I'm headed out the door to work, so this will be brief...and probably incomplete!:o)

With this drought, the pines are going to suck up every bit of moisture you put down. They need it. However pines do tend to prefer it a bit on the dry side, so I think putting in a water lover like astilbe is going to be a loosing battle in the long run.

I think adding more than an inch or so of compost has the potential to affect the pines root systems.

I would look for dry shade loving plants.

Barb

Posted by LizinElizabeth

Any experienced advice would be appreciated

I don't know if this will help or not but I've got quite a bit of experience growing vegetables under pine (ponderosa). I can say that they are a good deal easier to grow near than spruce.

Perhaps it is my soil - it is very rocky and the pines must easily send their roots straight down. I wish that could be said about the spruce. They invade everything! I've yet to come up with much of anything that will tolerate living under them, that includes ornamental groundcovers like ajuga. Tried twice to get that started and I don't think either planting lasted for 3 years! Columbines lasted the longest but didn't look like much in fairly short order.

Mulch? Where the veggies are, I have added mulch to the paths - mostly lawn clippings & pine needle compost. This has suppressed the chickweed that likes to grow there. The compost is incorporated into the growing beds each year.

By the way, this shady corner of the veggie garden has morning sun. Plants grow quite well there but it does take extra water.

. . . don't know whether that helps but there's my experience.

Steve

Sounds like I'll have to find a new home for the few astilbes I haven't killed under the pines and plant something more dry tolerant! Anyone know of anything that LIKES to grow under pines?

I bet lamium and periwinkle would be fine. I've got periwinkle on the south side of a tree and it seems happier there than where the house provides shade until afternoon.

Hosta would give you more "color" but hydrangeas might do it better.

I can't think of anything "astilbe-like," maybe the lamium . . ? Would it be okay if you have a little patch of ground for flowering annuals? I still can't think of anything anything "astilbe-like," however. That would have been nice with the water . . .

Steve

I've been looking and it's tough to find dry shade lovers! Surfing the net for 'dry shade perennials in Colorado' I found suggestions of Artemisia, Coral Bells, Lady's Mantle, Lenten Rose, Lungwort, Periwinkle (Vinca major) and Sweet Woodruff.

Astilbe was mentioned, but with the caveat that they need more moisture. Think we both learned that, as I killed one this summer in nearly full shade.

Digit's picks were there, too.

Barb

I'm in the same predicament- the neighbors huge pine tree covers some of our yard and I wanted to plant underneath. Glad you posted because I didn't know pines would take most the water.

I bought some cyclamen bulbs to plant underneath. I don't know how much water bulbs need but the Denver Botanic Garden people seemed to think it would work. I was thinking of bleeding hearts, hoping rather. Could they work?

I also have something called a jack frost that's variegated and shade loving. It's not a hosta or coral bell. The leaves are quite pretty and add some light.

I have been trying to make a shade garden under a mature fur tree and I'm having trouble also. The Hosta's are looking sad and also the fern. The Ladys Mantle, lamium, coral bells, and johnny jump ups are thriving. Of the astilbe's I planted the Peach Blossom seems to be doing better than the others.The Columbines seem to be struggling. There's a few plants I'm going to try next year, sword fern, bergenia,geranium macrorrhizum (ingwersen's variety) and Acanthus Mollis (bears britches). I've read they will all take dry shade once established.