Tell me what you know about these plants.

[TNDemo]

Apparently my donation has expired because I couldn't post in the gardening forum.

Helleborus orientalis
Acanthus summer beauty
Fatsia japonica
Rudbeckia goldsturm
Coreopsis auriculata
Japanese painted fern
Scabiosa columbaris
Merlot virginia sweetspire

It is time to plant my perennial shady garden. I went to look at plants today and these are ones that like shade, according to the tag. I have never had any of these and if you have would like your thoughts.

[Lex]

1. I have coreopsis in my garden & it blooms all summer long!

.
Love it!

Not sure if it is the exact same variety as mine, but the yellow flowering plant below is my coreopsis:

[gardenista]

8. Beautiful garden!

Is that tradescantia behind the coreopsis? Love that plant!

And I like your little blue birdhouse. So cute.

[Blue Gardener]

2. Don't count on the tags being accurate

As far as I know, Rudbeckia and Coreopsis prefer sun.
Have you thought about Corals Bells (aka Heuchera)?
You can always call your county extension office and see what grows well in your area. They can be pretty helpful.

[MissB]

7. Same with the Scabiosa

It prefers sun, at least in my yard. I'll second that Heuchera recommendation - purple palace is a nice one, as it adds a lot of deep reddish-purple.

[barb162]

13. or full sun. Tags, forget it, a lot of sellers will say anything

including giving false info on zones. I can't remember how many times some seller says zones 3-9 and the plant is zone 6-8.

[likesmountains 52]

3. I have a fatsia japonica in my house so I know it can live in shade..

the coreopsis...I agree, most varieties that I have seen like sun. Try www.gardenweb.com they have tons of info.

[bettyellen]

4. painted ferns are beautiful foliage plants....

they look lovely next to varigated solomons seal, which should be blooming soon, i think.
columbine is also a very nice choice for semi-shady spots.
helleborus is lovely but blooms very early, gone already for weeks here in ny.
rudbeckia and coreopsis both need sun, i think scabiosa is iffy, too.

[Mr. McD]

5. Athyrium niponicum "Japanese painted fern"

Morning sun is OK, filtered light or shade especially during the hottest part of the day. Not deep shade these do best with high light to help develop their colors. Moist-wet garden soil or potting mix, lots of organic matter. These will tolerate wetter conditions then most ferns. They are very cold tolerant. They are deciduous, they die back in the fall and come back in the spring. It is a beautiful plant.

[gardenista]

6. Careful, some of those are definitely not shade plants

Rudbeckia, Coreopsis and Scabiosa all need sun to bloom.

Try combining the Helleborus orientalis with Pulmonaria and Heuchera. Very low maintenance and colorful combo, especially if you go for a variegated pulmonaria and a dark colored heuchera. (Try 'Capuccino' or 'Chocolate Ruffles')

The Fatsia's going to get big, so put it near the back of the border. And the Japanese painted fern is lovely, but a bit of a spreader, so keep that in mind.

Why not also throw in some annuals like Nicotiana or Impatiens wildpretii?

And do try GardenWeb.com. They have a great shade gardening forum.

[Blue Gardener]

10. Pulmonaria is a good idea

And don't forget hostas! I just planted seven more varieties in the past week. There are thousands to choose from, so everyone ought to ba able to find something they like.

[Blue Gardener]

11. I just planted 'Can Can' heuchera

Very pretty dark ruffled leaves. I bought a hosta with red stems (Red October) to plant next to it. They look very nice in the same bed.
On edit:oops, replied to my own post.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

9. I suggest you look each one up individually

See what a place like http://www.plantanswers.com/ has to say about them. What kind of soil do they like, exactly how many hours of sun (if any do they need) etc.

Happy gardening! :hi:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

12. There are two there...

that I immediately know are not shade plants: Rudbeckia goldsturm and
Coreopsis auriculata. And I'm not sure about the Scabiosa. The others I'd have to look up.

I am not confident at all about the conditions described on many of the plant tags I see. I always make a point of researching them before I buy.

Shade perennials I have planted are bleeding heart (they do need cold winters), lily of the valley, and forget-me-nots. There are not a huge number of bloomers out there that love the shade. I also use hostas (which do bloom) and ferns in shade areas.