Deep Shade Tropicals

[fieldfest]

Could you guys suggest some tropical plants that would grow in the border to the right of this pic? it doesnt get the sun at all, the glads shown in this pic got so little light they got all leggy and fell over with the weight of their flowers, not sure anything other than ferns will grow here but will welcome your ideas. has to be non toxic though as I have 2 small children (hence the slide). thanks

[Adam D]

What's the soil like mate? Dry, moist, wet? Clay, sand, loam? That would help us to give plant selections.

[RogerBacardy]

Nice neat garden, love the slide, good that you're harnessing the incline of the garden!

I have to say that North facing border doesn't look too shady to me. The fence looks less than 6ft, although there is some foliage from next door above the fence it doesn't look too shady. Maybe too shady for Gladioli and low growing sun lovers such as irises, but bigger plants should be okay.


Deep shade is when you have the canopy of trees above and very little reflected light. I have potted cordylines next to a dark 8ft fence (2ft wall under 6ft fence). I even have a cordyline growing in a cold and shady narrow alleyway by the side of my house.


As I see it, you have 2 options:
Something that tolerates shade and is child friendly (as the slide is right next to the border) Fatsia Japonica, ferns, tree ferns..... Phormiums seem to do well in the shade. I have 3 of them growing against the front of my North facing house and they never get any sun, but still grow. One of them even flowers!

or

Something child friendly which will grow tall and out of the shadow of the fence. Bamboo, cordylines, Trachycarpus F..

I'd be tempted with the latter and would go for Musa Basjoo, you're in the Isle of Wight so the psuedo-stem should overwinter without losing height, enabling the foliage to grow in the sunshine.

I guess you don't want something that will grow too wide as it would encroach on your neighbour's plot, but basjoo could just get cut back if it did that. I have a basjoo growing in the shade, next to a 6.5ft fence with the shade of passion flower above. Still growing! Hopefully next season it will get tall enough to be above the shade.


EDIT: I see now that it's the shade of the house which is an issue from mid-afternoon onwards, but I'd still stand by my suggestions. I use a gravel mulch in my borders, which helps to bounce the light around.

[fieldfest]

Thanks roger, might be able to have more fun with this part of the garden than I thought in that case

[fieldfest]

according to http://www.landis.org.uk/soilscapes/ my soil is "slowly permeable, seasonally wet slightly acidic but base-rich loamy and clayey"

I would say its quite clayey once you go down a foot or so

[Chad]

Depending on what ‘look’ you are after the opportunities are huge. The only style that would be a challenge is lots of tropical flowers.

For the ‘lush’ tropical look you are looking for big leaves. Ferns [you are dismissive of them in your question, but there is a huge range] ranging through, for example Blechnum chilense [coarsely divided leaf, but dark and glossy] to Lophosoria quadripinnata [huge fern with white backed leaves and finely divided] and perhaps a tree fern [Dicksonia antarctica would be fool proof with you – a Cyathea stunning but would need some winter protection].

As a contrast Darmera peltata would give entire leaves, and some spring flowers. Although it often grows by streams, it is a woodlander in the wild and takes ‘normal’ moisture without complaint. Rodgersia in its many forms should do too.


For colour a lot of the spring ‘ephemerals’ are naturally woodlanders, so spring would look after itself with snowdrops, Corydalis, wood anemones, Uvularia and so on. In summer some of the gingers are woodlanders too: Roscoea and Cautleya should thrive there.

Now there is a list that would fill a whole garden, and I’ve barely started! The challenge from a design angle is to remember that ‘less is more’. One or two main plants and small fillers would work better than trying to cram in everything. A single species [The Blechnum or the Darmera for example] would work well.

Enjoy the opportunity.

Chad.

[fieldfest]

Thanks Chad, i'll look that lot up, i do like big leaves and I would love a tree fern but theyre so expensive

[Chad]

I would love a tree fern but they're so expensive.

I've never been able to afford to buy one with a trunk. But they grow an impressive head when still quite small, and are 'cheap' [relatively] then.


Trevana Cross have small Dicksonia antarctica's for under £10. You would have full size leaves in two years if it was happy, and a trunk growing at up to two inches a year after that [may be faster if it's really happy - in Cornwall there is a famous example growing on the side of a pond that grew nearly 1ft a year].

Chad.

ps let us know what you decide. The board could probably supply most of it for just postage costs. But not a 6ft Dicksonia!

[simon]

You may need to widen your border for some of these suggestions but here are some pics from my shady side.

Clockwise from left; Rheum palmatum, Gunnera tinctoria, Astilboides Tabularis, Rodgersia, Hosta,



Left to right; Cautleya spicata, Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona', Begonia grandis ssp grandis, Brunnera macrophylla 'Mr. Morse', Fargesia Nitida 'Juizhaighou (2?)

[fieldfest]

I would love a tree fern but they're so expensive.

Trevana Cross have small Dicksonia antarctica's for under £10.

£12 plant, £25 post to the Isle of Wight , I hate shops that charge stupid amounts just because they can. Royal mail doesnt surcharge for deliveries to the Isle of Wight but shops charge extra

[The Codfather]

You may need to widen your border for some of these suggestions but here are some pics from my shady side.

Clockwise from left; Rheum palmatum, Gunnera tinctoria, Astilboides Tabularis, Rodgersia, Hosta,



Left to right; Cautleya spicata, Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona', Begonia grandis ssp grandis, Brunnera macrophylla 'Mr. Morse', Fargesia Nitida 'Juizhaighou (2?)

Wow..........come and plant my Garden

[fieldfest]

photobucket is blocked from my work so ill check out your pics when i get home

[redsquirrel]

chamaedorea radicalis,scheffy taiwainian,under planted with some hellebores for winter colour,some spotty dottys,,perhaps the odd fern.loads of possibilties.
could even put in some boos.

[AndyC]

Simon, your borders look great. Note to self, must try a Rheum this year.
Aruncus dioicus (Goatsbeard) looks good when grown with the Darmera and Rodgersia. A good looking fern for that border would be Osmunda regalis

[Adam D]

If you are feeling flush you could plant some Trilliums as well to give a slightly earlier start when Spring arrives.

Don't discount ground ferns as there are plenty you could grow quite successfully in that border.

With Hellebores don't just go for the hybrids as I reckon some of the other ones actually have much nicer foliage.

As mentioned above Rodgersias, Astilboides and Darmera will give you big leaves in time, but they do prefer it on the damp side if you want the really big leaves.

I must admit that I have a bit of a fetish for Rodgersia as I have about 10 different ones in my garden.

Another plant to consider is Bergenia cilata.

A good nursery to order from is www.plantsforshade.co.uk . I have ordered from them twice and I have been impressed with the quality of the plants they supply.