Best species for shade? Does anyone have experience with too little sun and finding plants that thrive in pots in low light?

[papkey5]

I would suggest Bald Cypress, and English and Japanese Yew.

 

[Highbidjj]

You might try Hinoki - Chamaecyparis obtusa.

Look in the woods that are on your property. Look at which seedlings are sprouting and developing well IN THE SHADE. These are the species to think about using.

Also, I've owned by house for over 35 years. I was neglectful at cutting down volunteer trees. Even though I have only a 50 foot by 150 foot city lot, my little plot has become too heavily shaded. For the last couple years, I have a tree service come in and remove a thousand dollars worth of trees. I need to do this a couple more times.

Trees grow, sometimes if you want to see the sun, you got to take one or two of them out.

Now I am definitely not suggesting taking out an ancient giant tree, but perhaps see where removing a couple "adolescent trees" could open a window to the sun for you.

Although, given the way summers are getting hotter, and dryer, learning shade gardening is not a bad idea.

Hemlock, Tsuga, especially eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, tolerates shade better than just about any other species of conifer. However to get tight growth, some sun is helpful. Look into shade gardening books. Some of the shrubs recommended for shade gardening can work well as bonsai. I don't have such a book myself. A little time on the internet would reveal much. Japanese maples are an obvious choice.

Blueberries, highbush blueberries, Vaccinium corymbosum grow well in open shade. Their fruit yield will be low in shade, but as bonsai, the focus is the spring flowers and the autumn color. Many members of genus Vaccinium grow well in shade. Blueberries, dwarf blueberries, whortleberries, bilberries and the several species of cranberries all have some shade tolerance. The culinary cranberry is the one that wants more sun, but the lesser known wild cranberries can tolerate some shade. The dwarf blueberries are quite good in the shade, only drawback is they are quite dwarf, tend to be "wispy", so their visual impact is low, they end up as kusamono more so than bonsai.

Do give Satsuki azalea a try. They get by on less light than one might think. Also look into "forest floor" species of shrubby rhododendrons, not the ones with big leaves, the little ones.

A number of vining plants develop woody trunks, Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus, will survive a long time in shade. Beech seedlings persist forever in shade, growing rapidly when a tree falls and they end up in some sun. Hornbeam, genus Carpinus, especially Carpinus caroliniana can get by in shade. Just an hour or two of sun will get you fairly normal growth.

You either have to fall in love with the obscure world of shade gardening, or you might have to resign yourself to selecting an adolescent tree or two to remove. I love old trees, but there are times when we have to figure out how to work around them.

Many thanks Leo. Shade gardening is definitely what goes on here. I have an experiment with some Native Huckleberries from the adjacent woods. You can't bend/wire them but they can be found small with fascinating contortions. Blueberries were on the property when we moved in but I let the deer have them. Maybe I can give them a try.

In my years here, I tend to take down trees, thin-out the young forest about every 5 years. My Alders all aged out and died off so I brought down about 7 of those. Also, 30 or 40 years ago I am told an unprincipled neighbor would frequently cut down Big Leaf Maples on property he did not own. The remaining stumps grew clumps clusters of trees that became unsustainable in the wind because of their off-center trunks. I have cut about 20 of those.

The true unavoidable issue is that I am downhill from a heavily wooded ridge to the south. I will move my bonsai enclosure as far North as I can and what will be, will be. The plants everyone has suggested will probably do fine there in a short season.

Thank you all for the suggestions. Everyone had something worthwhile to offer and I appreciate it.

 

[Highbidjj]

I was in the South pasture on a rare recent dry day and took a few snaps looking directly up the hill facing South.

The alpacas at the base of that big leaf maple give perspective. T

 

[penumbra]

Sounds perfect to me. So many people here are looking for a shady spot for many of the plants suggested here ......and you have it.
Azleas, primarily satsuki but others as well. Japanese Maples are my #1, beech, hemlock, hornbeam, camellia, yew, and many others mentioned in this thread that others cannot grow because its too sunny, too hot, too cold or too too.........
Your waking mantra should be "I must be in Heaven man".

 

[Peconomou]

I think Canadian Hemlock is great for shadier areas.

 

[Highbidjj]

Sounds perfect to me. So many people here are looking for a shady spot for many of the plants suggested here ......and you have it.
Azleas, primarily satsuki but others as well. Japanese Maples are my #1, beech, hemlock, hornbeam, camellia, yew, and many others mentioned in this thread that others cannot grow because its too sunny, too hot, too cold or too too.........
Your waking mantra should be "I must be in Heaven man".

We had no plans to move from 15 miles away when I stumbled onto this place for sale. I was actually chasing down a Craigslist ad for sequoia seedlings on this street. I saw the place on Friday and we signed papers on Sunday. It was all about the big trees. That is something no human make on a whim. I do feel blessed every day I am here. Absolutely.

Your list is good and so many others have offered equally good suggestions. I just need to learn to stay in my lane and avoid the pines, etc. that need a lot of full sun. Thank you for sharing.