Best Bets: Native Plants for Shade – New in 2023!

Chapter Breaks

• 0:00:00 Introduction & Overview
• 0:01:47 Gardening in Shade
• 0:08:10 Understory Trees
• 0:22:01 Landscaping Under Trees
• 0:23:54 Questions
• 0:30:00 Shrubs
• 0:51:45 Questions
• 0:57:00 Woodland Wildflowers
• 1:05:58 Ferns
• 1:10:47 Grasses & Sedges
• 1:14:11 Ground Covers
• 1:19:26 Resources
• 1:22:20 Questions

• American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana)
• Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)
• Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
• Flowering Dogwood (Cornus floridus)
• Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)
• Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) *
• Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) *

Others to Consider

• Hop-hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) *
• Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) *
• Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

Dry to Moist

• Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
• Pinxterbloom Azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides)
• Great Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)
• Strawberry Bush (Euonymus americanus)
• Wild Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
• Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
• Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) *
• American Beauty-berry (Callicarpa americana)

Moist to Wet

• Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica) *
• Possum-haw (Viburnum nudum)
• Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) *
• Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)

Others to Consider

• Coastal Doghobble (Leucothoe axillaris)
• Dwarf Fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii)
• Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
• Sweet-shrub (Calycanthus floridus) *

Perennials (dry to wet)

• Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) *
• Blue-stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
• Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)
• Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata)
• Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
• Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) *
• White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)

Ephemerals

• Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
• Large-flowered Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora)

Clumping

• Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron)
• Marginal Wood Fern (Dryopteris marginalis)
• Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)

Slow-spreading

• Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum)
• Interrupted Fern (Osmunda claytoniana)
• Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum)
• Royal Fern (Osmunda spectabilis)

Fast-spreading

• Hay-scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula)
• Lady Fern (Athyrium asplenioides)
• Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)
• Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)

Cool-season Grasses

• Wavy Hair Grass (Deschampsia flexuosa)
• Bottlebrush Grass (Elymus hystrix)
• River Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)

Sedges for Dry Shade

• Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica)
• Appalachian Sedge (Carex appalachica)
• Plantain-leaved Sedge (Carex plantaginea)

Sedges for Moist-to-Wet

• Gray’s Sedge (Carex grayi)
• Blue Wood Sedge (Carex flaccosperma)
• Creek Sedge (Carex amphibola)

Deciduous

• Violets (Viola spp.) *
• Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) *
• White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata) *
• Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) *
• Wild Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum) *
• Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium reptans) *

Evergreen

• Allegheny Spurge (Pachysandra procumbens) *
• Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea) *
• Green-and-Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) *
• Partridge-berry (Mitchella repens) *
• Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

Suggestion List

• Best Bets: Native Plants for Partially Shady or Shady Locations
• Short Video in Glencarlyn Garden Series
  Getting to Know Beautyberries

Reports of Plant Trials at Mt. Cuba

• Carex for the Mid-Atlantic Region
• Wild Hydrangea for the Mid-Atlantic Region

Recorded Presentations

• Common Native Ferns of the Mid-Atlantic
• Native Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes for the Home Garden
• Native Ground Covers for Sun & Shade
• Native Spring Ephemerals

Books for Inspiration

• Darke, Rick. The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest. Timber Press, Portland, 2002.
• Darke, Rick & Doug Tallamy. The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden. Timber Press, Portland, 2014.

Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens

• Quarry Shade Garden at Bon Air Park
  (includes slide show)
• Quarry Shade Garden News
  (essays on shade garden plants)
• Quarry Shade Garden Brochure
  (includes plant list)
• Tips for Gardening in the Shade
• Glencarlyn Library Community Garden
• Small Space Garden
• Simpson Park Garden

Where to Buy Native Plants

• Plant NoVA Natives (Native-Only Sellers)
• Plant NoVA Natives (Local Native Plant Sales)
• Maryland Native Plant Society (Native Plant Sales & Regional Vendors)