"Dawn" wrote in message
om...
About half of our new yard is under tall elm and oak trees. Although
the previous owner was fighting to keep grass growing under there we
are thinking of going with more natural plants and bushes.

I know azaleas and rhododendron grow naturally in the woods, any other
suggestions (we live in Zone 7)?

The greater majority of rhodies are "part sun" rather than shade shrubs,
but with many exceptions. Some evergreen azaleas bloom excellently in
shade, others never will bloom if not exposed to a good long dose of
direct sunlight every day. One common offering "Purple Splendor" (a R.
yedoense hybrid) seems to bloom equally well in sun or dappled shade.
Any R. yedoense, or R. yedoense var poukhahense related shrub, seems to be
quite floriferous in shade. The PJM series blooms well in a degree of
shade, though full morning sun or two-thirds sun it probably likes better,
but any slightly sunnier spot of a wooded substory garden would be a great
spot for a PJM.

Several large evergreen rhododendrons also bloom quite well in shade,
especially the wild R. macrophyllum.

But a great many of the dwarf evergreen rhodies & azaleas are really
mostly-sun shrubs, & won't bloom worth a damn in the shade, so you have to
select carefully. If you get Greer's guide to available rhododendron
species, there's a chart in the back which says which are very
sun-tolerant, which are moderately sun-tolerant, & which are least
sun-tolerant. The many "least" sun-tolerant varieties are all good
bloomers as substory shrubs. Those which are "moderately" sun-tolerant
include some I've planted in shadier spots & ended up having to move them
to sunnier locations before they would get more than a half-dozen blooms
on them.

The majority of hydrangea shrubs prefer dappled shade to bloom their
hearts out. I like best the lacecap varieties as big snowball doubles are
tacky. But oakleaf hydrangea has an enormous conical white flower that I
very much like.

Flowering currants (Ribes sanguineum) prefer a protected semi-shady spot,
& there's a golden-leafed variety that would really suffer in much
sunlight. But the more fruitful Ribes rubrum wouldn't like as much shade.

Several vacciniums, such as evergreen huckleberries, are mainly substory
shrubs. Some viburnums, in particular highbush cranberries, get nice
lacecap flowers even in a good portion of shade. Summersweet (Clethra)
gets bottlebrush flowers & prefers a moist spot under trees. Another
bottlebrush bloomer is Fothergilla, blooms well in partial shade, but has
way better autumn leaf color if planted in sun. Witchhazels bloom pretty
well (in winter yet) in half-shade, but with too much shade it stops
blooming & probably prefers a sunnier spot with just a little protection.

Aucuba does splendidly in deeper shade. The flowers are inconsequential,
but if you have room for three or four aucubas & are sure to have one male
in the grouping, they'll produce enormous red berries. They won't fruit
without a male nearby, but even then, they have remarkably colorful
(variegated) leaves.

Camelia sasanqua (a climbing or creeping camellia) blooms in autumn or
winter depending on cultivar, & prefer the shade.

Oregon grapes do well in half shade or a bit more shade than that, with
yellow late-winter or early spring blooms followed by fruit tasty enough
it's hard to beat the birds to them. They even do well in quite dry shade,
so might be good choices for areas beyond where water hoses easily reach.
Mountain Laurel (Kalmia) blooms well in shade, as do Pieris, & Leucothoe.
Japanese spirea (S. bulmalda) doesn't bloom QUITE as well in shade as in
sun, but still flowers pretty darned well. Some of these which here in the
Pacific Northwest need not TOO deep a shade would actually need more shade
if grown inland or little bit further south.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com