Shade-loving plants

The plants on this page thrive in the shade.  If they get too much sun, their leaves may get sunburned and they will need substantial supplemental water. 

Aesculus parviflora, bottlebrush buckeye  

I love this shrub!  It has a loose form, getting to be about 8' tall and wide.  It produces spikes of white, nectar-licious flowers in the summer and large seeds in the fall.  It does well in rich, moist soil such as is commonly found at the bottom of a shady slope.

Eurybia divaricata, white wood aster 

This is a wonderful plant for dry, shady areas.  It has vaguely heart-shaped leaves and will spread slowly to form a clump of plants 1-2' tall. It typicallyflowers in the late summer, once many of the other summer blooms have past, but before the fall bloomers get going.

 Tipularia discolor, cranefly orchid  

This is my favorite woodland plant in winter, when you can easily spy its leaves peeking through the leaf litter.  In the warmer months, the leaves disappear and the orchid sends up a shoot about a foot tall with pale flowers. 

Andersonglossum virginianum (formerly Cynoglossum), wild comfry or hound's tongue  

This is perennial plant thatlikes a shady place with moist to average soil.  It comes up in the spring with very fuzzy leaves that get to be several inches long and a few inches wide-- similar to the size and shape of a hound's tongue, I suppose.  It gets to be around 2' tall and produces stalks of small pale bluish flowers in mid- to late spring. It was very abundant in the woods at one CPR (plant rescue) site, so I've got a bunch of them looking for new homes.  You can find some nice pictures of it here:  https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/769248-Andersonglossum-virginianum/browse_photos

Chrysogonum virginianum, green-and-gold  

This is a very low-growing, spreading, evergreen perennial.  It makes a great groundcover in dry shade, and can tolerate about a half-day's sun.  It produces quarter-sized yellow flowers in the spring.   It would be a great replacement in the landscape for invasive plants such as English ivy, vinca (periwinkle), or liriope. 

Hexastylis arifolia, arrowleaf ginger or little brown jugs  

This cute little, slow-growing, evergreen plant thrives in well-drained shade. This is a wonderful plant for dry, shady areas.  Its brownish-dark purple flowers are produced underneath the mottled, heart-shaped leaves, so you have to make an effort to find them.  

Phacelia bipinnatifida, purple phacelia  

This is a biennial plant, for which I currently have first-year plants for sale.  The first year the seeds sprout, the plants develop their leaves and save up lots of energy.  The second year, they produce beautiful lavendar flowers, set seed, and die.  The following year, you will get lots more seedlings!  

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