How2Day: The Best Flowering Shrubs for Heavy Shade

The Penn State Department of Horticulture defines heavy shade as a site where no direct sunlight reaches the plants, such as beneath trees with dense canopies or along the base of a wall that faces north. Since most plants grow best with some sunlight, finding flowering shrubs that will grow in heavy shade poses a challenge to gardeners. Many flowering shrubs cannot survive in heavy shade, but there are species that thrive in it.

Kerria Japonica, Japanese kerria, is a deciduous shrub native to Japan and China. It grows best in either partial shade or full shade; according to the University of Connecticut Plant Database, the plant's flowers bleach out in full sunlight. It grows between 3 feet and 6 feet tall with up to a 10-foot spread. Japanese kerria has curvy, erect stems that form a tangle of twigs. Its simple, oval-shaped leaves are bright green with sharply toothed edges. The leaves, which grow between 1.5 and 4 inches long, have a crisp texture. The shrub produces bright yellow blossoms during the spring and rarely fruits; it may rebloom occasionally during the summer. Japanese kerria is good as a foundation plant or a border shrub in heavily shaded areas. It prefers moist, fertile, well-drained loam and is drought tolerant. Kerria is hardy in United States Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4-9.

Purple-flowering raspberry, or thimbleberry, shrubs, Rubus odoratus, produce clusters of pinkish-purple flowers between June and August, followed by edible berries that attract birds and other wildlife, according to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Purple-flowering raspberry grows naturally from Maine to Michigan and as far south as North Carolina and Tennessee. They grow equally well in either partial or full shade and prefer moist, acidic sandy or gravelly loam. They grow between 3 and 6 feet high with a 6- to 12-foot spread. Their five-lobed leaves, which look like maple leaves, change to yellow during the fall. These plants spread rapidly from creeping rhizomes, or underground stems, and can become weedy. They grow in zones 4-7.

Salal, or Gaultheria shallon, is an evergreen shrub native to brush land, dark forest groves and coastal woods at elevations below 2,500 feet in the Pacific Northwest. It grows approximately 5 feet tall, producing large rounded or oval-shaped leaves and heavily branched hairy stems that are often used in flower decorations, according to the King County Native Plant Guide. Long columns of downward-facing pink or white blossoms emerge between April and July, followed by red, blue or purple berries. Salal is hardy in zones 6-8 and prefers moist, acidic soil. Although it can survive in sunlight if it is watered frequently or grown in coastal regions, its leaves scorch easily in the summer sun. It does best in partial or full shade.

How2Day