I'm really surprised that red hot pokers are doing well in full shade. Then tend to like full sun.

Our Japanese Maples are East Facing, and they both get morning sun and afternoon shade. One is Waterfall. Not sure about the other. But they are on a drip system and are regularly watered. These are not drought resistant trees. On our East facing slope, we have agapanthas, freeway daisys, sage, and some succulents whose name I do not know. But they still get watered every other day per the mandate of the county.

What county mandates waterings every other day? I know we have water restrictions that prohibit watering on certain days, but I haven't heard of mandated watering.

My senecio is doing fine in shade. Another small agave that looks great with the blue senecio is agave lopantha quadricolor. It is a compact agave- only gets 19-24" wide and tall.
another thing to consider- succulents that are in full shade tend to rot with too much irrigation. I almost never water them. If you plant a maple it will need quite a bit of water- might not be a good combo....

Thanks, all. I guess I need to update my settings -- I wasn't getting email alerts about your replies. Glad I checked!

Thank you for your insights about the Japanese maple. I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me to check their water needs, tho I do find juggling soil conditions, sunlight requirements and water needs daunting sometimes!

Sabine, I have an agave lopantha quadricolor elsewhere in my yard, where it's kind of lost. I think I'll replant it.

Josue, I love hopseed. I will definitely incorporate them. Thank you. Wooee!

As for a shade-tolerant, drought-tolerant tree.. any ideas? It's for right outside my toddler's bedroom window and I'd love something beautiful for her to 'grow up with'.. Ideas?

For dry shade, possibly Carpenteria californica. I've seen it growing and flowering in the shade of oaks and pines just east of Fresno. Some dogwoods might take dry shade as well but I'm not familiar with any specific varieties.

Gosh, Carpenteria californica is beautiful! My husband grew up in the Central Valley, so it would be fun for us to have a bit of 'home' in our garden too.

Josue, per your suggestion, I purchased a purple hopseed. I also bought an Icee Blue Podocarpus, which I fell hard for and am hoping will do well alongside my foxtail agaves and blue chalk stick...Do you think a Carpenteria californica would do well in this mix?

Thanks in advance!

I hope they grow well for you! The carpenteria is sometimes hard to find. I can give you suggestions of where to look if you post what general part of CA you're in. I know of several nurseries in the central valley and in the bay area that carry them.

I'm in Orange County. My in-laws are in Tulare, tho, if there's nowhere in the OC.

Gotcha! I'm not of much help south of Fresno, but I do know that Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley runs a nursery with TONS of natives. Las Pilitas nursery in Escondido carries them as well, and I think they deliver! Best of luck! I'm sure other nurseries near you would also be happy to do a special order for you and get these to a place near you.

I have no idea what this little volunteer is, but it gets zero water. I discovered it yesterday growing in the west facing crack of a huge boulder nestled in a pine grove. It's mostly in shade. I'm trying to find out what it is in the Name that Plant forum, but the one suggestion given seems wrong. I'd like to move it to a less hidden spot.

It looks like a dudleya of some sort (possibly D. crymosa). You can go to this site to search for what dudleya species grow in your part of the state. You can search by zip code, county or you can pick a location on a map. Then you would enter dudleya in the search box and see which species grow in your location. That could help you narrow down the search to one or two species.

http://www.calflora.org/app/wgh?page=entry

Josue, that is a good site! It has to be Dudleya pulverulenta ssp. pulverulenta AKA Chalk Lettuce, is native to Southern California, likes to grow in cracks in rocks and sides of slopes. It doesn't like water in it's little rosettes, so if the OP chooses to plant this, she should tuck it sideways between a couple rocks in her shade garden. Mine is in shade mostly, but it's dry shade. Here is a link to the map you recommended. The blue dots are where it has been spotted. http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=2859 Many nurseries carry it. The rosettes can grow up to a foot wide.