In the southeast U.S., common things to see planted under
pines are evergreen azaleas and camellias (both C. japonica
and C. sasanqua).

I've seen lowbush blueberries in the northeast.

I would think anything that tolerates your soil and likes part
sun to part shade would do OK, especially if you are
supplementing water. Still, I'd be conservative on the
irrigation, as I don't think most pines like chronically wet
feet -- maybe someone can correct me on that if I'm wrong.

Mike


Pam - gardengal wrote:


"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
I have a pine tree at my new house. There's nothing under it but dried
needles, and some hideous red mulch applied by the previous owner. Now,
I've
spent enough time hiking to notice that in the woods, there's not much
that
grows under pine trees. But, that's before WE get involved. :-) The circle
under mine begs for something, whether it be just green like pachysandra
or
vinca, or maybe a bunch of spring bulbs. Is it hopeless? Do the needles
wreak havoc with pH to the point where the soil's unfriendly to most
plants?

Let's assume for the sake of discussion that if lack of water is the
issue,
I'm willing to correct that. I've got this new high-tech thing called a
sprinkler.


It's not an ideal situation but certainly doable. There are a fair number of
plants suited to dry shade that can be established under the drip line/crown
of a conifer. Soil pH is not that critical - surface needles will have a
pretty insignificant effect on the soil chemistry, so just go with plants
you know are suited to your local soil, acidic or otherwise (most plants
will prefer slightly acidic soils anyway). I'd amend the soil with a modest
layer (no more than 2") of organic matter first.

Some to consider:

yep, the Pachy works :-))
Euonymus fortunei
Vinca minor
Gaultheria shallon
Cotoneaster dammeri
Lamium
Geranium macrorhizum
Epimediums
Dicentra
Liriope
Sarcococca humilis
Iris foetidissima
sedums and sempervivums
various ferns (Polystichums, Dryopteris, Blechnam spicant)

Keep that sprinkler handy, cuz drought tolerant or not, anything newly
planted will need supplemental irrigation to get established, but once
established, these should get by with little additional watering. And use
your common sense with regards to how heavy the shade is - the higher the
tree is limbed up, the more light will penetrate under the canopy and the
better the more sun tolerant of these will thrive, but most will be happy
with pretty low light levels.

pam - gardengal