Any ideas for low-growing plants for damp area on slope with shade in zone 5b?
Question:If anyone else has a trouble spot like this and has any hints, I'd be grateful.
Answers:
I'd recommend a mix of heights, leaf types and colors - plus some flowers, to brighten up your shady sloped area. It will, to some extent, depend upon how sloping your ground is, just what you can grow there.
Heucheras do well in my damp shady garden areas. Wonderful selection of foliage types, colors and flowers too. Herbaceous, like the Hostas.
Otherwise Foxgloves do well in shade, although growing these will depend on how sloped your land is. Mine do really well and grow about 4 - 5 feet tall. Mixed colors, or standard pink or white. These maybe too tall for you, but I wasn't sure how low growing you needed your plants to be.
Hostas are great, as recommended earlier. Mixed leaf colors, markings and flowers. In leaf in summer only, so aim to get some evergreen plants too.
I do quite well with Helleborous Niger- the Christmas 'Rose', this white flowered plant starts flowering in winter time, and continues through early spring. It reportedly is good for drier soils, but my heavy wet clay soil seems fine for it, though I have dug in extra humus, to keep it happy. There are other Hellebores that you could try too, such as the Lenten Rose: Helleborus orientalis, which flowers around Easter. I have some which do well in damp soil in part shade -again, don't know how shady your area is. This plant has been hybridized allot, coming in shades of white, plum, and almost to black. Singles normally, and also doubles. 12 - 18'' high.
Both of these plants set seeds freely, allowing you to amass allot of 'free' new plants.
Brunnera Jack Frost, is a stunning silvery variegated flowering plant.
English Ivy, comes in a huge array of leaf colors and patterns, and is evergreen, so good for providing year round interests.
You could also add some bulbs for seasonal color. Depending on the depth of shade, you could add some Daffodils - Narcissus. Some of them are really dwarf and have scents: wonderful.
Other bulbs to try include Scilla siberica and the Wood anemone - Anemone numerosa.
These will give something to place in the areas where you have herbaceous plants that will grow up after the bulbs have finished flowering. Hope these favorites of mine help you along.
Good luck! Rob
Ice plants are great! and EASY, check them out!
If you mean groundcover, english ivy, vinca. Check with your local nursery.
check out www.4seasonsnursery.com
or www.ediblelandscaping.com
Garfield,
Your question is within my zone, however, you do not state what you wish to accomplish in this planting. Damp is no problem. Shade is no problem. Are you looking for ground cover in general, color, flowers, shrubs, even trees?
Please write back. I'm at gjgjobs@yahoo.com.
hostas,or better yet,hostas
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