Shade plants can be a great option for your yard or garden in areas that don’t get enough sunlight to grow even grass. Shade plants can grow with less than three hours of sunlight per day. Erik Helland has tips for selecting the right shade plants.
“ So there's lots of different kinds of hostas.. “They're going to be the ones that have the green with the white margin. They're going to be just ones with solid green. There's going to be ones that have a blue hue to them. There's ones that have a dark green on the outside and more of a yellow in the middle. But there's so many different varieties”
Hostas keeps spreading every year, so each spring you have more plants that you can transplant. It is also a great plant to share with neighbors and family members. Erik says also remember hosta do not re-leaf so if they are damaged by pets, kids or hail they will not generate new leaves.
Helland says there are many choices for other shade plants;
“ Ferns are great. Now the thing with ferns is remember is ferns, shoot off with a rhizome. So a rhizome it'll be a runner that goes underground and another one's going to pop up. All of a sudden you're going to have a bunch and then pretty soon It will become completely filled..
“Astilbe is a really interesting plant. It's kind of particular about the soil, It likes to have loose soil to where the soil can drain. Not full sun, so like I always say, east side, morning sun. Those are all great for the shade plant material. Another one is a huechera or a huechera (Coral Bells). It's basically all in the purple family. In the purple is this absolutely amazing.”
Lily of the Valley is an old favorite, but only in an area that has a lot of room to spread with rhizomes as it can it quickly take over an area.
Shade is not really about the flowers. Yes, a lot of shade plants have flowers, but shade plants are about colors and textures in the foliage. The last thing to remember is to check the label on any plants you purchase, especially with hostas. Hostas all look about the same size in pots at a greenhouse, but can vary in spread and size from a few inches high and a spread of 18 inches, to the larger hostas that can have a spread of five to six feet. If you have questions for Erik send them to: [email protected]. He may answer your question on-the-air during the South Dakota Home Garden segment, Wednesdays on SDPB Radio's "In the Moment."