Buttonbush: sun or shade?
crabbygardener
10 years ago
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Comments (11)
bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
10 years agoRelated Discussions
North garden w/ AM shade, PM sun: full sun or partial shade?
Comments (8)I think you would be fine with hydrangeas there. If salvias are too floppy, try some veronicas or agastaches. You might even be able to grow baptista (false indigo). I have a similar exposure in my zone 5 Iowa yard. Trees along one side, and then it slopes too, so it is a bit of an odd long bed. It used to be grass and mostly invasive Asian honesuckle shrubs. I have only been gardening at this house for 1 1/2 years, so I am still experimenting; plus I am new to this zone and previously lived in zone 9. I first considered this area part shade and planted accordingly. Now I see there are pockets of more and less sun. In this area the plants doing best are: Hostas--This surprised me, but I see them in full sun around town now that I have started looking. Not sure if it is the same for zone 6. Foam flower--this looks GREAT right now with tidy foliage and is still blooming. I had some red tulips behind the foam flower and they looked lovely. Columbines--flowering nicely with airy foliage. Agastache--the one I have has short white flowers, but blues are common I think. Overwintered and re-sowed abundantly. My soil drains well so may be why they like it there. Garden phlox--were small plants last year from Bluestone spring sale. SO far they are growing nicely but will see if they flop. Today the whole area seemed to be in so much sun! Daylillies--will see how they do this year Foxglove--sowed last summer, getting ready to bloom, seems to be good for them in this spot. Monarda, bloomed last summer and no flopping. Soloman's seal--in a shadier pocket, but still gets some afternoon sun. Doing really well right now. helleborus--one little helleborus which has been doing great so far this spring, to my surprise. When I realized how sunny the spot was, I thought I'd move this little plant, but it is doign well. Toad lily--these are growing nicely and had attractive late flowers last year. Lobelia--there are some nice blue lobelias available. low growing veronicas--doing very well and blooming profusely. Happy planting. :)...See MoreFull Sun, Morning Sun, Shade?
Comments (3)Hi harryshoe. I find that heuchera, heucherella and tiarella are really more of a shade tolerant plant rather than a shade loving plant. Very few plants that growers describe as shade loving can take deep, dark shade. For instance, many people will try to grow hostas (which are often described as shade loving plants) underneath their porch or on a dark forest floor only to find that the plants soon waste away to nothing. I grow all of my heuchera and relatives in at least morning sun. The lighter leaved varieties (such as the yellows and lime greens) will need full or dappled afternoon shade or their leaves will burn. The orange and red varieties can take a lot more sun and most of mine can take a full day's sun. The dark leaved ones actually need quite a bit of sun to grow well and are the most sun tolerant of the bunch. I'm I the PNW (WA state) and our weather is often dissimilar to other parts of the country. This usually means that I can grow things in more sun than other people can because it's generally wet and mild here. I'm not sure what your summers are like there in eastern PA, but I'm sure your heuchs would appreciate at least morning sun. You could try them in pots first. That way you could move them around your yard in order to find the spots where they seem happy. A word of warning, though. Heuchs get crown rot if they're too wet, so make sure your pots have great drainage and you only keep the soil damp, not soaked. I never grow my heuchs in pots here because it's too wet and they rot away to nothing in no time. Hope this has helped you. Heucheras are worth growing and are generally an easy plant once they're situated correctly....See MoreShade tolerant, sun loving, sun tolerant, shade loving???
Comments (8)well ... hmmmm .... you are on the right track ... but working on the wrong variables ... i am going to come at it from another angle ... hosta are VERY HEAVY WATER USERS ... and they use the most water.. in the most heat .. which is why they struggle in the deep south ... they simply cant pump enough water to offset the loss ... and part of that is ... night temps.. they can cope better up here in MI because at night it cools considerably ... hosta actually sweat ... transpire ... in england.. which is above the 60th parallel.. or 2/3 of the way to the north pole.. they are ALL FULL SUN ... partly because the sun barely shines.. lol .. but also because of the declination of the sun.. the British are a pasty peeps.. because the sun is not as strong.. so the hosta can cope ... compare that to LA.. and you can see a stark difference. .. so.. hosta can grow in full sun .. hosta are only shade tolerant.. but the sun .. or conversely.. the shade is not really the issue.... its all about how effectively they can pump.. enough water. and if they have a recovery period to cope ... the fact that a hosta looks ratty in late summer.. is more a function of not enough water.. rather than too much light ... ken ps: zone.. which is.. in its simplest form.. MINIMUM WINTER TEMP ... has nothing to do with it .... pps: i have tons of wood hyacinths.. i dont know why you failed with those.. unless there are multiple plants under that common name ... ppps: hosta also have a requisite dormancy period.. and if you go too far south.. they dont get it ......See MoreFull Sun? Part-Sun? Part-Shade?
Comments (2)Sounds interesting but other factors do effect the readings - time of day for instance. For the cost of a roll of film and processing I took a day and from my upstairs bedroom window took photos every hour from sunup to sunset, in early June and again in August as the arc of the sun does change. I then made a sketch of my yard and location of planting beds and was able to calculate hours of sunlight on each section. Some areas got only midday light, others only early am or pm and actual amount of light was considerably less than I thought. But anything that helps pick plants appropriately is very appreciated!...See Moredbarron
10 years agolukifell
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9 years agoellessebee
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9 months agocyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
8 months ago
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