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| diggerdee and carl18 made passing reference in a current thread (titled "shade perennials / flowers") how they had experience with a rose or two which do just fine in "shade". I know foliage can be nice but flowers is where its at ;). Given the wealth of experience in this forum I thought it might be very worthwhile to create a list of perennials that can do their 'thing' in maybe much less than full sun; in defiance of what their nursery tag might say ie. full sun or even psun. I too have found that my "Knockout" rose is completely productive with at most 4 hours of direct sun. My "Sweet Autumn" clematis contributes so much to a shady area of my garden (very little direct sunlight).
And to a lesser extent this coreopsis "Star Cluster" does well with 3 to 4 hours of direct sun. So for what 'sun' plants have you pushed the envelope re the light aspect? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Actually, a great majority of plants for full-sun do quite well, dare I say prosper, in part-sun. Keep in mind that time of day the area gets sun makes a difference. So, the easier question might be to ask -- which full sun plants DON'T do well in partial sun. |
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| BTW Rouge - that clematis is fantastic! :0) |
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| Rouge Boy, these last few topics are fantastic. Someone on another thread mentioned that Persicaria Polymorpha did surprisingly well in shade. (I'm trying it this year, under a birch shade). Talk about a focal point for a shade garden if it works. |
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| boday, I had heard similarly re P. Polymorpha. So I planted one a couple of seasons ago in a less than sunny location. It has done just okay. But in fact if it did very really well it might actually be too large for the spot! They can grow huge. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Feb 28, 13 at 19:11
| the next post could be.. the biggest flower.. that tolerates shade ... the higher the performance expected.. like giant hybrid T roses.. sunflowers.. etc.. the more necessary full sun would be ... the ones that need the most energy.. to put out the biggest flower .. need the most sun ... though i would not be surprised if some of the large ones.. that are heavily water dependent.. might not enjoy shade.. as their water needs might be offset by hot blistering sun.. if that makes sense.. it does in my head ... lol ... [like some huge dahlia.. that wilts every afternoon in full sun.. might enjoy a bit of shade in the heat of the day .. to avoid the wilting ...] i once got an English hosta book.. and every single hosta was listed as full sun ... well.. at the 60th parallel.. they are all full sun.. but we dont live there .... so you always have to question.. where the info came from ... and conversely.. i will be interested if we come up with a list of small flowered plants ... the term.. as you are thinking.. is highly subjective ... ken |
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| the term.. as you are thinking.. is highly subjective . Which term Ken? For example "full sun" is actually quite specific i.e. 6 hours or more of direct sun. It is the "part shade/part sun" and "shade" aspects which for sure are much more difficult to quantify and vary greatly depending on the specific location. But this particular thread can provide very worthwhile information. I really enjoy reading about plants which have been successful in a light aspect which, simply put, seemingly contradicts the tag. Of course such information must be considered in the light ;) of many variables e.g. hardiness zone. But in the thread titled "shade perennials/flowers" two GW members commented that they have roses able to thrive in much less than full sun conditions. I too experience similarly....seems like a pattern here. And I am sure there are many gardeners that had not thought this possible but may now reconsider planting options...lots of fun for sure. |
This post was edited by rouge21 on Fri, Mar 1, 13 at 6:05
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| Many clematis do very well indeed in less than full sun. Check your variety with clematis on the web to see if it might do well in shade or pt. sun. Kalimeris Blue Star is one that does well in less than full sun. |
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| I put 2 KBS in full sun locations last season but with your experience I may try another in a more readily available shadier locale. |
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| Rouge I have KBS in places with as little as 3 to 4 hours direct sun and it's done very well. Wanted to try no direct sun but with the loss of several trees other plants need the space. Good plants thou for places with not enough sun for some yet to much for others. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Mar 1, 13 at 6:46
