Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

rate this answer

Sunday - June 15, 2008
From: Tallmadge, OH
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Flowering plants for shade in Ohio
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I am trying to find flowering plants I can grow in my perennial shade garden. So far I am having a difficult time except for hostas, nettle and myrtle. I need help to get my miniature lilac to bloom.ANSWER:
First, we hope to clarify what the plants are that are already in your perennial shade garden. Hostas are natives of Japan, China and Korea, large-leaved, beloved of snails and slugs the world over. Nettle, we're a little more puzzled over. There is Lamium maculatum (Spotted deadnettle), a herbaceous plant native to Europe, Asia and North Africa. It bears a superficial resemblance to the unrelated stinging nettles, but do not have stinging hairs and so are harmless or, apparently, "dead." We trust it is the Lamium and not real stinging nettles you have in your garden. The myrtle is another question altogether. In warmer climates, there is the Morella cerifera (wax myrtle), a North American native widely used as either a shrub or small tree, but not normally hardy enough for Ohio. Then, there is Myrtus communis, a culinary herb from the Mediterranean often used in Greek food. Again, doesn't sound hardy enough to be in Ohio.
Next, before we answer your first question, let's address the lilac you want to bloom. Lilacs bloom only for a quick couple of weeks in the Spring; so, if they have already done that, you're not going to get any more blooming until next Spring. The majority of natural lilacs come from Asia. In Europe, they come from the Balkans, France and Turkey. Of course, being non-native to North America, they do not appear in our Native Plant Database, but here is a website from Gardener's Network How to Grow and Care for Lilac Bushes.
So, let's look for some plants that will flower in your shade garden in Ohio, but we're going to recommend only plants native to your area. At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, we are dedicated to the use and care of plants native to North America, and also native to the area in which they will be growing. The reason for this is that native plants, being already used to the environment in which they will be asked to grow, will have less need of water, fertilizer and maintenance and more resistance to pests and diseases. First, we will go to the Recommended Species section of our website, click on Ohio on the map, and then select, separately, herbaceous perennials and shrubs for part shade (2-6 hours of sun a day) to shade (less than 2 hours of sun). You can make your own selections, adding other specifications, like the soil moisture. Fiinally, go to Suppliers, type in your city and state in the Enter Search Location box and you will get a list of native plant nurseries, seed companies and landscape consultants in your general area.
HERBS (Herbaceous perennials)
Anemone canadensis (Canadian anemone)
Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine)
Campanula rotundifolia (bluebell bellflower)
Coreopsis lanceolata (lanceleaf tickseed)
Delphinium tricorne (dwarf larkspur)
Monarda didyma (scarlet beebalm)
Lobelia cardinalis (cardinalflower)
Rudbeckia laciniata (cutleaf coneflower)
SHRUBS
Physocarpus opulifolius (common ninebark)
Cephalanthus occidentalis (common buttonbush)
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (coralberry)
Viburnum acerifolium (mapleleaf viburnum)
More Shade Tolerant Questions
Deer Resistant part shade plants for Austin:
March 28, 2010 - What evergreen shrubs would you recommend for a partly-shaded area, next to a wall, which can be trimmed to keep their shape and height (for symmetry)..this is for a front gate to a community, so we n...
view the full question and answer
Plants for shade native to New York
June 13, 2006 - I am gradually trying to convert my garden to all natives. I am working in a shaded area under a maple tree. Are there any varieties of epimediums/barrenwort or hellebores that are native to the nor...
view the full question and answer
Different shades of green in Taxodium distichum (bald cypress)
June 05, 2008 - I have two bald cypress trees 50 feet apart, but there was very different soil in the two holes. One was a clayey soil and the other was much more the Austin limestone soil. The trees are about 2 ye...
view the full question and answer
Erosion controlling plants for a shady Minnesota lakeside
August 11, 2015 - I live about 50 yards from a lake and there is a steep embankment. Recently someone decided to cut the trees off the embankment and now the dirt is eroding off the embankment as well as off my back ya...
view the full question and answer
Evergreen plants for shaded fence in Arizona
January 28, 2009 - I need to place a fence around my front yard (4-5 ft tall), in Arizona. What evergreen flower/plant can you recommend that would grow on this fence? (it would only get about 2-4 hours of sun daily and...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |