Shade Tolerant Plants

You can see why they named this series NIMBUS™! Dense cloud-like masses composed of hundreds of frilly white flowers are held atop sturdy dark colored stems and the fine-textured Columbine-like bluish-green foliage beginning in mid-spring and continuing into summer. The flowers are followed by lavender-pink seedheads adding further interest. NIMBUS™ White Thalictrum is a clump-forming perennial that was selected for its more compact habit than the species as well as for its denser showier flower clusters. *They are tolerant of full sun in areas with cool summers but may do best with midday and afternoon shade or filtered shade in hot summer climates. We actually grow them under deciduous shade to good effect here in 8B. Meadow-Rue generally prefers a moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Flowering may be limited the first season but will increase with each year as the plants become better established. Photos courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc., www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12870

Beginning as early as midsummer the branching stems are cloaked in 1/2" wide white daisies with a contrasting yellow eye eventually becoming reddish. The nectar and pollen laden flowers attract mainly smaller pollinators like bees providing an important late summer source for winter stores. The Ontario Aster, Symphiotrichum ontarionis, is a native perennial that colonizes via rhizomes and grows to about 30-40"H. It is found mainly in the central US from coastal Louisiana north to Canada commonly in semi-shaded sites along stream banks, bogs, and similar consistently moist locations. Deadhead once flowering is complete to minimize reseeding if desired but songbirds may enjoy the small seeds if they are left to ripen. This species is very similar to and is often confused with other white flowered late summer and fall flowering asters. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Item# 12775

One of the neatest plants you can grow! The unusual 2" high green and white parachute shaped flowers are produced on and off throughout the warmer months and potentially year-round under warm tropical conditions. The Parachute Vine, Ceropegia sandersonii, is an easy to grow and enjoy naturally evergreen twining succulent with glossy very dark green fleshy foliage and equally dark stems that can potentially reach 8-12' but can easily be maintained on an 18-24" or larger trellis. It prefers partial to filtered shade to high indirect sunlight, the latter in hot summer climates, and a well-drained fertile soil making it an easy choice for container culture including as a hanging basket specimen. The Parachute Flower has been selected as a Royal Horticulture Society of Award of Garden Merit Award winner thanks to its ease of culture and reliability. Item# 9182

One of the neatest plants you can grow! The unusual 2" high green and white parachute shaped flowers are produced on and off throughout the warmer months and potentially year-round under warm tropical conditions. The Parachute Vine, Ceropegia sandersonii, is an easy to grow and enjoy naturally evergreen twining succulent with glossy very dark green fleshy foliage and equally dark stems that can potentially reach 8-12' but can easily be maintained on an 18-24" or larger trellis. It prefers partial to filtered shade to high indirect sunlight, the latter in hot summer climates, and a well-drained fertile soil making it an easy choice for container culture including as a hanging basket specimen. The Parachute Flower has been selected as a Royal Horticulture Society of Award of Garden Merit Award winner thanks to its ease of culture and reliability. Item# 543

Small clusters of unusual looking, funnel-shaped deep red flowers are tipped with contrasting white and green with the insides of the flowers being streaked and flecked with brown. The flowers are produced in early to midsummer atop 2-3' high stems and attract hummingbirds and other pollinators. The Parrot Lily, Alstroemeria psittacina, is an old pass-a-long heirloom perennial whose rhizomatous habit may be too aggressive for most garden settings but in the right location it makes an easy and rewarding informal groundcover. Alstroemerias prefer an average moist, fertile, well-drained soil and tend to be sturdiest where they receive atleast 4 hours of direct sunlight. *Where summers are hot, consider providing shade or filtered shade during the hottest part of the day. These also serve as long-lasting and popular fresh cut flowers. Item# 12831

Very large, semi-double to loose peony to anemone form to near rose form, rich red flowers, occasionally with some white on inner petaloids, and with occasional yellow tipped stamens peeking through are produced late in the season, March to April. Paulette Goddard Camellia is a large flowered Japonica with a moderate to vigorous, upright, densely branching habit becoming rounded with age. Paulette Goddard is another exceptional zone 6B cold hardy Japonica. Provide Camellias with a fertile soil rich in organic matter, with average moisture, and an organic mulch. While this image shows a flower that is mostly white, the flowers of Miss Charleston Variegated are typically more red than white. Images courtesy of Cam Too Camellia Nursery, all rights reserved. Item# 13238

3-4" high Shrimp Plant-like, square-shaped spikes of brilliant red bracts from between which emerge red-orange, curving tubular flowers with recurving petals and are produced mainly in winter into early spring. The Peruvina Wild Petunia or Lobster Claw, Ruellia chartacea, is a shrubby, naturally evergreen, tropical plant with medium-sized, glossy, deep green foliage and grows to 3-6'H x 3-4'W but can be maintained smaller with pruning. This is the only known Ruellia species with such showy bracts and they can provide color for months. Provide bright indirect sunlight, filtered shade, to cool sunlight like early or very late in the day. The Peruvian Wild Petunia will prefer an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12926

