Phase II - Flowering Deciduous Shrubs For "The Wilderness": Hi Patti, and Welcome to Gardening In Shade. That's just what w

» Marge_Talt - Hi Patti, and Welcome to Gardening In Shade. That's just what w

Hi Patti, and Welcome to Gardening In Shade. That's just what we're here for, to help you find what you need on or off the web!

Because my garden is in a warmer climate than yours, I can't advise from experience, except to say I grow both the Purple Sand Cherry (Prunus x cistena) and Purple Smoke Tree (Cotinus coggygria) and love them. The Sand Cherry is rated hardy for even colder zones than yours, but the Smoke Tree is rated to USDA z. 4, preferably 5, so you may see some winter kill on it. That shouldn't be too much of a problem, because you can prune these plants quite severly for size and to increase the size of the leaves. You may want to keep it pruned anyway, because they can get pretty tall.

A bit of research suggests the following shrubs might work for you. All are rated hardy to at least USDA z. 4:

*Pieris floribunda (Mountain Pieris), evergreen, 2' to 6' (60 - 182 cm) tall, flowers in spring. I grow and love its relative Pieris japonica.
These plants really prefer shade.

*Rhododendron pericylymenoides (Pinxterbloom Azalea) - a stoloniferous, deciduous shrub averaging 4' to 6' (121 - 182 cm) tall with fragrant flowers in spring.

* Euonymus fortunei (Wintercreeper Euonymus) - tons of cultivars, many with either white/green or green/yellow variegations. Many will be either low shrubs or groundcover or climbing vines if given a chance. These are evergreen, at least for me.

* Euonymus alatus (Winged Euonymus), var. 'Compactus' or Burning Bush. Dark green foliage in summer turning bright shades of red in fall, good color even in shade.

* Various Cotoneasters, including: C. apiculatus (Cranberry Cotoneaster), C. adpressis (Creeping Cotoneaster), C. divaricatus (Spreading Cotoneaster). Some of these are short and some make huge shrubs. I've got a few in shade and they grow fine for me, don't berry and flower as well as in sun. You might need to take advice from a local nursery on them in heavy shade in your area.

The following web sites list some more that might be suitable for you:

I did a search for shrubs for shade in zone 4 on Gardening.com's plant encyclopedia -- here's the URL for the result of the search:

http://gardening.com/Encyclopedia/cgi-bi...

The only one listed by them that I disagree with is the Hydrangea macrophylla, unless the particular cultivar they are showing is extra hardy. You can see photos of the Burning Bush here, too.

If you plug in a plant name in the search box, the chances are good that they have a photo.

The MP Electric site at http://www.mpelectric.com/treebook/commo...
has a page of fact sheets on trees and some shrubs, among them Viburnum trilobum (American Cranberrybush Viburnum) and Viburnum dentatum (Arrowwood Viburnum) that are rated for your zone and produce berries and grow in shade.

I'm sure there are more out there, so if none of these appeal, let me know and I'll look some more.

One last thought, if the branches of your neighbor's maples are low to the ground and on your side of the property line, you may, legally, be able to prune them up to let in more light on your side. You would need to check your local ordinances on this one, tho'....don't want you getting in hot water :-)

Marge

-- posted by Marge_Talt