These resources are brought to you by the Cooperative Extension System and your Local Institution

Water Conservation for Lawn and Landscape Home

Have a question? Try asking one of our Experts

Print Share/Bookmark

Water-Wise Shade Areas

Last Updated: February 22, 2013

View as web page


White and yellow Daffodils blooming in early spring under a tree
Spring blooming bulbs are a good choice in deciduous shade areas as they bloom before tree leaves emerge. Photo credit: Percita  Flickr CC BY-SA-2.0
Purple coral bells leaves and pink flowers

Perennial coral bells (Heuchera sp.) come in a variety of leaf and flower colors for the shade garden.  Photo credit: KingsbraeGarden Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Shade tolerant Oregon grape holly under trees in front of a fence with a boulder in the lower right hand corner
Oregon grape holly (Mahonia aquefolium), growing in part shade, were watered two times during the summer in Utah. Photo credit: Susan Buffler

Competition for light, water, and nutrients makes planting in shade areas difficult to plan and design.  

Most shade tolerant plants commonly used in gardens are adapted to moist soils under the shade of trees where evapotranspiration is reduced.  

Additional Resources for Shade Areas:

West

California: Creating Microclimates in the Garden

Colorado: Trees and Shrubs for Shady Areas

Midwest

Minnesota: Dry Soil: Shade or Under Trees

Northeast

Delaware: Plants/Shrubs for Dry Shade

Pennsylvania: Dry, Shady Spots

Southeast

North Carolina: Drought Tolerant Shrubs

 

Browse related Articles by tag: shade, residential landscape areas, water-wise, landscape water conservation, types of areas in water conserving landscapes


Have a specific question? Try asking one of our Experts

Unlike most other resources on the web, we have experts from Universities around the country ready to answer your questions.