Hundreds of Japanese-lantern like buds open to display the unusual, downward facing, deep rosy pink flowers with strappy petals, that lighten toward their tips and are red speckled on the inside, are produced in late spring and early to midsummer with some repeat into fall. The flowers are held in large clusters of up to 50 flowers from the upright flower stems. Pink Octopus Japanese Bellflower, an unusually heat and humidity tolerant Campanula hybrid, is a clump forming, slowly spreading, 12-16" high perennial with feathery edged deep green foliage that makes an easy groundcover in full sun to part shade conditions. Provide an average moist soil in full sun but tolerant of drier soils in shaded areas once fully estagblished. Soils should be well-drained for optimum growth and flowering. Pink Octopus Bellflower was recommended for green roofs by Jimmy Turner while he was at the Dallas Arboretum and it performed quite well in their Perennials for Purgatory trials. Photos courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc., www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12861

Loads of 1-1/2" wide, starry, hose in hose flowers are light pink blushed white and have a slightly darker pink blotch and flecks in early to midspring and nearly hide the dark green foliage in peak flowering. Pink Pearl Azalea, originally named Azuma Kagami in Japan and imported and renamed by E.H. Wilson as part of the 'Wilson's Fifty', is a moderately vigorous, medium sized, heirloom, Kurume evergreen azalea with a mounding habit to about 4-5'H. Its moderately vigorous habit lend this large growing evergreen azalea to use as an informal medium-sized hedge, specimen plant, and as a spring flowering backdrop for mixed perennial gardens as well as in the landscape. Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Azalea flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Item# 12804

Small to medium-sized, 3-4" wide, perfect or rose form, bright pink flowers are produced late in the season, March to April, which is unusual for a Sasanqua. Pink Princess Sasanqua Camellia is vigorous growing, large evergreen shrub with an initially upright habit and medium textured, deep green, glossy foliage. It should make a good choice for a hedge, screen, or specimen plant. The Sasanqua Camellias are much more tolerant of growing conditions than standard Japonica Camellias and can tolerate less than perfect soils and full sun to light shade conditions. Images courtesy of Cam Too Camellia Nursery, all rights reserved. Item# 13240

This wonderful low groundcover produces dense cone-shaped, upright flower spikes with red stems in mid to late spring, with some flowering later in the season, and are composed of tiny ball-shaped shrimp-pink buds that open to display the tiny white flowers. The flowers are held just above the palmate bluish-green to green foliage with each lobe displaying a black to burgundy main vein. In fall and under shade, the foliage becomes a deep shiny black and in sunnier sites it takes on deep bronze tones. Pink Skyrocket Foam Flower is an easy and rewarding low, stoloniferous (think Strawberry plants), semi-evergreen groundcover that is shade tolerant and will likely need shade in areas with hot summer climates. They will prefer a moist soil with ample organic matter and average or better drainage. The flowers are reported to be fragrant and are likely pollinated by smaller bees. Dr. Allen Armitage in his Herbaceous Perennial Plants, 4th Edition states that he "puts these plants on the A list for shady areas." Pink Skyrocket Foam Flower is an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Photos courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc., www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12872

Zone 6 US National Arboretum introduction! Small to medium-sized, white, anemone form to semi-double flowers and may show off golden stamens, are produced early in the season, October to November, and are held against a foil of glossy, deep green, medium-textured foliage. Polar Ice Sasanqua Camellia, an Ackerman cross using C. oleifera for cold hardiness, is a vigorous growing, medium-sized, evergreen shrub with a fairly upright to spreading, densely branching habit. It has taken temperatures as low as -12^oF with no apparent damage and no protection except for that of pine trees overhead per Dr. Ackerman's description in his and Dr. Egolf's 1991 article Winter's Rose', `Snow Flurry', and `Polar Ice' Camellias on these U.S. Arboretum introductions. The Sasanqua Camellias are much more tolerant of growing conditions than standard Japonica Camellias and can tolerate less than perfect soils and full sun to light shade conditions. Images courtesy of Cam Too Camellia Nursery, all rights reserved. Item# 13241

The 2-1/2" to 3" wide, rich watermelon pink, funnel-shaped flowers sport a contrasting deep red blotch on the upper most petals and are produced in midspring on this highly popular old cultivar. Pride of Mobile Azalea, a.k.a. Elegans Superba or Watermelon, is a vigorous heirloom Southern Indica evergreen azalea with an initially upright habit to about 6-8'(-10') and wide. Its vigorous habit lend this large growing evergreen azalea to use as an informal hedge, specimen plant, and as a spring flowering backdrop for mixed perennial gardens as well as in the landscape. Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Azalea flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Item# 12802

