Hello all. I'm new here so wasn't exactly sure where to post this (Midwest, Northern, Shade, Vines, General, etc.), but this forum looks as active as any. We're looking for a recommendation for a planting in the shade in Denver, CO (zone 5b). The ideal plant that we'd like at is Kintzley's Ghost Honeysuckle.

It will be outside of the kitchen widow on the north side of the house, so pretty much full shade. We envision a vine type plant for which we have a trellis to put up. It would be nice for something with the possibility of attracting hummingbirds to keep things exciting.

The main problem with the honeysuckle that we are looking at is the shade, of course. In general, we have a heavier clay soil on the alkaline side, but would do what we could to amend the spot as necessary. We've had a lot of experience with the Plant Select program plants which have done well around our house, but don't necessarily need anything quite so "rugged" for the spot we're looking at as we don't expect it to be a maintenance free planting. If anyone has any ideas, it would be greatly appreciated!

After digging a while through the various forums, the only real contender that I've found so far might be Trumpet Vine. Again, the problem seems to be that it may not bloom in shade, but at least it should still survive. I've also been considering large bushes, but haven't found much in that regard either.

Clematis is a good vine to try. Low maintenance and blooms every spring. Can handle shade and will bloom in shade. I have quite a few of them here and some are in quite a bit of shade. I'll think of more in a bit. Got my hands full of food.

Thanks for the recommendation! From my initial searches, I'm finding quite a few clematis that are sun lovers, but at least I have something to look for now. In general, I realize that it's kind of a pipe dream to try to find something for the hummingbirds in the shade, but I'll keep looking to see what I can come up with.

There are clematises that are bell shaped that will work for the hummers. Most clematises are grown with shady feet and they reach for the sun. But most will grow in shade with no problem.

http://hummingbirdfarm.net/pin...

http://hummingbirdfarm.net/bet...

A good site to look at and also confer with for ideas is www.brushwoodnursery.com They specialize in vines, especially clematis, and might have some good ideas also.

GoCart - as lovely as trumpet vines are, they can be aggressive and invasive. Not sure if there are any less invasive varieties. I have seen them totally take over properties and houses and hard to eradicate. Clematis might be a great alternative. Some of the smaller-leaved varieties might be more shade tolerant.