A shaded garden spot can be mighty frustrating to a gardener who wants color all through summer.
Most of the best-known summer annuals demand sunshine to bloom well. Generally speaking, the more sun they get, the more buds they set.
But take heart! There are wonderful summer-colorful, easy-to-grow, quick-result plants that prefer shade!
A few are animals; others are plants treated as annuals because they’re frost-tender. Several are sometimes houseplants.
Use them well, and you’ll have a garden that’s the envy of all who must garden in nothing but sunshine.
Since these plants should not be set in the outdoor garden until the weather is consistently warm, you’ve time yet to plan for them. But get busy!
What You Need To Succeed In Planting
Before giving you a list of excellent and easily available plants, here’s a warning: To succeed in the shade, you need more than the proper plants.
You must understand the soil-and-situation problems you’re probably up against and do something about them.
If your shade comes from trees or shrubs, the far-reaching roots of these plants will have sapped the soil of its fertility and will continually draw moisture.
You will be gardening in what would normally be exceedingly dry, impoverished soil. So, naturally, your plants won’t like it!
They will want, in general, rich porous soil that’s constantly moist and also quick draining, and never soggy (the type of soil used for potting African violets).
So, before planting time, you’ll want to improve your soil by digging in compost, well-rotted manure, damp peat moss (dry peat repels moisture), or similar materials. Then be prepared to water all summer.
Plan to feed a complete plant food about every other week, following the manufacturer’s instructions but using the least amount recommended for house plants. A little used frequently is better than large doses occasionally.
Quick Colorful Plants Available
Caladium Plant
Caladium has gorgeous arrow-shaped leaves patterned in white, green, pink, or red. Flowers are relatively inconspicuous, though attractive, resembling little callas.
Tubers can be started indoors ahead of planting-out time, in damp peat moss or vermiculite, with tops covered about an inch.
Or, you can purchase ready-started plants. When transplanting to the garden, put tuber tops two inches below soil level.
Caladiums can be planted directly in the ground or in pots either above ground or sunk into the soil.
Tuberous Begonia
You know these! They can be started from either dormant tubers or from seed.
However, since it takes several months for plants to reach blooming size (you should have started them in March or April), it may be wise this year for you to purchase plants that are well along in growth.
Set them in the garden in or out of their pots after warm temperatures. Tubers should be about an inch below soil level.
Because stems are very brittle and plants are apt to be top-heavy, it pays to stake each plant inconspicuously and protect it from the wind.
Achimenes Plant
ACHIMENES (pronounced ah-KIM-e-neez) is especially fun to grow because though easy and pretty, it isn’t well known.
Plants are slender, about a foot high. Flowers have flaring trumpet shapes in white, blue, lavender, and pink.
You’ll need at least six in a clump to make a colorful effect. They grow from tiny rhizomes that look like jointed worms! Best grow them in pots.
Place rhizomes horizontally, barely below the soil, with the growing end (narrowest) pointing outward. Start indoors and later sink pots in the garden.
Rhizomes multiply rapidly, so you’ll have many more next season (after storing them frost-free over winter).
Dwarf Fibrous-Rooted Begonia
These grow 6” to 12” inches high and make a colorful display all summer.
Included are the `Cinderellas’ shown in color on the cover; also familiar semperflorens types with multitudes of small flowers in white, pink, or red and leaves of green or bronze.
They can be raised from seed, cuttings started early indoors, or purchased ready-started at planting-out-time.
Space plants about 6′ inches apart. For the showiest effect, use plants alike in color or a row of one color contrasting with another color.
Coleus Plant
Coleus is grown for its decorative foliage rather than its inconspicuous light lavender flowers.
Leaves may be one color or fabulous combinations of gold, white, red, orange, and green. Plants grow 1 1/2′ to 3′ feet high.
They can be started from seed (preferably early indoors) or leafy stem cuttings rooted in water (easy!), but it’s quickest, surest, and lots of fun to go to your dealer and select started plants in the exact colors you like best.
After summering in the garden, these plants make excellent winter window plants.
Blood-Leaf Foliage Plant
Blood-Leaf (Iresine) is a foliage plant with handsome, shining, rich red leaves, often used as a house plant.
Varieties are available with leaves that are red-veined with yellow or green-veined with yellow. Grow the same way that you grow coleus (to which it is related).
Fuchsia Flower
Fuchsia flowers are elegantly exquisite pendant flowers in pink, rosy purple, and white on plants with gracefully arching branches.
Ideal for pots, hanging baskets, and window boxes. Grows easiest in climates where stumer temperatures are cool and the atmosphere moist.
They like a spot out of the wind, where they get early morning sun or else dappled shade all day. They won’t bloom well in complete shade.
Water copiously and dependably, but beware of soggy soil. In drying weather, spray the foliage with water daily.
Blooms form on new growth, so it pays to prune plants (nip back tips of branches) during the early stages of growth.
This induces side branches to develop and, thus, more flowers. Then, when fall frosts threaten, plants can be brought indoors to a cool but frost-free spot and held over winter in semi-dormant, almost dry conditions.
Impatiens Flower
Impatiens (I. Sultani, I. knish) have spurred flowers one to 2” inches across in pink, orange, white, and red.
So constantly in bloom, nicknames are Patience and Busy Lizzie. Plants come in dwarf varieties (6” to 10” inches high) or taller kinds (to 2 feet). Leaves are usually green but, in some varieties, variegated.
Easy to grow from seed (three months to bloom) or cuttings rooted in water, buy started plants for quick results. A marvelous winter house plant; it blooms like mad!
Wishbone Flower
Torenia or Wishbone Flowers are bushy little plants about a foot high.
Blossoms are shaped somewhat like snapdragon flowers, but they remind one more of pansies because of their “faces,” which are blue with purple petal markings and yellow throat.
There are also white varieties. It can be started from seeds indoors or outside, where they bloom after the weather warms. Or buy plants.
Sweet Alyssum Flower
If you want a lacily white, low-growing edging flower, this is it! Myriads of tiny blossoms completely cover the plants. Heights vary.
Bloom will be best where some sunlight falls. The basic common white sweet alyssum is 10” inches tall.
Dwarf Varieties
Newer dwarf varieties such as white ‘Carpet of Snow,’ purple ‘Royal Carpet,’ and pink ‘Rosie O’Day’ are only four inches.
They’re extra easy to grow from seed which can be started outdoors where plants are to flower.
Sow anytime, from the earliest soil can be worked in cool spring on through warm weather.
Prepare the ground well first. Scatter seeds about ½” an inch apart and barely cover with soil.
Later thin plants are 4″ to 6″ inches apart. Transplant your spares elsewhere. Plants will bloom in about six weeks. You can buy started plants if you prefer.
44659 by Gretchen Harshbarger