| what i was trying to say.. is that FULL SUN.. used on any tag.. or in any description is subjective... until you try a given plant.. in your garden.. in your sun.. you can NOT trust someone elses opinion ... this is a great topic ... nothing really dies in lesser sun.. they just dont thrive with vigor ... soooo.. move them if they fail to please you one year ... ken |
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| mxk3 wrote: BTW Rouge - that clematis is fantastic! Very kind of you...thank you. There is no doubt that this clematis would flower more prolifically with more sun but it is example of a plant which flowers in a light aspect 'darker' than it has been recommended for, often providing more flowers and so more colour than many partial shade or shade plants. It is these 'over achievers' that I want to know about! (checking at COTW the aspect listed for this particular clematis is "sunny") |
Here is a link that might be useful: sunny for SAClematis
This post was edited by rouge21 on Fri, Mar 1, 13 at 10:37
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| FULL SUN.. used on any tag.. or in any description is subjective... One might figure that growers might more often include the phrase part sun (in addition to "full sun") if only to expand the possible locations it can be planted. |
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- Posted by garden_crazy z5 N IL (My Page) on Fri, Mar 1, 13 at 12:07
| Besides the ones mentioned, I have echinacea White Swan and several pink ones growing with very little sun, 1-2 hours, Persicaria Firetail gets good light but maybe one 1-2 hours of direct sun, Several garden phlox get dappled sunlight, mums with 2-3 hours of sun, same for daylilies, Black-eyed Susan and Joe Pye get no direct sun, Rudbeckia triloba, about 2 hrs., Croftway Pink monarda 1-2 hrs., various nepetas get 2-3 hrs. , agastache, Blue Fortune, a native white achillea gets no sun, stonecrop sedum 2-3 hr. early sun, callirhoe, 3 hrs., creeping phlox, 2 hrs, - probably more I am not remembering. They all bloom fine and stand tall. They used to be in sun but the Might White Oaks are getting big - finally! -more HOSTAS!!!!! gc |
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| Another factor might be "where" the sun is...I have tried many full sun flowers in part to full shade and the issue I end up having is heliotropism because of the direction of my yard. Roses, Daylilies, Rudbeckias, Heleniums, etc. all have a tendency to point toward the light which means my neighbor sees the show and I get to see the back of the flowers. Some that do not lean are Agastache, Echinacea purpurea, some Salvias, Monarda and Baptisia. Rhonda |
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| Reminds me of renting a house with a chain link fence which to me is an abomination - cover it quick. So I grew nasturtiums. The back alley got the flowers, I got a mess of greens. Heliotropism. I was the comedic relief for all the neighbors. |
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| Actually i like having the chain link fence that you might be able to see in my picture above (the one with the "Sweet Autumn Clematis" draped along it). It is perfect for climbers and viners and as the other side is park (i.e. not more homes), I have planted many perennials on the park side which we can see from our backyard, through the chain link. |
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| boday, I had heard similarly re P. Polymorpha. So I planted one a couple of seasons ago in a less than sunny location. It has done just okay. But in fact if it did very really well it might actually be too large for the spot! They can grow huge. ----------------------------- Trying to establish sight lines, distance and close ups is a big challenge. Astrantia Roma looks great close up, thirty feet away is just a pinkish blob. Five plants disappear. |
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| An interesting list of plants garden_crazy that I wouldn't have thought would do well with such little direct sun. (I too have found that my persicaria ("Golden Arrow") is an excellent shade plant.) |
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| boday wrote: Astrantia Roma looks great close up Any pictures that you could share with us? |
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| Reminds me of renting a house with a chain link fence which to me is an abomination - cover it quick. So I grew nasturtiums. The back alley got the flowers, I got a mess of greens. Heliotropism. I was the comedic relief for all the neighbors. |
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| Astrantia Roma |
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| Excellent boday! GW member scottyboipdx also has wonderful Astrantia. (Btw, it appears that your "Roma" is part of a quite large garden plot? How big is this garden?) |
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| Vanishing Astrantia, Monarda Raspberry,Filipendula Venusta, sans Echs, Eupatorium |
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