15 shrubs for partial shade, shade and shady locations

Shrubs are among the most common inhabitants of domestic kitchen and ornamental gardens. Because with their striking appearance, their bushy growth and their size between real trees and others Garden plants fill an important gap as a privacy screen, shade provider and focal point in the design of private green spaces. Here we tell you which bushes feel comfortable in partial shade or even shade and can therefore populate the less popular locations of the garden. But shady locations should also be taken into account.

Shadows

Shade, partial shade, shady locations - what is actually behind these terms? Because although one should initially think that these classifications are almost self-evident, the exact delimitation is often unclear.

Bad locations

However, this formulation is not precisely defined. In general, however, shady refers to a location that is not directly illuminated by the sun, but still receives a high degree of brightness. Examples of this are courtyards or the mostly small gardens of terraced houses that are surrounded on all sides by trees. Even the north side of buildings can often be described as shady outside of the direct shadow, but still in the area shielded from the sun.

Penumbra

If shadows are caused by trees, a wall or other objects, it can wander during the day The position of the sun also shifts, so that a location is sometimes shaded, but sometimes also directly illuminated by the sun is. If a location is partially shaded, the sun can reach it directly for up to four hours a day, but otherwise remains shaded.

the shade

Real shade describes locations that, in contrast to penumbra, can never be reached directly by the sun all day long. This can be, for example, on the north side of buildings in the direct shade of the building, or directly on walls and garden houses, or even under leafy trees and conifers.

Shrubs for partial shade

Bad locations

From G - K

Ordinary Barberry

With its strong leaf spines and very straight growth, it is the barberry (Berberis Vulgaris) easily recognizable and often known for their distinctive appearance Bushes.

• Appearance: straight, smooth stems with teardrop-shaped, dark green leaves; small yellow flowers in drooping racemes
• Size: one to three meters high
• Use / yield: up to one centimeter long, scarlet fruits; Edible, but very acidic due to the high content of malic acid and other fruit acids

Cornelian cherry

The Cornelian cherry (Cornus Alba) is known for its intense, bright yellow blossoms. During the flowering period, they stand out from the surrounding vegetation from afar and thus become a striking eye-catcher

• Appearance: strongly branched growth with small, light green leaves, flowering time before the leaves are formed, thus particularly striking appearance
• Size: in free growth up to several meters, in domesticated state usually two to three meters in height
• Use / yield: dark red to black berries with an elongated, olive-like shape and size; edible and processable, but often strongly acidic and rather sandy to the touch of the pulp
• Special features: Fruits are considered to have a high vitamin C content, and in the past they were also popular for jams and compotes

From S - Z

daphne 

The daphne (daphne) blooms particularly early and thus enriches it mostly in the beginning the annual growth period, other shrubs stuck around bright, densely packed flower umbels.

• Appearance: small or dwarf shrub, broad, upright growth with narrow, narrow leaves, dark green leaf color with a strikingly light central rib; small flowers in pink to purple, grouped in dense inflorescences; Fruits cherry-like in light red color
• Size: around two meters tall and wide at the age
• Use / yield: pure ornamental shrub
• Special features: is considered to be extremely cold-resistant, belongs to the so-called bee pastures

Attention: The daphne is considered highly poisonous! Bark and especially fruits contain high amounts of daphnin, daphnetoxin and mezerin.

Witch hazel 

The intensely fragrant winter blossom of the witch hazel (witch hazel) is particularly impressive. But even the late autumn bloom in yellow-orange enriches many an ornamental garden with another component.

• Appearance: deciduous shrub or small tree with leaf shape reminiscent of beeches, inflorescences with three to four flowers with strongly furrowed corollas, long, narrow petals, flower colors yellow to intense Red
• Size: stature two to three meters
• Use / yield: ornamental shrub, no yield
• Special features: autumn to winter blooming, intense, pleasant floral scent; Seed pods opening explosively, seeds are thrown up to 10 meters

Cotoneaster 

Again and again as Ground cover found, the cotoneaster (Cotoneaster Dielsianus) can reach impressive sizes as a shrub or small tree. It is known for its bright red berries.

• Appearance: dense growth with small, oval leaves in dark green color; small, five-petalled, white flowers in the leaf axils, later individual round fruits in bright red
• Size: one to a maximum of two meters high
• Use / yield: pure ornamental wood, not usable due to the poisonous content
• Special features: All plant components, especially fruits, are slightly poisonous

Locations in partial shade

From B - K

Boxwood

The boxwood (Buxus Sempervirens) is usually used as a dense, almost impenetrable hedge. But even as a solitary shrub it develops a decorative effect with its compact growth in partial shade.

• Appearance: Small, pale green leaves dense, very compact and dense growth; Flowers inconspicuously yellowish, growing in dense clusters in the leaf axils
• Size: very easy to adjust thanks to regular pruning, grows up to eight meters outdoors as a shrub
• Use / yield: pure ornamental shrub, no usable yield
• Special features: recently fell into disrepute due to the increasing number of box tree moths, but with proper care and early control it remains a popular and permanent plant

Rock pear 

The rock pear (Amelanchier) settles somewhere between the terms lush bushes and small trees and is well suited as a provider of small, child-friendly ones Snack fruits.

