Made in the Shade
Transcript of Made in the Shade
FL Gardening
Made in the
Shade
Sydney Park Brown Extension Specialist – Consumer
Horticulture GCREC – Plant City
What We’ll Cover Today
• Types of shade
• Shade changes
• Coping with “bad” shade
• Shady characters
• Some (bad) jokes
Bad Shade • No direct or dappled sun
• Dense and dark
• In the shadow of buildings
• Dominated by tree roots
• Very wet or dry
Let the Sun Shine In - Coping with Bad Shade -
• Prune Trees - Lift the canopy
- and/or Thin branches
“Lions-tailing”
ISA – Certified Arborists
www.isa-arbor.com
Outwitting Roots - Coping with Bad Shade -
“Spin-out®” root control bags (Turned inside out)
Pot-in-Pot
Sunken Pots
Embrace It! - Coping with Bad Shade -
• Create a shady garden room: - Sitting area - Garden art - Pathway/hardscape - Water feature - Colorful containers - Bird feeder/ bird bath - Mirror - Wind chimes
Shade changes: - daily (morning to evening)
- over time (as trees grow)
“Pitiful-sporum” in too much shade
The Battle of Turf and Shade
• Turf needs 6 hours of sun a day
• Shade tolerance varies - by type of grass - by cultivar
• St. Aug does best in filtered sunlight (30%)
• Grass receiving some shade is: - darker green - less heat stressed - less drought stressed
The Battle of Turf and Shade
• Shade tolerance varies - by type of grass (species)
Shade Tolerance (Most to least)
St. Augustine
Zoysia
Centipede
Bahia
Seashore Paspalum
Bermuda
The Battle of Turf and Shade
• Shade tolerance varies - by cultivar (within species)
Shade Tolerance (Most to least)
St. Augustine:
‘Seville’
‘Delmar’
‘Captiva’
‘Bitter Blue’
‘Palmetto’
‘Floratam’
Maintenance for Shaded Turf
• Expect “transplant shock”
• Increase the mowing height
• Reduce fertilizer applications
• Irrigate less
• Avoid heavy traffic
• Watch for weeds
See EDIS Pub: Growing Turfgrass in Shade
(Very) generally speaking… Shade lovers include:
• Plants with broad leaves
• Tropical foliage plants (houseplants)
• Many ferns
• Perennials in Acanthaceae family
• Woodland natives
Tropical Foliage Great plant palette for S. FL
Old Reliables
Mondo
‘Vittatus’
Algerian Ivy
Peacock Ginger
• 3 inches to 1 foot
• Dry or moist shade
• Violet flowers last 1 day
• Many forms
• ~April – Nov
• FL zones 8-11
Creeping Yew
• To 2 feet
• Evergreen
• Interesting texture
• Slow
• No blooms
• Dry shade
• FL zones 8-9
Drimiopsis – African Hosta
• < 1 foot
• Young leaves spotted
• Prefers dry, deep shade
• Heat and drought tolerant
• Reseeds
• FL Zones 8-10
Fine Leaf Artillery Plant
• 6”-1 foot
• Fine, “fluffy” texture
• Yellow-green foliage
• Heat, drought & rain tolerant
• Sterile – easy to root
• FL zones 9-11
Bromeliads
• To 3 feet
• Tough but tropical look
• Select carefully for winter hardiness
• FL zones 9-11
See Online: Gardening in a Minute “Cold-Hardy Bromeliads”
Bolivian Jew/Turtle Vine
• 4-8 inches
• Dark green above; purple underneath
• Heat, drought & rain tolerant
• Spreads easily; easy to transplant
• FL zones 9-11
Tiger Grass
• 8-10 feet
• Moist or dry shade
• Dies back in cold winters
• Large, golden flower plumes
• FL zones 9-11
River Oats
• To 3 feet
• Moist shade best
• Dies back in winter
• Oat-like seed heads
• Reseeds
• FL zones 8-9
Native
Variegated Ferns
Silver-leaf Brake Fern Painted Fern
• FL Zones 9-11 • 12-18 inches
• FL Zones 8-9 • Deciduous • 12-18 inches
Hart’s Tongue Fern
• To 12-18 inches
• Very tough
• Spreads easily
• Leaves fall through it
• FL Zones 8-9
Nephrolepis - Sword Ferns
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag120
a. Tuberous sword fern (invasive) b. Sword Fern (native) c. Giant sword fern (native) d. Asian sword fern (invasive)
Native Osmunda Ferns Cinnamon Fern Royal Fern
• FL Zones 8-10 • Prefer moist sites • Deciduous in winter • Fertile/sterile fronds
Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor)
• To 4 feet
• Bluish cast to leaves
• Dry shade is best
• Bloom spikes and fruits add interest
• FL zones 8-10
Native
Needle Palm
• To 6 feet tall; slow
• Suckers
• Sharp needles along main stem
• Wet or dry soil
• FL zones 8-10
Native
Saw Palmetto
• To 15 feet
• Forms thickets
• Fruits valued by wildlife
• Sleeps, creeps, leaps!
