Good question - not an easy one for me to answer since my beds aren't yet well established. The first thing that comes to mind is Rodgersia -- they're in a bed close to a maple tree, and other things in the bed show signs of water stress before the Rodgersia, which I find surprising. They really don't seem to mind it there. Same thing with hostas in that bed -- they're growing beautifully -- yet other nearby plants that are less sensitive to dryness struggle. Go figure.

I find rodgersias are much more tolerant of dryish conditions than they are given credit for! I grow quite a few R. aesqulifolia under trees and under roof overhangs where water can be limited. Most do very well. The ones under the front porch overhang do well until late July when they start showing some leaf scorch. I suspect it's caused as much by heat radiating off the asphalt driveway as it is from a shortage of water as other rodgersias in limited water conditions continue to do fine. Astilboides, which used to be considered a form of rodgersia, definitely needs moist conditions to really perform well. Over the years I have got more adventurous re planting conditions. If I think something might look good somewhere but the conditions aren't what it is supposed to prefer, I often give it a shot anyway just to see how it actually does there. Quite often you can be pleasantly surprised - even if it doesn't perform ideally, it might do well enough to earn the right to continue to grow there ;-)

"I find rodgersias are much more tolerant of dryish conditions than they are given credit for"

That's good to know -- references always state they need moist conditions.

"If I think something might look good somewhere but the conditions aren't what it is supposed to prefer, I often give it a shot anyway just to see how it actually does there."

Yep, me too -- that's how the Rodgersia ended up in this bed. I find many full sun plants are very tolerant of partial shade and often push the limits there. Reverse doesn't usually work as well, though, but depends on exact site.

Yeah, I do the full sun plants in varying degrees of shade too - some work; some don’t. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that.... :-)