Shade Plants

Shade is the hardest spot in most yards to plant, and it is where the standard drought tolerant list stops being useful. The entries here are rated for shade or part shade, which covers a north facing bed, the ground under an established tree, or a covered patio that never takes direct sun. Azaleas, camellias, Japanese maples, sedges and bergenia belong in that group alongside cycads, several bromeliads and a number of aloes, and they hold their color without scorching.

Two cautions worth reading before you buy. Shade tolerant does not mean water hungry, so check the water rating on the product page rather than assuming a shade bed needs more irrigation; the succulents here still want to dry out between waterings, while azaleas and camellias want steady moisture. And dry shade under a mature tree is different from open shade, because the tree wins the competition for water; give anything planted there its own emitter for the first two seasons.
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Grown by California nurseriesAzaleas, maples and shade succulents1 gallon to 60 inch box
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Shade under a mature tree

Under a mature tree, roots compete hard for water, so a new planting there needs its own irrigation and often benefits from soil amended for better drainage and moisture retention.

Tierras y Enmiendas para Jardín

Shade tolerant succulents for a bed

A few aloe and agave selections tolerate part shade or bright shade rather than full sun, still wanting fast-draining soil and time to dry out between waterings.

Aloe

A covered patio in containers

A covered patio with no direct sun suits shade tolerant plants grown in containers, which can be moved seasonally and swapped out as light patterns change through the year.

Plants for Pots and Containers

A woodland style bed with shrubs

Azaleas and camellias anchor a woodland style bed, and pairing them with other shade tolerant shrubs builds layered color without needing full sun anywhere in the planting.

Shrubs

Shade Plants Buying Guide

Cómo elegir, qué revisar antes de ordenar y cómo se entregan los pedidos de plantas.

Shade plants are species chosen to hold their color and shape without direct sun, and the safest way to shop this page is by the exact rating on each product, since full shade, part shade and the dappled light under a tree canopy are not the same growing condition. Azaleas and camellias, Japanese maples, and aloe and agave selections rated for shade all show up here for different reasons, alongside a mix of ferns, foliage plants and cycads. Matching a plant's sun rating to how many hours of direct light a bed actually gets matters more than judging the spot as simply shady.

Matching a shade rating to the actual light in a bed

A spot rated shade or part shade on this page can mean very different light conditions in practice. The north side of a house gets bright, indirect light all day with no direct sun, a covered patio gets reflected light off nearby walls, and the ground under a mature tree gets moving, dappled light that shifts through the day. Azaleas and camellias want the filtered, dappled kind and thin out in deep, dark shade, while several of the ferns and foliage plants on this page tolerate the darker spots better. Check the sun rating against your actual bed rather than a general impression of shady. If a bed gets six or more hours of direct sun, full sun plants is the better starting point.

Japanese maples in a shaded bed

Japanese maples generally prefer filtered or part shade rather than deep, all-day shade, since a little direct light, especially morning sun, keeps leaf color from fading toward plain green. In California's hotter inland areas around Visalia, afternoon shade protects the leaves from scorch, while a coastal yard can often give a Japanese maple more sun without trouble. Deep, dense shade under a thick evergreen canopy slows growth and thins the tree's form over time, so a spot with some broken light through the day works better than the darkest corner of the yard.

Aloe and agave that tolerate shade

Most aloe and agave varieties want full sun, but a few selections on this page, chosen for foliage rather than heavy bloom, hold up in part shade or bright shade better than the rest of their genus. They still want soil that drains and time to dry out between waterings, since a shade tolerant succulent is not the same thing as a low light, high moisture plant. Placing one under an eave overhang or filtered tree light, rather than deep, permanent shade, keeps its shape from stretching toward whatever light it can find. See agave and aloe for the full range of sun needs across each genus.

