
I'm partial to lungwort. "Spilled Milk" has lovely spotted leaves, and color-changing flowers. Hostas, perhaps? These come in all sizes, from tiny to impressively huge---and variegated, too. ---Impatiens in shade??? Dunno about that.
When I have attempted to grow impatiens in shade the plants became leggy and flowered poorly. My best results occurred when I put them in bright sun with lots of water. LOTS of water. This held true for both the store-bought annuals and for the garden variety ("touch-me-nots").
I have a very shady both front and back, morning & afternoon shade, dry shade and moist shade. I'm still figuring out all the variations and what works best. some plants I have had success with include iris digitalis purpurea (except mine's yellow, what does that make it?) malva moschata Polygonatum biflorum ajuga reptans lamium Alchemilla mollis Physostegia Iberis sempervirens centaurea montana campanula latifolia I have 2 different sedums that are low growing and have yellow flowers - one is early blooming and the other blooms for most of June, July and into august. They can tolerate a lot of shade. I also have the stonecrop sedum "autumn joy' which is just now blooming - it needs more sun than the other ones so if you have afternoon sun it might be a good choice -
toad lillys are beutiful they bloom very late summer even eary fall. they seem to have tenasious roots.
