I have hydrangea aborescens in full shade. It’s pretty and puts out some blooms every year but doesn’t “grow” much. It has pretty much stayed 2-3 feet wide so you might plan for closer spacing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot depends on the type of shade. Is it from a building or a fence? Or trees? Deciduous, or evergreen?

Shade from trees. All grass there dies.

Is there a black walnut tree, by chance?

Anonymous wrote:A lot depends on the type of shade. Is it from a building or a fence? Or trees? Deciduous, or evergreen?

Shade from trees. All grass there dies.

Anonymous wrote:I planted Pennsylvania Sedge and native iris in a similar place. Also native Carolina rose bushes.

I also planted about a million other plants that died. So I gift you my lesson that cost me hundreds of dollars to learn.

Is the Carolina rose bush aggressive?

A lot depends on the type of shade. Is it from a building or a fence? Or trees? Deciduous, or evergreen?

I planted Pennsylvania Sedge and native iris in a similar place. Also native Carolina rose bushes.

I also planted about a million other plants that died. So I gift you my lesson that cost me hundreds of dollars to learn.

I have a similar muddy shaded area and this year, I planted strawberry bush (can’t remember the scientific name), turtlehead, maple leaf viburnum, swamp milkweed, sweet bay magnolia, and the same hydrangea you mentioned.

Anonymous wrote:Camellias are good in quite a bit of shade.

Non-native, and can't handle wetness.

Camellias are good in quite a bit of shade.

Buttonbush does well in wet areas. It will be happier in partial shade but might be okay in shade.

Muddy as in no drainage? That will be tough as you don't want to suffocate the roots.

Assuming the water does drain:

American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) would be happy there but it can get up to 10 feet.

Euonymus americanus (strawberry bush)

Ilex glabra (inkberry) can handle full shade and wet soil

Lindera benzoin (spice bush) same.

Rhododendron maximum (rosebay rhody) wants some dappled sun, but might be ok, unless by muddy you mean you have no drainage; it won't like that.

Viburnum nudum (possumhaw) is your best bet for wet shade. But it gets much taller than you want. Sweetspire will work too, but it's a fairly vertical plant. You'll need several to fill an area that large, although it will sucker about a bit. Hypericum prolificum (Shrubby St. Johnswort) might work too. It's a lot smaller, and tolerant of periodic wetness.

Be careful with viburnum. Some native ones grow well in partial shade but a lot are exotic invasive ones and some may be mislabeled.

These plants all do best in partial shade, even full sun for the viburnum. You may not get optimal performance in full shade. That said, Brookside Gardens in Wheaton has several viburnum varieties growing under tall trees. That may give you some ideas.

We have a muddy full shade area in our yard we are trying to plant native shrubs.

Area 1 - 15' x 2'. Thinking of 3 hydrangea aborescens.

Area 2 - 11' x 7'. One Virginia sweet spire or one type of viburnum. Some kind of shrub with wide spread.


Are these good choices? They should fill most of the area right? Based on what I read, seems like we only need 4 plants total to cover most of the area. Prefer shrubs that don't get taller than 6-8', although I suppose I can prune when needed. Bonus for rapid growth and very low maintenance. I am terrible at gardening. If you recommend viburnum for full shade, is there any specific species?