i have that at the link in complete shade ...

its has a lot of runners.. very shallow.. can easily be pulled out

its a knotweed .. so many peeps complain about it ... i have no idea how aggressive it might be in good soil .. though mine is in sand.. on irrigation ...

in my circ's .. its not very aggressive .. and easily tamed.. and frankly.. the only place it wont burn horribly ...

as i walk thru the hosta with peeps.. i often yank one out and hand it too peeps.. lol .. my way of controlling it ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link -- flip to the SEARCH side ...

Thanks Ken for the post. I have seen this plant (Fallopia japonica 'Variegata') but I didn't realize it could grow as large as I see stated on the web. (I have a very similar plant to this in another garden..."Painter's Palette" (Persicaria virginiana) which also does well in significant shade but does not grow as large.)

I now realize I have a few first year "Aralia cordata 'Sun King'. I am not sure how much shade they can take and there is still some debate on how large it can get. I want the anchor shrub to be impressive in the very shady back corner; able to attain a size of around 4' by 4'.

I am always looking for an excuse to plant a Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum' but maybe too much shade in the spot I am thinking about. (I know it can grow much taller than 4 feet but it is my understanding that it is very slow growing).

I've got a calycanthus in deep shade and it's quite happy. It suckers, but so far only close to the main shrub, so that's not a problem for me. It is wide but not tall - probably about 4 feet tall. The fall color is lovely, and it flowers quite freely, even in shade. Oh, and I almost never water it, so it gets pretty dry.

rhoddies/azalea are the easy answer. enkianthus. diervilla lonicera.

I saw a stephanandra growing under a small grove in shade as deep as i've seen in a landscape setting...looked as good as anything i've ever seen.

a lot of the traditional hedge plants are remarkably flexible.

Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
Bush Honeysuckle (any of the Diervilla sp.)
February Daphne (Daphne mezereum)
Kumson Forsythia (Forsythia viridissima 'Kumson')

All are in the shade of a large silver maple and do very well.

I have tried Calycanthus floridus, Kerria japonica, Acer japonicum, & Eleutherococcus sieboldianus 'Variegatus' in the same area.
1. The Calycanthus got smaller every year until I moved it to a moister area.
2. Acer japonicum needs lots of irrigation.
3. Kerria japonica does OK but is fairly sparse
4. Eleutherococcus sieboldianus 'Variegatus' is slow but otherwise ok.

I appreciate the quick replies all of you.

"It" will go in the back corner of this new, of course very unfinished plot.

Rubus odoratus is an interesting shrub for shade.

Clethra acuminata gets quite large, does well in moist shade.

Rhododendron vaseyi, Pinkshell azalea, is one of the most vigorous native azaleas - Grows well for me, even in Indiana.

I really like the spring-blooming hybrid witchhazels (Hamamelis x intermedia) - Look outstanding in late February or so.

As Strobiculate suggests, Diervilla lonicera is happy under a basswood on my property, but is a bit boring IMO. However, there is a relatively new variety of the related southern bush honeysuckle, Diervilla sessilifolia "Cool Splash" which has variegated foliage. From the linked thread, it doesn't seem to do as well in closely overhanging shade, but is OK in complete but higher/brighter shade as long as it gets adequate moisture.

Here is a link that might be useful: Diervilla sessilifolia

Thanks nhbabs for the update to this thread. I have looked at the possibility of using this newer 'Diervilla' but at the moment I am trying to justify putting the hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake' in that back spot. Of course the question is....how much shade can it tolerate and still be wonderful i.e. give those great flowers.

Perhaps a Cornus alba 'Ivory Halo'?

tj

Here is a link that might be useful: Variegated red-twigged dogwood

tj, I have considered this very same 'Dogwood' but I would rather not have buyer's remorse with the high possibility of rust/leaf spot that so often occurs with these shrubs.

Didn't realize that was an issue. Haven't seen it on my 12 year old plant.

tj

Good to hear that your "Ivory Halo" has been healthy. You now have me thinking more about this as the plant to plant ;).

Wish I had a better pic of when it filled out. This was early in the spring. The fence is on the west side of my yard, the trunk on the left is a 40 foot Austrian Pine (shading from the south), the trunks you see on the other side of the fence are part of a line-up of four 50 foot or so Norway Spruce (shading from the west) and there are other plants shading it somewhat from the the east, so the area is quite shaded. The plant is about 5 feet tall but has had it's share of being rabbit pruned until I started remembering to put my "shields up" in the fall.

{{gwi:279435}}

Hope this helps.

tj

A very nice collection of plants 'tj'.

Here's my variegated dogwood before the voles set it back a bit last winter. I'm not sure which one it is since it came unlabeled. It's more than 15 years old.
{{gwi:226218}}From June 2010

Very nice nhbabs. It works so well in that location. Thank you.