It sounds like a wonderful spot for a camellia if they can grow there.

Earthkind roses will do fine, but doubtful about azaleas and camellias.

Do you mean Moonlight the hybrid musk? I don't know how that would do in Dallas - maybe it's too hot and dry? I'm not sure about that.

But I think that Spice, one of the earthkind roses, might do well there. Or Perle d'Or.

Have you found the Chamblee Roses website? They have a good selection of earthkinds and are inexpensive. Try one and see what happens.

I have the same problem at my house - just in the back to the side of the garage. After frying azaleas, hydrangeas, and other plants there, I finally took a chance and stuck a knockout there. I decided on the knockout because I knew it was pretty tough and I wouldn't cry if it didn't make it!

Well, it has grown but didn't bloom as much as it should have. I don't think it gets enough sun, and your idea of a shade tolerant rose is a good one. (Sorry, don't know Moonlight). The above suggestions of an Earthkind rose is probably your best bet. Wish I had thought of that before planting the knockout!

That has been the hardest part of the garden for me to figure out. I'd be interested in knowing what works for you.

Try the Texas A&M site for the selection of Earthkind and Texas Superstar plants suitable for your area. They work great here in tropical Louisiana, also.

Thanks for your ideas! Would love to put a camelia in that spot, but checked with my landscape contractor son, who thinks the leaves would burn. Moonlight is a hybrid musk, it's a band that I bought from Ashdown last year. ARE sells it, so I figure it ought to do okay in this area. Think I'll give it a try, and just see what happens!

This area has been just a bugaboo. I've been growing Kimberly Queen ferns in big pots and they do fine, but have to replace every year.

Most HMs tolerate shade pretty well--I don't know about the heat. My Moonlight is still small. She gets about 4 hours of full sun, then dappled sun and then shade. Ask me in a few months...

Hello OGRose,

I just doublechecked Gregg Lowery's shade tolerant list of plants he has actually personally tried out in 3 hours or less of direct sunlight in his gardens (Vintage Gardens). Moonlight makes his shade tolerant list, as do many others of the hybrid musks.

Most of the Earthkind roses need more than two hours of late afternoon sun. They are especially disease-resistant, but are less likely to be healthy growing in that little bit of sun. Even roses with some known shade tolerance don't necessarily have that amount of it.

I hate to disagree with your son, but he made a mistake. Most camellias would likely do quite well in your spot.

Two hours of direct sun is not a lot of sun for a camellia, and is in fact close to ideal for most varieties, whether sasanqua, japonica, or a hybrid. Three to five hours of sunlight is probably the average good-growing situation for the majority of camellias. A burned camellia in the location you described would be very unlikely, whatever variety you might chose.

I've seen postings by two different camellia growers (one in Florida) about the sasanqua camellia "Kanjiro". The one in Florida does splendidly in full sun, as do those planted in a nursery in Georgia (I think the nurseryman is located in Savannah). I have the impression that most sasanqua camellias can thrive with a fair amount of sun, up to full sun for a few of them. Some particular varieties of japonica camellias can take a good bit of sun too, though less readily than sasanquas. That said, partial shade is the usual situation where most all camellias do best.

Best wishes,
Mary

It's my guess that the problem with camellias in central Texas is more likely to be soil pH rather than light intensity. To grow them successfully in that locale, I'd think that a major effort to amend the soil would be required; then, due to the alkalinity of the ground water, constant vigilance thereafter to maintain a low pH.

Another vote for Spice (the found China) and Perle d'Or. Great front yard roses, as they are clad with foliage all the way to the ground and repeat bloom very well in the heat.

I vote for 'spice'. I have it growing in a site that faces N and gets about 4 hours of direct sun in summer- it has thrived and I like the scent.

We have the hybrid musk Pax in just such a spot - gets late hot Western sun, but bright shade the rest of the day. It is happy - I would try Moonlight.

Jackie