I have a Turk's cap and American beautyberry growing in shady locations. Salvia microphylla can take shade and should be taller than Salvia greggii, depending on how tall yours is. Also, I've got some Big red sage (Salvia penstemonoides) in part shade that's blooming right now. What else... Salvia azurea grandiflora is tall, can take part shade, and it's impressive when blooming. Probably my favorite flower when blooming, but it's a little weedy on its own. Are you looking for a certain color or foliage?

How much taller are you looking for? False blue indigo (Baptisia australis) gets to 4ft+, will handle part shade, and doesn't seem to need much additional water once established. We've had gaura lindheimeri, red yucca, esperanza, flame acanthus, and big muhly grass growing in somewhat shaded beds with salvia greggii which are all taller counting their peduncles. Our beds are shaded by fences or trees before 10:00am and after 2:00pm. Have seen inland sea oats (chasmanthium latifolium) used nicely with autumn sage in heavier shade than ours.

Same experience as you with esperanza in Dallas; tecoma stans var angustata is rated to zone 7 but still doesn't always reliably survive the 8a cold in our wet clay.

It will be easier for me, and hopefully for you, to show some pictures of the area. I took out some plants between the salvia greggii and blue mist in the bottom middle of this photo:

That photo was taken at 4pm and by 5pm the area in question was in total sun. Hot, afternoon sun. But from about 9am until 5pm, it's in shade.

I got a break and took the next picture while the sun was behind a cloud. Same garden from the other direction:

bostedo, good question. I'd like it to be about 3 to 3-1/2 feet tall, just enough to make it interesting, and contrasting foliage would be nice too. I don't want everything the same height or the same leaf type. I had a gaura lindheimeri there but I think it must have been too wet for it. I have some gaura, probably prairie bee blossom, but it grows in a very dry part of my yard so I don't know how it would do there either. I have to water the salvia greggii at least once a week to keep the leaves from folding. But you have given me a thought. I have some gulf muhly that I need to move. But I have it in full sun now. I don't know how it would like so much shade. I also have some twistleaf yucca, but again, I don't know how it will like that much shade and moisture. I was planning to put it out by the street.

Perylene, I'm afraid turk's cap and beautyberry would get too tall in this location. I wish Hot lips salvia was native; I've always liked it. I have a salvia azurea a little further down from this spot. I just bought it this summer so it hasn't gotten big or weedy. yet. If I like it there, I'll let it spread. So far, it seems to like that area.

p.s. I also thought of little bluestem, but I was afraid it might look too weedy and be too aggressive there.

This post was edited by marti8a on Fri, Sep 5, 14 at 18:47

I found one - pink plains penstemon - that I think may work. What do you think of it IF I can find it for sale anywhere?

What do you think about Strawberry Euonymus aka Euonymus Americanus? It give gorgeous fall foliage and tiny red berries on stick like stems all winter. I have some that have longer leaves and get taller and some that have smaller leaves and stay shorter. They are most interesting to me in fall and winter but now they are all green with green berries.

I love that plant cynthia. It might be a bit big for this spot, but I may try it for awhile anyway.

How about a rock rose, Pavonia lasiopetala? They can take part sun, and I think you could keep it short enough there and still have it bloom.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rock Rose picture

I like the rock rose too. For now, I put a gulf muhly there, but I don't think it's going to live. When I dug it up, the roots were really shallow and I saw some grub worms in the hole.

I'm reorganizing some seed packets for fall sowing, and I saw in my notes that Mexican Hat (Ratibida columnifera) can take part shade, although I've only grown it in full sun so far. It's about 2 to 3 feet tall. It's a really pretty and easy wildflower; I had to pull mine out to make room for some of my more rare-ish plants, but I'm going to sow it again for next year in a better location.

Another idea: bee balms work in shade. I've grown Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) before, but you have to keep an eye out for powdery mildew on the wild natives. Good airflow around it helps, but it's still going to crop up every now and then.

I'm out of ideas for now. Ornamental grasses are nice, too. I need to grow more grasses around wildflowers.

I've got Mexican Hat near another tree, and it does ok, but it leans toward the sun. I thought of planting bergamot there, but like you said, the mildew can be a problem, and I would like this to completely fill, so it probably wouldn't be a good choice. This area tends to stay wet after a rain too.

Shrimp plant might work there. And if you like blues you might try a plumbago. Also, gulf muhly is a nice soft looking grass.

Yes, not all gaura seem okay with shade. We've tried three varieties in partial sun with mixed results. Only one that performed really well was 'Snow Fountain'. Could just be luck, but might be worth a look if you like the fit with salvia gregii.

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is another that should do well in your space. 'Magnus' is one that has stayed slightly taller than the autumn sage for us. Will flower even in heavy dappled shade, but color may be less vibrant.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gaura 'Fountain' series

This post was edited by bostedo on Mon, Sep 8, 14 at 0:29