resource for dry shade cny

Found this link above for you. I have Clethra here in Northern Va in part shade and it is doing fine. With your 4-5 hours of filtered sun, i should think it would be fine for you, too, although maybe not native. I always suggest checking out your state native plant society and local master gardeners who are happy to help.

No matter what you plant, watering well and deeply until the plants are established-1-2 years usually-is a must. Get out there now (fall is the time you want them getting healthy and ready for making it through winter and coming back strong in the spring) and be sure they are getting at least 1" of water every week or more if you dig down and the ground is horribly dry.

I think you have the beginnings of a lovely garden. Good luck. Pop back in and let us know how it is going.

Agree with both cyn and GG. New plants do need more attention, and maples are known to suck up all the water for themselves. I have oaks but my daughter has maples and for the last few years since she moved into her house, I have been experimenting with what will survive there, as you are doing too.

I was under the impression that clethra was more of a swamp/wet-loving plant. I planted it in a vey swampy garden for a customer and it did really well. Not saying it won't work anywhere else but I do think it would need more attention paid to it in terms of water.

What kind of geranium are you growing? I've been very happy with the g. macrorrhizum that I've put in her yard as a groundcover under the maples.

:)

Dee

I’ve got three Aralia cordata ’Sun King’ in similar conditions that are doing okay. There’s a large Red Maple only 15’ away and about 3-4 hours of sun. Actually, I think my conditions are more challenging.

Dee - rozanne cranesbill, as you can see on the right side the geraniums are looking great and full and on the left side they are leggy. I wonder if I can figure out a way to get some drip irrigation over there, I've never done it though so I'd have to read up on it. I actually have macro under my maple too and it's doing great!

The stuff that does well in my deep, dry shade is goatsbeard and heart-leaf asters. That said, you do need to water during a drought.

I've got three maples close together in the front yard. Solomon's seal, a few kinds of hosta, columbine, coral bells, peonies, and hellebores are growing well under them. Day lilies and a surprisingly tenatious lilac on the side that gets more sun. Out back on the trails we have an area that grows full of wild chives under maples. Mullberries, blackberries, wild strawberries, various ferns, mayapples and other stuff grows under other maples or on the canopy line around the property.

If you have lawn sprinklers you could swap out some sprinkler heads with 360 degree spray and they will water that area.

• We had drip installed for the whole yard with 1/2 pipes with individual 1/4 for each plant, and a control box.
• For the deck pots, we bought a patio DIY drip kit at Walmart that includes everything, 1/4 inch pipe, drippers, and a timer to attach to a hose spigot. Ths would work for your small area if a hose faucet is nearby.

Both sets run every morning for 5 or 10 minutes.

Lauren a thought popped into my head this afternoon and I thought of you. I used to have a small garden maintenance business, and one garden I took care of had a large bed in front of the house, about 15-120 feet long, maybe 10 feet across, and there were FOUR maples in it. It got shade all day except late afternoon/evening, at which point one end of it was blasted by hot sun.

This bed had an azalea in it. It was planted about 2 feet away from a maple, was well over 5 feet tall, bloomed beautifully, and always looked great. I watered occasionally but for the most part it was on its own and never needed me to do a single thing to it. I was always surprised it did so well because I was under the impression azaleas needed more moisture than that. (I should note the azalea was NOT at the end that got the hot late day sun, or at least not the full brunt of it.) Perhaps azaleas are something you could look into.

:)

Dee

I would definitely not recommend Clethra for any sort of dry shade situation. @Lauren W. (z5b - CNY) I'm not far from your region, and have several established Clethras: all except those in the wettest/swampiest spots of my property start to sulk and wilt during any extended dry periods in the summer.

They might hold up a little bit better in a shady position, and I know they can definitely tolerate shade in general, but they consistently bloom much better for me in a mostly sunny location (if their moisture needs can be met).