Dry shade under a mature tree

Dry shade, the ground directly under a large tree, is a harder growing spot than an open shaded bed against a wall, because the tree's own roots pull most of the available water before a new planting can reach it. A plant rated for shade can still fail there simply from underwatering, not from too little light. Giving anything planted under a mature canopy its own drip emitter for the first two seasons, rather than relying on a sprinkler zone shared with the lawn, is usually what separates a shade plant that establishes from one that slowly starves.

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Azaleas, camellias, Japanese maples, and shade tolerant succulents are the shade plants that hold up best in a California yard. Azaleas and camellias want part shade and steady moisture, Japanese maples take filtered light without leaf scorch, and select aloe and agave varieties tolerate bright shade while still wanting soil that drains. Match the plant to how much direct sun the bed actually gets rather than to what looks shady from the porch.

Yes, a handful of succulents tolerate shade, including certain aloe and agave selections rated for part shade or bright shade rather than full sun. They still want soil that drains and time to dry out between waterings, since shade tolerant is not the same as water tolerant. Most cacti and full sun succulents will stretch and lose color in deep shade, so check the sun rating on the product page before placing one under a tree canopy or on a north wall.

Not automatically, and it depends on the plant rather than the light level. Shade tolerant aloe and agave still want to dry out between waterings, the same as a full sun succulent, while shade loving shrubs like azalea and camellia want regular, even moisture. Dry shade under a mature tree is its own problem, because the tree's roots pull most of the available water, so a plant placed there often needs its own emitter even though the spot looks shady and cool.

Full shade means a spot that gets no direct sun during the day, such as the north side of a house or deep under a tree canopy, while part shade gets a few hours of direct sun, usually morning or filtered afternoon light. A plant rated for part shade can scorch or stop growing well in full shade, and one rated for full shade can bleach out in too much sun, so check the specific rating on the product page rather than guessing from the yard.

Yes, Japanese maples generally prefer filtered or part shade in California's hot inland valleys, since strong afternoon sun can scorch their leaves. In milder coastal areas they tolerate more sun, but inland in Visalia or the high desert around Rosamond a spot with morning sun and afternoon shade keeps the leaf color from bleaching out. Deep, all-day shade will slow growth and thin the canopy, so filtered light works better than total darkness under a thick tree.

Camellias and azaleas bloom best in part shade with filtered light rather than deep, all-day shade. Too little light thins the plant and reduces flowering, while too much direct afternoon sun, especially inland, can scorch the leaves and buds. A spot with morning sun and afternoon shade, or dappled light under a high canopy, usually gives the fullest bloom along with steady, even moisture through the growing season.

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Shade tolerant shrubs for year-round structure

Azalea and camellia work as the structural backbone of most shade beds on this page, since their evergreen form holds shape through the year while smaller ferns and perennials fill in and die back around them. Prune either shrub right after its bloom finishes rather than in fall or winter, since flower buds for the following year form on the current season's new growth. A shade bed built around one or two of these shrubs, with smaller shade tolerant plants layered underneath, reads as finished faster than a bed of small plants alone, because the shrub gives the space height and a fixed shape while everything else fills in around it.

Plants for north facing beds and walls

A north facing bed is the coolest, dampest form of shade in most yards, since it gets no direct sun at any time of day and the soil stays several degrees cooler than a bed on the south or west side of the same house. That cooler soil slows root establishment in the first season, so a new planting there often needs a few extra weeks of regular water before it settles in compared with the same plant against a warmer wall. Azalea, camellia and several of the ferns and foliage plants on this page handle that cool, damp condition well, while aloe and agave selections rated for shade still want the soil to dry out between waterings even in a cooler bed.

Shade succulents for pots and dry corners

A shade tolerant aloe or agave often does better in a container on a covered porch than in open ground, because a pot dries out faster and gives the roots drainage that a shade bed's damp soil does not always provide. For an in-ground dry corner, such as under an overhang where rain rarely reaches, surrounding the base with decomposed granite instead of bark keeps the crown dry the way the plant wants. Both approaches solve the same problem from a different direction: giving a shade succulent drainage in a spot that would otherwise hold water too long.

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Shade Plants con Entrega en California y el Suroeste

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