Shade Tolerance – Flowers

Q: I’m creating a landscape/flower bed that will be under two water oak trees with little sun.

What is a shade-tolerant plant I can put in this shady bed? The more colorful, hardy and perennial the better.

A: For shade-tolerance you can’t beat aspidistra, plum yew or autumn fern, however they don’t sport much color other than green. Consider variegated plants, like hosta, Solomon’s seal or painted fern. Scatter impatiens seed in the bed in late April to see if this shade-loving flower will thrive.