|
Wed, Dec 30, 09 at 13:54
| i am looking for an evergreen shrub to plant on the VERY shady side of my house to hide my garbage cans. the roofline is odd here and dumps loads of water during a storm; i can have 2 inches of standing water for a day after a heavy rain. was hoping for something 5'-6', with berries. is there anything that can stand heavy shade and wet conditions? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| My first thought for heavy shade and wet, is Florida Anise(Illicium floridanum). This plant is not for everyone when in bloom though. The flowers are quite stinky. If you can get past it, this is an otherwise wonderful evergreen. It can get taller than 6' but takes pruning well. You might also like to take a look at Yaupon(Ilex vomitoria). This is one that will have berries on selected forms. Also gets larger than 6' but stands pruning very well. It is a plant normally seen in sunny areas but is very adaptable to heavy shade. Maybe these can be a jumping off point if nothing else. |
|
- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Wed, Dec 30, 09 at 17:34
| define evergreen conifer??? shrub??? trees??? ken |
|
| Also Ilex glabra, Inkberry, would be suited to that. |
|
| ha. thanks, but i'll probably stay away from the stinky. i had yaupon holly and inkberry on my short list, but what i had read said they both liked partial sun and this side of my house gets nearly none. also, wouldn't i need a male and a female to get the berries? |
|
| When it comes to hollies, there are usually enough other hollies in your landscape or your neighbors to provide the pollination you need. Consider also: Morella cerifera (wax myrtle), Leucothoe axillaris, Agarista populifolia, and Osmanthus americanus (devilwood or wild olive). I don't really find Florida anise to be stinky unless you go right up to the flower to smell it. |
|
| I can say from years of experience that in full bloom Florida anise is stinky, even from a distance! I put two at the foundation of my house in 1994 that were picked specifically for that spot because its downhill of the AC unit. At the time I had had no personal experience with the odor. I am happy to live with the smell because the plants are just so handsome. If it did not bloom, or at least had no odor, this plant would be unsurpassed for wet and shady, in fact it needs the shady. I will concede and say that Yaupon is a much better sun plant than shade. It will certainly grow in heavy shade, but prefers sun. Its tolerance to all of the top four landscape conditions of sun/shade/wet/dry is perhaps greater than most plants. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Shrubs Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.