Shade (shady)

The location note “shady” means that a plant can manage with very little or no direct sunlight. Such positions usually receive less than three hours of direct sun a day or lie permanently in the shade of buildings, walls or larger trees and shrubs.

Typical shady areas are on the north side of houses, under dense tree canopies or behind tall hedges and privacy screens. Little direct light reaches the plants there, and diffuse daylight often predominates.

Plants for shady positions are adapted to low amounts of light. Many of them have large leaves to capture as much light as possible. Typical shade plants include many ferns, various woodland perennials, mosses and some ground cover plants.

As shady positions warm up less, the soil often stays moist for longer. Even so, shade plants should not automatically be regarded as plants for wet soils. In shade, too, soil type, water balance and nutrient supply are important site factors.

Shady does not necessarily mean dark. Many shade plants prefer bright places that are protected from direct sunlight, and even in shade they only grow well if there is enough daylight.