Both species can be grown in sun or shade and tolerate deep shade and dry shade. This is one of the reasons they are so useful for shady gardens. They are very undemanding plants, accepting a wide range of soil conditions.
You do need to go around in early spring and give them a severe haircut. This is much easier done if you remember to do it before they start into growth, when you can simply grab a handful of leaves and whack them off at almost ground level. I have also heard of people just mowing them (be careful to set your mower blades high enough so you don't damage the crown). If, on the other hand, you procrastinate and let the new growth get well underway, you will learn the meaning of the word tedious as you tease out the old foliage and cut each leaf individually so as not to damage the new leaves.
The plants don't mind if you don't do this tidying, but the leaves do get pretty ratty over winter. My local herd of White Tail Deer do a certain amount of cutting back for me during winter. I just wish they were more thorough, it would save me having to do it in spring.
There are a couple more harbingers I'll tell you about next time. See ya' later.
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