Jim, if your astilbe is dropping dead, it's more likely from lack of moisture than lack of sun. And the comment about plants "withering" also points in that direction. Shade doesn't cause plants to wither, just to either grow very little and refuse to flower (my coneflowers did that in full shade, then prospered when I moved them to morning sun) or grow leggy in search of the sun and again not flower. Withering usually comes from drought, excess sun or disease, not shade. Your azaleas and astilbes shouldn't be withering and the problem lies elsewhere. I am assuming that your beds near the house are in dry shade, perhaps from tree roots sucking out the water and nutrients.

Most of your other "busts" are full sun plants and would never thrive in that environment no matter what you do. Look into hostas, epimedium, columbine, perennial lobelia, bleeding hearts, trillium, erythroniums, wood anemones, Joe Pye weed, bugbane, filipendula, Japanese anemones, meadow rue, sedges, and brunnera. Some of these do require good moisture though, and if you can't provide it in the beds close to the house, you should do a search here on dry shade plants for a better list. Grow your perennials from seed or buy cautiously one plant at a time so you don't sink a fortune into things that don't work. In the meanwhile, you can put in annual impatiens and begonias until your successful perennial choices take up the room.

With some careful research and close attention to both light and moisture requirements, you will end up with a beautiful garden. Good luck!

Some hardy shrubs for shade or part shade: sweet box (sarcococca), hydrangea, boxwood, mountain laurel, and rose of sharon. (Check the zones on any specific variety, though; some have cultivars that aren't hardy). There are also miniature or shrubby varieties of dogwood, japanese maple and pussy willow, which will all take some shade.

I agree with Janet, though; it sounds like your problem is something other than the amount of light. Have you had your soil tested? If they have plenty of water, it could be black walnut or some kind of herbicide poisoning. If your house is new, the builders could have left something in the soil around it.

TR

Hostas come in many colors and really look good in mass plantings Some are even tall enough to be a low shrub for a foundation planting. For some color try colombine and impatiens can do well under trees. Coleus will also to really well in the shade to add some more punch and color to the mix. They also come in many sizes.

Plants I see growing in nature around jack-in-the-pulpit are Amsonia (bluestar), virginia bluebells, trillium - though most trillium need moist, well drained soil like on a slope, foamflowers, ferns, spider lilies, wild geraniums, spiderwort, turtlehead, cardinal flower, etc.

Blueberries do well here in zone 7 in moist, shady areas. Maples love moisture. Would you like a border of japanese maples?

I totally agree with what's been said about moisture levels. You mentioned lots of trees, and whenever you factor in lots of tree roots, you can count on *very* dry soil conditions. I've experienced the same conditions in my backyard and ended up with raised beds that get watered a little more frequently. You can always go the raised bed route, or you can do your homework with regards to plants that thrive in dry soil. Good luck!

Roxana

Jim,
Having a mountain hunting camp in the Allegheny National Forest, Northern PA Mountains. The only plants/shrubs that have grown in dry shade without any coaxing or extra attention are Hemlocks (can be pruned into a hedge), Mountain Laurel, Ferns, Ground Pine, Hostas, Sweet Woodruff, Ribbon Grass, Myrtle, and Bishop Weed. If you take a walk, out into the surrounding wooded area; look around at the natural plants that are growing there. You could dig up/transplant some ferns, ground pines etc. into your area. That would make a more naturalized environment. It depends on what your goals are. If you want to tame the woods......... If you are willing to cut down trees to bring in more light, your success would increase. My suggestion........go with nature. If you want more color go with pots of impatiens, coleus and caladium. Pots or hanging baskets you can control; by moving to required light and water as needed. Good Luck........Dianne

Just returned to the forum...you are all so kind for the advice. I'm going to water, and experiemtn.

Any htoughts on Witch hazel, Oak laf Hydrangea or Euonyium?

All shade plants.

Meanwhile, water water water

I have a small woodlot in my back yard consisting mostly of mature maples but also beech and black cherry. It's true, they suck the soil completely dry an hour or so after rain. For plants with shallow root systems it's death. Andlike others said, if you look for shade species you will do a lot better. Maybe add some humous to the soil and some mulch to the surface to hold a bit more moisture around the plant until it's established. Ferns tend to need moisture but there are some hardier ones that should do well in your dry conditions since they are very much like mine. I find the two that do best from the start are "Christmas" and "Hart's Tongue". Planting them in groups of 3 so that the foliage will eventually create a small blanket and surrounding with a light layer of mulch will help keep the moisture but you will have to water. The next year they will be less dependant on you for water but you might still need to water on dry bouts. Osterich Fern is a bit more sensitive but if you can keep it alive through the first year it will adapt to the drier conditions. they are nice because they can grow to 3 or more feet tall. In our first year with them they grew to 3' so I'm hoping they will be even taller this year. Ferns are nice too because of their movement, it makes the woods feel cooler even when it's not. Some other things I've planted and have grown well or are growing naturally here are:

