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Is this not enough shade?

Posted by crescent_moon virginia 6b (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 18, 04 at 21:41

Hi everyone,
I think I have miscalculated how much shade I have in my front bed.It's west facing,but with lots of mature oaks,pines and cedars.I have 7 coral bells (mint frost),3
foamflowers,1 barrenwort and 2 heuchera that are very dark purple.Also 5 songbird columbines.They were all put in this
spring and all of them have had browned leaves and burnt
edges.I have 2 areas where I could possibly move them.
1)the north side of my house which faces deep woods
2)behind our 2 car garage.Both of these areas are deep shade;I mean not a sliver of sunlight on either areas.
Would that be too much shade?Any ideas?thanks,
Denah


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: Is this not enough shade?

Sounds more like a water problem than a sun problem. The coral bells will grow well with quite a bit of sun. I don't have any of the others listed.


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RE: Is this not enough shade?

the columbines can tolerate some sun too - i have some that grow prosper and do quite well in full sun. it might be a water problem - too much water - not enough water - poor drainage? dig down into the soil and see what you have for moisture say 3"-6" deep.


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RE: Is this not enough shade?

Hi,
I stuck my finger down in the soil about 3 inches or so.It
feels rather moist,but not too wet.I did amend the bed with a lot of compost last fall before I planted it this spring.
I don't think it's a drainage problem;the bed slopes down slightly.Any more ideas?Thank You!
Denah


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RE: Is this not enough shade?

It doesn't feel like a sun problem to me either. I have all of those West facing under a Red Oak. They do well.

I'm less confident of the COmumbines, but all the rest will do ok in deep shade. Foam flower will flower a bit less, Coral Bells will turn a bit greener.


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RE: Is this not enough shade?

If you amended your soil, is it possible that you overdid your fertilizer? That would cause the leaves to brown. Just a thought. Shel


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RE: Is this not enough shade?

Hi Shel,
Overdid the fertilizer?I never even considered that.We have
pink clay on top of gray clay here at our house.I just thought it needed all the help it could get!
Denah


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