Shade tolerant plants

Finding plants that tolerate shady areas can be difficult! However, it is not impossible. Below you will find a list of plants that will tolerate light shade (4-6 hours of sun) to heavy shade (less than 3 hours of sun).

light shade Tolerant (4-6 hours of sun)

Trees - Dogwood, Mountain Ash, River Birch

Evergreens - Arborvitae, Russian Cypress

Shrubs - Boxwood, Burning Bush, Chokeberry, Maple (amur compact), Serviceberry, Sumac (gro-low)

Perennials - Anemone, Balloon Flower, Brunerra, Columbine, Foxglove, Geranium, Jacob’s Ladder, Lady’s Mantle, Ligularia

Heavy Shade Tolerant (less than 3 hours of sun)

Trees - Amur Maple, Service berry, Viburnum

Evergreens - Yew

Shrubs - Current, Dogwood, Hydrangea (big leaf), Rhododendron, Viburnum

Perennials - Ajuga, Aralia, Astilbe, Bergenia, Bleeding Heart, Coral Bells, Fern, Goat’s Beard, Hosta, Lamium, Lily of the Valley, Lungwort, Pachysandra, Periwinkle, Solomon’s Seal

You can find pictures of all of these plants on our Greenhouse or Resources page