Tell us your Favorite Shade Plants

By dave
January 20, 2016

We're putting together a list of the ATP members' favorite shade plants! Come on in and read how to nominate your favorites! We will later publish a final article on the top picks.

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Jan 24, 2016 12:22 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Mika
Oxfordshire, England and Mento
Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Foliage Fan Critters Allowed Daylilies Irises Roses
Hostas Birds Multi-Region Gardener Cat Lover Dog Lover Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Erythroniums are one of the most charming, but surprisingly little known here, of woodland plants. They come in a range of colors and flower in spring. My favorite is Erythronium Hidcote Beauty, which has wonderful elongated marbled leaves and mauve-pink flowers.



Hidcote Beauty: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...
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Jan 24, 2016 9:07 AM CST
Name: Debbie
Manitoba, Canada (Zone 3a)
Amaryllis Dog Lover Dragonflies Foliage Fan Hostas Houseplants
Native Plants and Wildflowers Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Enjoys or suffers hot summers Daylilies Critters Allowed Annuals
Such a pretty, dainty little thing! Tried it once but didn't overwinter for me. Would try it again for sure. I allow myself to try and fail with a plant up to 3 times, lol.
Avatar for Cayuga
Jan 24, 2016 9:41 AM CST
Name: Cayuga
Massachusetts (Zone 6a)
Cliftoncat,
I love trout lilies too Cliftoncat! They are very reliable in my garden, pop up fairly early in the spring and have a very bouncy/cheerful look to them. In my garden, the deer (who are voracious) do not bother them. The only problem I have with them is when their foliage dies back, I have to remember where they are so I do not disturb them.
Thumb of 2016-01-24/Cayuga/79ec47


Thumb of 2016-01-24/Cayuga/e6415f

These photos are both of the cultivar 'Pagoda'
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Jan 24, 2016 9:47 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Mika
Oxfordshire, England and Mento
Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Foliage Fan Critters Allowed Daylilies Irises Roses
Hostas Birds Multi-Region Gardener Cat Lover Dog Lover Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Really beautiful, Cayuga! Thumbs up
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Jan 25, 2016 1:14 PM CST
Sweden
Forum moderator Garden Photography Irises Bulbs Lilies Bee Lover
Hellebores Deer Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Photo Contest Winner: 2016
It's hard to imagine something more elegant than these when they flower in spring. They are especially wonderful in big clumps as in the pics above Smiling
My guess is that the price of the tubers(as compared to other spring blooming bulbs) prevents them from being as common as they deserve to be.

The deer occasionally nibble these for me, but have never damaged them severely. I used to have a lot of what I now believe is Erythronium 'White Beauty' (it was sold to me as something else) but voles ate most of them one spring. I had started with just a single tuber and had over fifty at the time they became vole dinner. They were growing in a rather cool spot close to a pond and thriving, but as I moved the few survivors away from the voles they ended up in an area that was too dry and hot for them (I have a sandy soil) and they have never been as good nor beautiful since. I really miss those big clumps and are now relocating the tubers again as well as adding a few other cultivars in hope of being able get big clumps again.

Everyone with a suitable spot should try these. As an additional bonus to the superb flowers, the beautiful foliage (for the varieties I tried and in my conditions) tends to die away quicker than most spring blooming bulbs, so is fairly easy to combine with other plants and is only messy for a very short period.
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