Native Plants

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Sunday - September 21, 2008

From: Rahway, NJ
Region: Northeast
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Plants for shade in New Jersey
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

hi ,i live in rahway nj and i was wondering what are good plant and shrubs to plant for this area. we are doing all new landscaping and we have alot of shade areas. we like the ornamental grasses but they say they are full sun . would they still grow if we planted them in an area that gets more shade then sun. thank you d them in a shadey area?

ANSWER:

Many of the ornamental grasses are not native grasses and since our focus here at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is wth plants native to North America, we can't really advise you on non-natives. However, I seriously doubt that plants that are recommended for full sun will flourish in shade or partial shade. They might stay alive, but wouldn't be very attractive.

You can find a list of native 'ornamental' grasses (at least Mr. Smarty Plants thinks they are ornamental) that will grow in the shade or partial shade by doing a COMBINATION SEARCH in our Native Plant Database and selecting New Jersey from the "Select State or Province" option, 'Grass/Grass-like' from the "Habit (general appearance)" option, and 'Partial shade...' from the "Light requirement" option. This will give you a list of more than 100 grasses or grass-like plants. Here are a few ornamental native grasses that Mr. Smarty Plants recommends:

Carex blanda (eastern woodland sedge)

Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)

Chasmanthium latifolium (Inland sea oats)

Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye)

Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem)

Since you have abundant shade, you might consider ferns. You can find a list by doing the same search above, but substituting 'Ferns' for 'Grass/Grass-like' from the "Habit (general appearance)" option. Here are some recommendations:

Athyrium filix-femina (common ladyfern)

Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern)

Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)

Osmunda regalis (royal fern)

Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)

Finally, you can find a list of native plants that are commercially available for landscaping in New Jersey by selecting the state from the map on our Recommended Species page. When you reach the list, you can choose NARROW YOUR SEARCH and select 'Part shade...' from the "Light Requirement" option. This list has nearly 95 species that will grow in the partial shade (2 to 6 of hours or sun per day). The list includes trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. For all the plants recommended (including the ones above) you will need to compare the requirements for soil moisture and type as well as available sunlight with those available for your area.