Perennial Shade Plants

Perennial shade plants are some of the finest plants in the garden. While many of them don't have the huge blowsy blooms of a daylily or massively flowering annual, in their own way they are equally attractive.

Who wouldn't fall under the spell of a Japanese toad lily or sit back and let the perfume from a fall blooming Hosta waft over you?

Note that this link will take you to the main perennial shade plants page with even more information listed.

This article, on perennial geraniums, describes a plant that will grow in part shade or sun rather than deep shade. I really like perennial geraniums so I've included them here.

Queen of the Perennial Shade Plants

The unquestioned queen of the perennial shade garden is of course the Hosta plant. There are thousands of varieties of this plant - from huge ones stretching four to five feet wide to tiny little ones that could grow in a thimble. Here's how to successfully grow Hosta.

The plant that I grow more than any other shade loving perennial (except Hosta) is the Christmas Rose. I grow several different varieties and flower colours and I confess I have a love affair with them. They are not difficult to grow as long as you don't try to move them or divide them. Do purchase them early in the spring while in bloom so you can see the colour you are getting. These plants are mostly produced from seed and this produces colour variations (some of which are gorgeous and some should be left on the compost pile).

And Japanese Painted Ferns have been a Perennial Plant of the Year and a tremendous addition to the shade garden. I have always enjoyed their colouring and growth habit. Check them out in this article.

I have grown Jacobs Ladder or Polemonium for many years and actually stopped growing them when the breeders "improved" them and made them too tender in the winter and too prone to "melting out" in the summer heat. I do love the species and I have a few brand new ones in my garden for trial. Here's how to grow Jacobs Ladder.

I have never understood why so many gardeners like this Money Plant. Put it into a garden and money will grow almost everywhere. It hardly needs any instructions on how to grow it (put the roots in the ground), but it does grow well in the shade.

On the other hand, Toadlilies are a superb fall-blooming plant. Their delicate flowers won't compete with fall mums but they are in a class by themselves when it comes to fairy-like flowers and I just started collecting these fall-blooming delicate perennial shade plants.

The new and sexy perennial shade plants are the Heuchera family. Now available in leaf colours ranging from bright gold 'Lime Rickey' to almost black 'Obsidian'. Do plant different leaf colours beside each other to give your garden summer-long foliage contrast.

Full Perennial Shade Plant List

Actaea

Astilbe

Adiantum

Aegopodium

Ajuga

Alchemilla

Anemone

Arachniodes

Arum

Aruncus

Asarum

Astilbe

Brunnera

Carex

Chrysogonum

Convallaria

Cornus

Corydalis

Cyclamen

Cymbalaria

Cypripedium

Dicentra

Epimedium

Eupatorium

Euphorbia

Fuchsia

Galium

Gaultheria

Geranium

Gillenia

Hakonechloa

Hedera

Helleborus

Heuchera

Heucherella

Hosta

Houstonia

Hypericum

Lamiastrum

Lamium

Lathyrus

Leptinella

Liriope

Luzula

Lysimachia

Meehania

Mertensia

Myosotis

Omphalodes

Oxalis

Pachysandra

Phlox

Pinellia

Podophyllum

Polygonatum

Pulmonaria

Salvia

Sanguinaria

Saxifraga

Sedum

Selaginella

Smilacina

Symphytum

Tellima

Tiarella

Tricyrtis

Trillium

Vancouveria

Vinca

Viola

Waldsteinia