• Appearance: rather filigree shrub with small, oval, slightly pointed leaves that are partially felted; racemose inflorescences with white, delicate-fingered flowers
• Size: depending on the variety, up to five meters in height
• Use / yield: visually and in terms of size blueberries comparable fruits in light purple to dark blue, aromatic, juicy-sweet taste
• Special features: with around 25 varieties, very diverse family, varieties in keeping and size but comparable

Kolkwitzie 

The Kolkwitzia (Kolkwitzia Amabilis) is characterized by a dense sea of ​​white to pink-red flowers. It therefore delights numerous parks and ornamental gardens with its lush blossoms and its dense, bushy growth.

• Appearance: egg-shaped, serrated leaves with a tapering tip, dense and bushy growth with overhanging branches; white to pink flowers in dense inflorescences
• Size: two to three meters in height and width
• Use / yield: ornamental shrub, no yield
• Special features: young shoots brown and hairy, later peeling off the bark, appearance then gray and smooth

From L - P

Bay rose

The bay rose (Kalmia latifolia) is considered to be one of the most decorative, winter-hardy flowering shrubs. The dense and white to pink flower umbels give it an imposing and at the same time delicate, fragile appearance.

• Optics: leaves on laurel reminiscent, dense, bushy growth around towering flower umbels
• Size: usually 50 to 70 centimeters high, in individual cases up to two meters
• Use / yield: pure ornamental shrub
• Special features: All plant components are moderately toxic for animals and humans

Oregon grape 

With the Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium) there is a shrub that looks very close to the related barberries, but gets by without their annoying thorns.

• Appearance: alternating, dark green leaves with a serrated edge, light yellow, upright flower umbels at the branch tips, later blue, hanging berry umbels, not unlike the elder
• Size: one to one and a half meters, very broadly bushy
• Use / yield: non-yielding ornamental plant
• Special features: berries, however, slightly poisonous

Splendid bell 

Hardly any other shrubs are able to come so close to the term calyx in reality. Because the umbrella clusters of inflorescences of the magnificent bell (Enkianthus) with their numerous white-yellowish to pinkish red The shimmering flowers are actually very clearly reminiscent of an inverted calyx and develop an intense one even in partial shade Luminosity.

• Appearance: loose, spreading growth, elongated, ring-shaped, light green leaves
• Size: stature up to four meters
• Use / yield: ornamental plant, no usable yields
• Special features: typical bog plant, ideal soil pH value between 4 and 6

Locations in the shade

Bushes with K

Cherry laurel

With a dark, compact Manifestation the cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) becomes the counterpoint of many plantings. Its love of shady locations and its good compatibility with the root pressure of larger neighbors make it the ideal companion for trees and larger shrubs.

• Appearance: compact, upright shrub with partly overhanging branches, deep dark green color of the large, lenticular leaves, distinctive central rib; small white flowers in dense, upright umbels, later dark red to black fruits reminiscent of cherries
• Size: easily over 4 meters in ornamental gardens, but up to 7 meters in solitary position
• Use / yield: ornamental shrub, raw fruits poisonous! Berries can be eaten cooked, but no longer common today
• Special features: poisonous fruits, but can be made edible by cooking, previously used frequently as jam

Bushes with R

rhododendron

The classic of the moor and heather-loving shrubs is the rhododendron. Its preference for acidic soils has made it almost notorious among hobby gardeners, which it compensates for with its expansive look and its very own charm.

• Appearance: alternate leaves arranged radially around the branch in a deep dark green color, large, upright flowers in large numbers, flower color depending on the Art from blue to white, pink and yellow to lilac and red;
• Size: Depending on the type of maximum growth height from 20 centimeters to 10 meters and more
• Use / yield: ornamental trees
• Special features: very slowly growing, but with proper care, even in old age, it forms strong flowers and grows densely; in the shade, however, the number of flowers tends to be lower

buckeye 

Actually an imposing tree, the horse chestnut (Aesculus Hippocastanum) can also be grown very well as a shrub for the tub or the planting bed with the right cut.

• Appearance: Spreading, open growth with distinctive, five-fingered leaves, white to pink flowers in upright umbels
• Size: as a shrub around one meter with regular pruning
• Use / yield: Ornamental and park plant, round chestnuts, but with strong spikes, cannot be used as fruit

Bush horse chestnut 

In contrast to the common horse chestnut, the bush horse chestnut (Aesculus parviflora) is a real large shrub that does not mature into a tree even with less pruning.

• Appearance: expansive, growing in width with typical five-fingered chestnut leaves, white flowers on upright umbels
• Size: stature up to 4 meters, width increasing with age
• Use / yield: very thin, yellow-brown, thornless capsule fruits, but not usable
• Special features: over the years forms subterranean runners and can thus reach a total width of up to 10 meters; largely resistant to parasites and diseases