Thus far, in this series about plants that tolerate the dry, rooty conditions under trees in my USDA zone 7 garden, we've talked about plants that don't need much (if any) extra coddling to survive.
This week, I'm going to share some of my special pets - plants that I keep an eye on and water regularly. These plants will not survive if they aren't watered, but, with this little bit of extra attention, they grow happily in this border. Of course, they are also located at the edge of the border; not directly around the trunks of the trees. This means they receive more light, although no direct sun once the trees have leafed out. The root competition is still, however, just as fierce as in any part of this border.
This page will be slow to load for many of you, because there are a number of photos. So, please, be patient.
Some of you may recognize this photograph, because I wrote about this group last January in "Foliage: The Living Palette - Part 4; Contrasts and Echoes". I wasn't too happy with it and put out a call for suggestions, resulting in a pretty lively discussion full of good ideas on improving the group. This spring, I moved the little Hosta 'Gold Drop' to another border and shifted the poor, hidden Heuchera 'Palace Purple' to the front. I like this much better, since the heuchera and the Carex buchananii now make a nice trio of color echos with the Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var pictum. I also moved the distressed Carex morrowii 'Aureovariegata', who was being swallowed by the fern - both are much happier now.
To the right of the hosta is Tricyrtis hirta 'Miyazaki', one of my favorite toad lilies because its blooms all down the stem at each leaf node. I also like its arching habit. Tricyrtis are great plants for shade if you can keep them moist. If the get too dry, the leaves start to brown at the edges and really look ratty.
To the right of this group, in front of Hosta 'Blue Angel', I put one of my super special pets, Arisaema sikokianum. This exotic relative of our native Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) is an early riser and wants to be somewhat dry over winter. She (because it is of blooming age) came back for me this year - to my extreme delight - but, until and unless some of the seedlings I'm growing get sturdy enough to join her, I won't be able to increase my stand from seed. It will take at least three years for my seedlings to bloom from all accounts. Some of the more exotic arisaemas aren't hardy in many areas, but this one has been grown successfully as far north as USDA zone 4 (Minneapolis, MN) -30F, according to The Arisaema Page's Hardiness Ratings. You may, however, need to stand ready with a bucket or bushel basket to cover it if frosts threaten once it pokes its nose above ground.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Marge Talt's Shade Gardening topic, please visit the Discussions page.