Forever Plants - Shade

rrwfotr

hello

i am after some plants that i can put in my pots outside. I need something that will grow every year, with limited sun as the pots are at the front of the house which is a shaded area.

Can anyone recommend anything please? I already have boxball plants on the side which require no maintenance and have sat there through the freezing winter.

I have in the past tried growing bulbs in there and have managed to grow three oriental lillies, but have taken these out and planted elsewhere.

thanks

Mortal

When you say forever plants, are you after ones that have year-round interest or perennials that die back in the winter?

hostas work well in pots, and some have lovely colour varigations to lift a shady spot.
Quite a few clematis like a shadier spot, and you can have evergreen varieties. You could perhaps grow them against the wall or up an obelisk in the pot
erm, what else... heathers, some hebes,

The most imporatnt thing about growing something in a pot 'forever' is the compost. You need a soil-based compost rather than multi-purpose for it to be at its best. Each year, scrape off a couple of inches and replace.

right then, lets see. what else..

Astilbe
Dicentra
Hellebore
Heuchera
Lilly of the valley
Primrose

These are all perennials.

Jake'sGran

I have put a spotted laurel (Aucuba?)in a large pot to brighten a dull corner and hide a pipe. They grow anywhere and don't drop their leaves. We give it a home made wormery compost mulch every Spring. The front of our house only gets the sun about now i.e. 6pm and we have a Choisya growing happily in a small space. It is a lovely colour and evergreen with small perfumed flowers in summer..

rrwfotr

Mortal wrote: »

When you say forever plants, are you after ones that have year-round interest or perennials that die back in the winter?

hello, many thanks for yor replies. i am after something that will be there year after year, which means i won't have to re-plant it again, if that makes sense!

thxs

Davesnave

rrwfotr wrote: »

hello, many thanks for yor replies. i am after something that will be there year after year, which means i won't have to re-plant it again, if that makes sense!

thxs

All the plants already mentioned will do that, but there are few shrubs or flowers that give lots of flower impact without also losing leaves in winter.

You need to choose between colourful leaves all year, or periods of winter bareness and higher flower power in summer. For example, a Fuchsia would give lots of flowers from May/June to November, then look like bare twigs, but a variegated Euonymous would give yellows & greens from its leaves all year round.

You could underplant a non-showy shrub with bulbs or seasonal plants like primulas, but as above, you will need to feed and eventually change the soil-based compost after a while.

Also, vine weevils get into most containers and need controlling, so there is little that could be termed 'maintenance-free.' They may not like your Box plants much, but they love Fuchsia, Primula, Heuchera, Geranium and many more.:(

tenzing

Perennial hardy geraniums are a good idea and come in a range of colours from white through blue to purple and pink. They're brilliant in shade.