Shade-Tolerant Flowers
by Diane Linsley
What are the best flower seeds for shade?
There are plenty of sun lovers, but shade-tolerant flowers are rare. Your local nursery will probably recommend hostas and ferns. But what about flowers?
Most shade-tolerant flowers actually prefer part shade. Very few plants can survive in full shade. A few hours of morning sun is ideal. Sunlight filtering through the leaves of deciduous trees is fine.
Other factors to consider are soil quality and water. Most shade-tolerant flowers enjoy rich, moist soil. Only a few will survive in poor, dry soil. You may have to experiment to see which plants will work in your garden. Here's a list of the best shade-tolerant flowers from seed.
Ageratum -- Fuzzy, purple-blue flowers. Great for cutting and butterflies.
Balsam 'Camellia Flowered Mix' -- Wonderful, self-sowing annual for shade.
Centaurea cyanus -- Pink, white, blue and lavender flowers for shade. Easy to grow from seed.
Cynoglossum amabile -- Chinese Forget-Me-Not. Indigo-blue flowers.
Monarda citriodora -- Lavender-pink flowers for hummingbirds and butterflies.
Nemophila -- Self-sowing, annual wildflower that tolerates shade. Makes a great bulb cover. Easy to grow from seed.
Nicotiana -- Trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of pink, purple, lavender, crimson and white. Some varieties are fragrant. Lovely in the shade.
Pansy -- Excellent annual flower for shade. Wide range of colors.
Phlox drummondii -- Pink, red, rose, magenta, white and bicolor flowers. Easy to grow from seed.
Shade-Tolerant Perennial Seeds
Allium cernuum -- Nodding clusters of purplish-pink flowers for part shade.
Aquilegia (Columbine) -- Spring-blooming perennial in a wide range of colors.
Campanula (Bellflower) -- Blue, pink or white bell-shaped flowers. Perennials and biennials for part shade to full sun.
Centranthus ruber -- Long-blooming perennial with reddish-pink or white flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
Cheiranthus allionii -- Bright orange flowers in late spring. Nice with tulips. Easy to grow from seed.
Digitalis (Foxglove) -- Shade-tolerant flowers in a range of colors and heights.
Dracocephalum ruyschiana -- Rare, shade-tolerant perennial with blue flowers.
Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) -- Mauve or white flowers with drooping petals.
Euphorbia polychroma -- Chartreuse flowers in early spring. Nice with early-blooming bulbs. Very shade tolerant.
Hesperis matronalis -- Violet or white flowers on tall stems in early summer.
Lunaria annua -- Fragrant, purple flowers followed by ornamental seed pods.
Lupinus (Lupine) -- Dense spikes of flowers in a wide range of colors.
Lychnis chalcedonica -- Scarlet-red, salmon-pink or white flowers on tall stems. Great for attracting hummingbirds.
Lychnis coronaria -- Purplish-red, pink or white flowers with silver-green leaves that brighten up the shade garden.
Lychnis viscaria 'Feuer' -- Brilliant, reddish-pink flowers that glow in the shade.
Myosotis sylvatica -- Spring-blooming groundcover with blue flowers for shade.
Penstemon calycosus -- Light purple flowers that tolerate part shade, which is unusual for a penstemon.
Platycodon grandiflorus -- Blue, pink or white balloon flowers in late summer. Long-lived perennial.
Polemonium (Jacob's Ladder) -- Lavender-blue flowers in late spring to early summer. Very hardy and shade tolerant.
Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan) -- Native perennial. Daisy-like flowers with dark centers. Blooms in shades of yellow, gold, orange and mahogany-red.
Ruta graveolens -- Blue-green foliage and greenish-yellow flowers for shade.
Sidalcea malviflora -- Small, pink, hollyhock-like flowers on tall stems.
Tanacetum parthenium -- Small, white, daisy-like flowers. Shade-tolerant filler.
Thalictrum aquilegifolium -- Fluffy pink, purple or white flowers on tall stems.
Verbena bonariensis -- Clusters of rosy-purple flowers that bloom the first year from seed.
Viola -- One of my favorite flowers for shade. It starts blooming very early in spring and continues long into the summer.
Container Flower Seeds -- The best annuals and perennials for containers.
Fragrant Flowers -- The most fragrant annual and perennial flowers from seed.
Groundcovers from Seed -- Annual and perennial groundcovers.
Recommended Books
The Complete Flower Gardener by Karan Davis Cutler
Color in the Garden: Planting with Color in the Contemporary Garden by Nori and Sandra Pope