Woodland Plants
Bloodroot
Canadian Ginger
Bunchberry
Virginia Bluebells
Red Trillium (grows there naturally)
Blue Cohash (grows there naturally)
White Trillium/Grandiflorum (grows there naturally)
Dog Toothed violet (also called Trout Lily...grows there naturally)
Jack-in-the-pulpit (grows there naturally)
Wild Violets
Wild Columbine
False Solomon's Seal (grows there naturally)
Solomon's Seal
Painted Trillium

Ferns

Christmas Fern
Hart's Tongue Fern
Maiden Hair Fern
Man Fern
Lady Fern
Osterich Fern
Royal Fern
Sensitive Fern
Cinnamon Fern

Shrubs

Witch Hazel
Serviceberry
Dogwoods (red osier and alternate leafed)
Hazelnut
Redbud
Pin Cherry
Viburnums (forest edge but still don't need sun)
Elderberry
Highbush Cranberry

Additional Trees

Sugar (and other) Maples
Bur Oak
Red Oak
Tulip Tree
Hickory
Black Cherry
Beech

and many more... use keyword "understorey trees shrubs plants ferns" in a search and to get more specific use your hardiness zone or even more specific your native region if you want all "native to your region stuff".

This is kinda funny but I am an exotic hamster breeder and always felt bad that on cage cleaning day I was throwing away several cubic feet of wood shavings so I decided to use it as a material outside the edge of my woods to control weeds and alien species from coming into my yard. I've just spread it in a path-like area all around the edge and it's keeping out the weeds just dandy. I could also use it as an additive to the soil to help hold moisture but I don't because it has seeds in it from the hamster's food and I don't want them growing in my little woods. If they grow out of the pathway I will just pluck them out as they come up but it's so thickly carpeting the ground that I doubt anything will germinate, it' will likley just rot first.

Do you compost? If so, you could add well aged compost to your planting areas or make a compost tea out of it to water the plants with. That would kill 2 birds with one stone.

Barb
Also 6a but right on the edge of 5b zone

Oak leaf hydrangea and witch hazel are both very nice but will probably need some help to get established if it is as dry as it seems.

"Euonyium?" Do you mean Euonymus? If so just stay away from alata/alatus (the non-native burning bush).

Dry shade makes me think of ostrich fern, sword fern (most dryopteris), brunnera, wood spurge, wood sorrel, pagoda dogwood (as long as it's cool), gray dogwood,, elderberry, maple leaf viburnum, black haw,there are some drought tolerant Rhodys, Carolina allspice. If your shade is deciduous you still get rain and sun in early spring before the trees leaf out try winter aconite, glory of the snow, snow drops, squill, trout lillys, bloodroot, hellebores would probably work too.

Lots of trial and error, amend with compost, start composting all your leaves, poke around and see if you can't find pockets where humus and soil have accumulated naturally for planting areas.

Give evrything a good head start with water and if need be fertilizer until it is WELL established.

Good luck!

A couple other things occurred to me after I posted was whether you have much barrier to wind. Also, what kind of soil do you have? Wind can also make delicate plants wither. By planting some "natural succession" to your property and creating levels of growth in your woods (forest floor plants/bushes and shrubs/tall trees) you will keep more delicate plantings from withering in the wind (IF it's breezy or windy there, that is). Our soil is sand mixed with clay on top of a deposit of gravel so if the maples aren't sucking up the water, the rest is draining away very QUICKLY.

Barb
s/w Ontario

I have a tiny patch of dry shade in the city - a rather different environment from yours and in a warmer zone - but have, over the course of ten years, killed many plants there! From that experience, I can offer the following:
Plant in fall or very early spring - plants will have enough root system by summer to have a fighting chance. Consider growing plants to maturity in another location and then moving them to the tough area; I did this with Trillium ovatum with great results.
Think ferns, ferns, and more ferns. Hostas are good, but some may need more moisture than you have to really thrive. Acanthus mollis works amazingly well. Euphorbia Wulfenii is FABULOUS.
Learn to love hydrangeas and boxwood. Discover sarcococcus (sweet box).
Ruscus is an ugly duckling shrub that works for me (don't know its hardiness) and so is a Cotoneaster with silvery leaves. Huckleberry might work. And I'd echo elderberry (Sambucus) - I have a nigra "variegata" that is a knock-out growing in almost full, and pretty dry, shade.