I'm growing some beautiful shade imaptiens (blushing crimson) on my front porch which gets almost no sun. I also have some coleus (colorblaze dark star). Its just pretty puple foliage. Looking for more so I'll check back to see what others say

I have a friend who grows amazing hostas in spots similar to what you are describing.

Very large pots require less water than smaller pots; that is the way I handle tree roots. Hostas and heucheras do very well in them.

In dry shade, I have four o'clocks that are perennial and very happy. From a handful of plants grown from seed about 12 or 13 years ago, I have had them reseed enough to fully populate an area about 20' wide by 40' long. There are on the eastern side of a very large pecan tree, so get early morning sun and dappled shade for the rest of the day. I do not water them and they mostly survived last summer's horrendous drought and heat wave. They are in a sandy-silty area. In dense clay in similar conditions they do not grow as well.

I have hollies growing quite well in everything from full sun to dense shade, so I am not certain that the shade is the reason the hollies are struggling. It would depend on what kind of holly you planted because some of them tolerate more shade and drought than others do.

I have purple wintercreeper in dense shade in very dense clay and it does pretty well, but had we not watered it some during last summer's drought, it might not have survived.

I cannot keep hostas alive in the ground in dry shade, but the deer like to eat them so they play a role in the death and disappearance of all my hostas. For a long time, I grew the groundcover ajuga in the area where the four o'clocks are now, but the drought of 2005 got them.

A lot depends on the kind of soil you have and on how much you're willing to water during dry spells. I have grown cannas in dappled shade forever with no irrigation, but only in sandy soil. In the dense clay we have here, without irrigation, they'll slowly decline and eventually die.

If you're only interested in annuals, there's several that like shade, with two of the most common ones being impatiens and begonias, Ornamental sweet potatoes have grown well for me in dense shade in both clay and sand. You can dig up the ornamental sweet potato tubers and overwinter them inside so you don't have to buy new ornamental sweet potatoes every year.

Crinum lily grows well for me in an area where it gets morning sun and then dappled shade for the rest of the day, and I always plant caladiums in that same area. They're annuals here. Perennials for dry shade might be trickier because in that situation, the type of the soil and how well it drains (or doesn't drain) is very important, so without knowing what sort of soil you have in that area, it is hard to know what kind of perennials to recommend.

Great ideas! I'm positive that my past failures are soil related. I have plans to raise the bed depth and add good soil from my garden but until I get that going some large pots are brilliant for this area. This is also where the dogs congregate so pots would enable me to plant some more tender plants. I'd like to fill it with bushy, perennials eventually but this sounds great for this year. Thank you again!

Native ferns grow all over eastern Ok in shade without irrigation. They go dormant in midsummer without water so aren't pretty, but they always come back. They are often on slopes so have good drainage. Azaleas are shade shrubs but must have good soil and ample water. Nandinas do well in dappled all day shade for me.

Dry shade is a problem for a lot of shade loving perennials in Oklahoma, but I have found the following work well. My backyard is all part shade surrounded by trees, which soak up the moisture quickly. Hence, dry shade. The following have worked well for me and survived last year's drought without skipping a beat. I did not water at all in my back yard.

Acanthus mollis - it may die back without any water, but it grows from a tuberous tap root, so once it is established, it will survive. The tall flower stalks remind me of Foxglove.

Variegated Solomon's Seal. Patch will increase each year and they really brighten up a shady spot.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit. Interesting plants in the Aroid family. Grow from tubers.

Spigelia marilandica = heautiful plants with red tubular blooms that hummers love.

Grape Hyacinths - spring bloomers.

Hellebores - foliage evergreen in winter; blooms very early spring.

For shrubs, Itea virginicas do well; white bottlebrush blooms in spring; red foliage in fall. 'Little Henry' is a nice cultivar.

Mahonia aquifolium or Grape Holly is a very attractive evergren shrub.

Holly ferns do very well in dry shade.

Epimediums are known for their tolerance to dry shady conditions.

Carex - ornamental, small grasses - just about any - come in colorful shades and interesting growth habits.

Susan