The best dry shade shrubs are tough, low-fuss plants that shrug off thin light and thirsty tree roots. Reach for aucuba and Oregon grape holly (mahonia) first. Then add sweet box, alpine currant and snowberry. All five hold up where your other plants give up. They fill the gap under a canopy where grass and flowers fail you.
The soil at the woods edge of my back corner was bone-dry and laced with roots. I jammed a trowel in and it stopped dead an inch down, snagged on a mat of old tree roots. The first few plants I tried there just sulked and died. So I switched to aucuba and Oregon grape holly and gave each one a slow, deep soak twice a week through that first summer. By fall both had pushed out fresh leaves and settled in. The roots were still there, fighting for every drop, but the shrubs won that ground.
Dry shade is hard for one simple reason. Big tree roots drink most of the water before your new shrub gets a sip, and the canopy overhead blocks the rain that would refill the soil. That leaves the ground dry even after a storm. Even the toughest shrubs for dry shade under trees need help while they put down roots. Water deeply enough to wet the top 3 to 4 inches (about 10 cm) of soil, then let it dry before you water again.
Each of these dry shade shrubs brings something useful to your shady corner. Aucuba has glossy leaves, some flecked with gold, and it takes deep shade without complaint. Mahonia gives you spiny holly-like leaves, yellow late-winter flowers and blue berries for the birds. Sweet box stays low and throws a sweet scent in winter when little else does. Alpine currant makes a dense green hedge, and snowberry carries white berries into the cold months. Pick by the look and size you want, since all of them handle your shade.
Planting under a tree takes a bit of care so you don't harm the tree or your shrub. Hunt for a gap between the large roots and dig a wide, shallow hole there. Never cut through a major root to force your plant in, because that can wound the tree. Set the shrub in the gap, firm the soil, and give it a long first drink.
- Plant: Choose tough shrubs such as aucuba, mahonia, sweet box, alpine currant or snowberry that tolerate dry shade.
- Dig: Find gaps between large tree roots and dig a wide, shallow hole rather than cutting through major roots.
- Water: Soak deeply to wet the top 3 to 4 inches (about 10 cm) of soil whenever it dries through the first year.
- Mulch: Spread a few inches of mulch over the root zone, kept clear of the stems, to hold scarce moisture.
Watering the right way matters more than how often you do it. A deep, slow soak once or twice a week beats a daily splash that never sinks past the surface. After you plant, lay a ring of mulch a few inches thick over the root zone to slow the soil from drying out. Keep that mulch pulled back from the stems so the bark can breathe and stays dry.
Give these drought tolerant shade shrubs a full season of steady watering and they will hold their own. Once their roots reach deep, they live on what rain works through the canopy and need far less from you. Start with aucuba or mahonia if you want a sure thing, then fill in with sweet box, alpine currant or snowberry as the corner fills out.
Read the full article: Shade Loving Shrubs: 8 Best Picks