Medium-sized, bright cherry red, formal double flowers, occasionally with lighter markings on inner petals, are produced in midseason, January to February. Prince Eugene Napoleon Camellia is an heirloom, large flowered Japonica with a moderate rate of growth and an upright to rounded, densely branching habit and glossy, medium green foliage. You can nearly always tell how popular the heirloom Camellias are and were by the number of synonyms they've amassed over the years and this one has long been a favorite as you can see here: Pope Pius IX, Rosedale Beauty, Ladiner's Red, Mrs. Harry Davis, Imbricata Rubra Plena, Queen of Denmark, Flore Plena Atrorubens, Rubra Plena Imbricata, Conte de Name, and Venus de Medicis. Provide Camellias with a fertile soil rich in organic matter, with average moisture, and an organic mulch. While this image shows a flower that is mostly white, the flowers of Miss Charleston Variegated are typically more red than white. Images courtesy of Cam Too Camellia Nursery, all rights reserved. Item# 13239

In summer, silvery buds open to display the fully double bubblegum pink 2" wide flowers with yellow eyes that are held on sturdy airy branching stems well above the foliage and are followed by silky white and silvery seed heads. PUFF® Pink Anemone or Windflower was selected as much or more for its tight 12" x 12" densely branching habit as for its excellent display of bright summer flowers. This is an herbaceous, clump forming, shade tolerant perennial that will do best in an average moist, fertile, well-drained soil in an area that receives at least 3-4 hours of direct sunlight. In areas with cooler summers Anemones can tolerate full sun but in hotter climates consider providing them with afternoon shade. Tough, easy and long-lived. Small enough for container specimens but it is sure to be an easy and low maintenance addition to a sunny garden or landscape. Images courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc., www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13322

Spikes of soft golden-orange upward facing funnel-shaped flowers are produced non-stop from mid to late spring to fall atop the medium green foliage attracting hummingbirds, occasional butterflies, and long-tongued bees. Pumpkin Pie Hummingbird Bush, a selection of Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii and potentially the same as the cultivar 'Bennie's Gold', is a small decidous native shrub from South Texas with excellent flower power. This easy and reliable heirloom has an upright to spreading busny habit rarely exceeding 3-4' in height (3'x3' is fairly typical in our zone 8B gardens) and it revels in the heat and sun of summer and is undaunted by the high humidity and high rainfall of the southeastern US. In the northernmost portion of its hardiness range, zones 7A-8A, the Hummingbird Bush may freeze back to near groundlevel in the hardest winters but readily returns to flowering by mid to late spring. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Small enough for containers but makes a no-maintenance addition the garden and landscape. Catepillar host for Crimson Patch. Item# 9671

Spike-like racemes composed of numerous 1-1/2" long, tubular, deep pinkish purple flowers are produced from spring to frost to potentially year-round under warm tropical conditions potentially attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Purple Fountains Skullcap, a selection of Scutellaria longifolia, is a mounding, naturally evergreen, herbaceous perennial perfectly suited for hanging baskets or container culture as a spiller or filler and is considered to be a root hardy, dieback perennial into zone 8. It can also be utilized as a groundcover for near the front of the border or landscape. Hanging basket culture will bring the nectar rich flowers within easy reach for hummingbirds. Provide an average moist to moist, fertile soil in full sun to partly shaded conditions for optimum vigor and flowering. Provide an organic mulch to protect the crown in areas where freezes occur if it is intended to be grown as a perennial. Item# 862

Loads of upward facing deep orange-red tubular buds open to show off thier contrasting starry yellow petals in spring atop a neat rounded mound of foliage. Ragin' Cajun Indian Pinks, a Plant Delights introduction that originated near St. Francisville, Louisiana, was selected for its neat and compact rounded habit, high bud count, orange-red flowers, and long flowering season. This is an easy and reliable long-lived clump forming, native perennial that is tolerant of full sun to light or bright shade. It goes fully dormant in winter dying back to near ground level then returning in early spring. Indian Pinks, Spigelia marilandica, will do best in a fertile, acidic, well-drained soil with average moisture. The flowers attract hummingbirds and other long tongued pollinators. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 13100

Large clusters of long-lasting, light lavender, mauve, to purple calyxes serve as the backdrop for the contrasting deep red, 1" wide, butterfly shaped flowers that are produced throughout the warmer months of the year, as early as midspring to about mid fall. The Red Bleeding Heart Vine, Clerodendrum x speciosum, is a naturally evergreen, heirloom, twining, tropical climber that is one of the better and more reliable flowering vines for shaded areas, although it can also take *full sun, if acclimated, where it may be even more floriferous, and it attracts butterflies and likely hummingbirds. I have always found it interesting that many of the butterfly and moth pollinated species in the genus Clerodendrum appropriately have butterfly shaped flowers. Provide the Red Bleeding Heart Vine with a moist to average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. This is a hybrid of the White Bleeding Heart Vine, C. thompsonae, and the Flaming Glory Bower Vine, C. splendens. Item# 599

The Red Butterfly Ginger produces large deep reddish orange to red flowers that emerge from a darkened flower spike atop the sturdy stems of rich green smooth tropical looking foliage. It very much resembles the White Butterfly Ginger when in flower other than the flower color but has darker foliage a more compact habit. The Red Butterfly Ginger is one of the earliest gingers to flower in our collection. Provide a semi-shaded location where it receives shade during the hottest portion of the day although it is fairly tolerant. The Red Butterfly Ginger will prefer an average moist, well-drained, moderately fertile soil. Item# 11521