Here Are Some Shady Characters That Will Thrive in Your Florida Garden Without Full Sunlight

We all want it; we all seek it out in parking lots and parks after a walk or when talking with friends. To us who lack chlorophyll, shade is, well, a cooler place to sit or stand. 

To plants, not all shade is the same. 

When my co-master gardener friend asked me to give a Shade Gardening presentation because she was unable to, I agreed.  She had already done most of the work, so I figured it would be a breeze: just show the Power Point slides and read the frames.  

I had done pretty well choosing plants for my shade garden and felt confident talking about them; but I never considered how many different definitions of shade existed until I agreed to help my friend. 

Some common terms are: part shade, light shade, deep shade, dense shade, full shade, part sun, filtered shade, dappled shade, semi-shade, medium shade -- and on and on it goes,
depending on the book you are reading or the garden center you visit. Very confusing!

Let’s use the definitions in Pamela Crawford’s book “Easy Gardens for South Florida.” Pinellas County is considered Central Florida and USDA Hardiness Zone 9b.  However, many plants from zones 9a and 10 do well here, too. It helps to understand site conditions when planning a shade garden. If you have one or more large trees, consider yourself fortunate.

FULL SUN – Sun is necessary for any plant growth and the definition is pretty consistent wherever you are.  Full Sun usually means 6 hours of direct sun a day.

MIXED LIGHT – Gets both direct sun and full shade, usually near buildings.  The change in light depends on the movement of the sun during the day and from winter to summer.  Remember that winter sun is different from summer sun.  Plants growing in mixed light
need to be adaptable.  Some of the plants that do well in mixed light are:

• Blue Daze; Evolvulus glomeratus; perennial groundcover

• Croton; Codiaeum variegatum (Petra); shrub

• Cocoplum; Chrysoblanus icaco; large shrub; prostrate cultivar sometimes available

LIGHT SHADE – Go outside and look up.  Pretend you are the plant; that’s right, lie down on the grass and look up.  (Those who can’t get down or back up can stand or sit.)   If
your tree blocks only 20-30 percent of light, you have light shade. That's good for some plants and not terrible for St. Augustine grass.  Some plants that do well here are:

• Xanadu; Philodendron xanadu; shrub (also grows in dense shade)

• Ti Plants; Cordyline spp.; shrub, red, burgundy, variegated

• Shrimp Plant; Justicia brandegeana; Pachystachys lutea; shrubs, colors vary. (also grows in medium shade).

MEDIUM SHADE – You know the drill: Lie down, stand, sit, look up.  About 50 percent of the sky is visible, and St. Augustine grass is thin. You could grow:

• Caricature Plant; Graptophyllum pictum; multicolored leaves; large shrub

• Angelwing Begonia; Begonia flamingo; pink flowering shrub

• Perfection Bromeliads; Neoregelia spp. ‘perfection’; colorful groundcover

DENSE SHADE – Less than 30 percent of the sky is visible.  The list of plants that do well here is shorter but interesting.  Many ferns will grow here and other plants as well.

• Cast Iron Plant; Aspidistra elatior; groundcover

• Variegated Arboricola; Schefflera arboricola ‘Trinette’; shrub

• Lady Palm; Rhapis excelsa; average to large size specimen palm – leaves turn yellow in too much light

OK, you can get up now.  I bet you think you are ready to head out to your local garden center
and buy, buy, buy.  Not so quick.  In order to really assess your shade, you need to take pictures throughout the day and at different times of the day. It’s best to do this on a sunny day. 

Start your research at 8 a.m. and focus on the area that you plan to do or re-do.  Then photograph that area at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and 6 p.m. When you look at your photos, ask yourself what influence does the movement of the sun have on the intensity of light in your space?  One thing you might notice is that the sun doesn’t stay in one spot for more than 30-45 minutes.  Therefore what you plant must be able to take different doses of sun throughout the day.

I will write more about gardening with shade in my next installments, but if you think you are ready to shop, then go with my blessing.  Now that you are one with your garden, or maybe just on speaking terms, you will be able to make an informed decision about what plants to install.  Please remember to ask many, many zone-specific questions, and if you
aren’t satisfied with the answers you get, walk away and shop someplace else. 

But if you can wait a few days, I want you to visit this website, www.watermatters.org and
order "The Florida-Friendly Landscaping Guide to Plant Selection & Landscape Design." This free guide is a full-color bound 110-page book of Design Scenarios and Plant Lists with cultural information for each plant.  Did I tell you the guide is FREE? 

Please feel free to comment about your shade gardening experiences.  I would love to read them.

The next installment on Shade Gardening will cover some design and maintenance considerations for gardening in the shade.  Happy gardening!