Plants for Partial Shade

Read your shade before you choose

Partial shade covers everything from bright dappled light under a jacaranda to three hours of morning sun beside a fence, and the difference matters. Flowering shade plants, gardenias, camellias and hydrangeas among them, want morning sun and afternoon protection to bloom well. Foliage plants such as Xanadu philodendron and elephants ear take deeper shade but sulk in dry, rooty soil. If your spot gets no direct sun at all, work from our full shade collection instead, and if it gets six hours or more, treat it as a full sun position.

Climate then decides the palette. In tropical and subtropical gardens, sheltered beds belong to alocasias, heliconias and native gardenia (Atractocarpus fitzalanii). In cooler southern gardens the same job passes to camellias, hydrangeas and Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), which colour best with gentle light and cold nights.

Where partial shade plants earn their keep

South facing beds, side passages between houses, courtyards shaded by walls and the ground beneath established trees are the natural territory. Under trees, root competition is the hidden problem, so favour tough clumpers: Evergreen Giant liriope at 40cm apart and kidney weed (Dichondra repens) at 20cm knit into groundcover where lawn gives up. Beside a wall or entry, a low gardenia hedge softens the outlook and perfumes the still air.

Planting and spacing in lower light

Growth is slower in shade, so resist planting tighter; the standard spacings still apply, the plants just take longer to meet. Set Gardenia 'Aimee Yoshiba' 80cm apart for a low scented hedge, Japanese box 30cm to 40cm apart for formal edging, and native gardenia 1.5m apart for a screen that reaches around 5m. Dig compost through before planting, because shaded beds are often dry, hungry and full of roots, then mulch 50mm to 75mm deep and keep the water up for the first two summers.

Care basics for shaded beds

Shaded beds fail at the extremes. Under an eave the soil misses rain entirely and needs hand watering even in winter, while a damp, shaded corner suits hydrangeas and alocasias but rots most other roots. Feed lightly in spring, prune flowering shrubs straight after their flush, and if flowering keeps disappointing, thin the canopy above by a branch or two. A little extra light does more than any fertiliser.

Common questions

What counts as partial shade?

Roughly three to six hours of direct sun a day, or bright dappled light through the day. Morning sun with afternoon shade is the gentlest version and the one most flowering shade plants prefer.

Will gardenias flower in shade?

They flower best with morning sun and afternoon protection in a warm spot. In deep shade you get glossy leaves and very few blooms. Gardenia 'Aimee Yoshiba' carries the largest flowers of the common varieties.

What grows under established trees?

Liriope, kidney weed and other tough clumpers handle root competition far better than shrubs. Plant into pockets of improved soil and water them through the first summer, because the tree takes most of what the rain delivers.

Can I grow a hedge in partial shade?

Yes. Japanese box holds a formal line at knee height, sweet viburnum makes a fast screen usually held at 2m to 3m where it gets some sun, and native gardenia builds a perfumed screen in frost free gardens. Expect a slower result than the same hedge in full light.