• Green and silver forms
• FL zones 8-10
Native
Agarista – Pipestem/FL Leucothoe
• 6-10 feet
• Upright, arching, multi-stemmed
• Dry to moist shade
• Blooms late spring
• FL zones 8-9
Native
Aucuba Fatsia
• “Yankee Croton”
• To 8 feet; slow
• Red berries-female plants
• Tolerates dry areas
• FL zones 8-10
Banana Shrub
• To 15 feet
• Banana scented blooms; spring
• Slow grower
• Loose, open form in shade
• Scale insects
• FL zones 8-10
Beauty Berry
• To 8 feet
• Deciduous
• Blooms in spring
• Berries in fall
• Wildlife attracter
• Prune in winter
• FL zones 8-10
• White form available
Native
Chinese Mahonia
• 4-6 feet
• Fern like foliage
• Moist or dry shade
• Suckers slowly
• Good for accent
• FL zones 8-10
‘Soft Caress’ Dwarf form – 3’
Cleyera
• To 8 feet; slow
• Glossy, handsome foliage
• Red new leaves
• Dry shade
• Tough, deserves more use
• FL zones 8-10
Crape Jasmine
• To 6’ feet
• Dark green, evergreen foliage
• Cold tender; recovers quickly
• White flowers – warm months
• FL Zones 9b – 11
Anise
• Dark green, aromatic leaves
• Toxic! Not a source of aniseed
• FL zones 8-10
Native
Florida Anise – to 10 feet - slow
Yellow or Star Anise – to 20 feet
Oakleaf Hydrangea
• 6-10 feet tall and wide (suckers)
• Blooms late spring
• Flowers can be dried
• Fall color
• Deciduous
• FL zones 8-9
Native
Sweetspire
• To 6-8 feet
• Dry shade; Tolerates flooding
• Open, airy, deciduous
• Suckers
• Flowers fragrant; spring
• Fall color
• Good as hedge or accent
• FL zones 8-10
Native
Tea Olive
• 6-10 feet
• Very fragrant blooms; yr-round
• Evergreen; leggy (hide it)
• Slow; long-lived
• FL zones 8-10
Wild Coffee
• Dense shrub to 5 feet
• Glossy, dark green, pleated leaves
• Fragrant flowers, red berries
• Wildlife plant
• Cold tender
• FL zones 9b -11
Native
Red Buckeye
• To 10-15 feet
• Slow grower
• Red blooms - Spring -Attract hummingbirds
• Deciduous
• Moist shade best
• Fl zones 8-9
Native
Silverbell
• To 30 feet
• White flowers in spring
• Moist shade is best
• Slow growing
• Deciduous
• FL zones 8-9
Native
Swamp dogwood
• To 15 feet
• Moist to wet shade
• Multi-trunked; deciduous
• White blooms
• Attracts wildlife
• FL zones 8-10
Native
Reliable Annuals and/or Perennials
• Begonia
• Caladium
• Coleus
• Crossandra
• Impatiens
• Persian Shield
• Torenia
Leopard Plant
• Variable sizes & leaf forms
• Tropical looking, but hardy
• Yellow flowers in fall
• Moist soil best; tolerates dry
• FL zones 7-10
Oxalis ‘Charmed Wine’
• 6 inches
• Proven Winners®
• Grows from tubers
• Cool season color
• Sterile, not weedy
• FL zones 8-11
Walking Iris (Neomarica species)
• To 3 feet
• Blooms in spring
• Plantlets “walk” and root
• Prefers moisture, but tolerates dry
• FL zones 9 - 10 ‘Regina’
Recap • Types of shade (good and bad) • Shade changes • Dealing with bad shade
- lift or thin canopy - create a shady retreat - outwit roots
• Shady characters - old reliables - worthy “try-ables”
• Right plant/right place • Fertilizer ≠ photosynthesis
Thanks!
Credits: * The Florida Gardener's Book Of Lists, Lois Trigg Chaplin and Monica Moran Brandies *Wendy Wilber Alachua County Extension