California
native plants that grow in full shade
What we are calling full
shade is shade under a dense canopy of evergreen trees, not under
a deck or other solid structure. Some light must penetrate in
order for the plants to photosynthesize.
Don't forget that our full
shade may not be like your full shade. Most people can give a
little more sun to many of these plants. Look on each individual
plant's description (the links) to get more precise information
about each plant's needs or to order it.
This is also called Sierra
Giant Pipe Vine. Dutchman's pipe is a vigorous vine with
heart-shaped leaves. The flowers are totally strange. They are
green with reddish brown stripes and reddish brown petals. It is
deciduous. The flowers emerge first, then the leaves. It is the
larval food plant for the Pipe vine swallowtail. It does fine in
our demonstration garden with no extra water, don't forget we
only 20 inches of rainfall. The background picture for this page
is of Dutchman's pipe. In it the leaves have not appeared yet.
What these strawberries
lack in size, they make up for in flavor. They are rich and
sweet. They also make an excellent groundcover. They like a
little extra water, as they are native in coastal areas where
they receive extra rainfall from fog drip and to sierras where
they receive extra rain.
Island alum root has huge,
juicy, light green leaves and tall flower stalks with little
cream colored pendulant flowers. In the demonstration garden it
needs a little extra summer water. We have it about a yard away
from the birdbath with lots of mulch.
This hearty alum root
tolerates -10 deg F. It grows to 3 ft tall and has tall reddish
flowers.
Douglas iris is a delicate
native iris with purple flowers. It is very drought tolerant in
the shade. It likes a little mulch.
This delicate little bush
penstemon has light purple flowers with dark purple stripes. It
has shiny gray foliage and arching gray stems. This bush
penstemon is happy in full shade.
This is a delicate little
honeysuckle with large bright orange flowers. It grows in full
shade on north facing slopes in Northern California. We put it
near the birdbath in the demonstration garden so it would get a
little extra moisture.
This showy little
honeysuckle has large pink flower clusters and large clasping
leaves. It is very drought tolerant and can handle shade.
Coyote mint has light
purple flowers and a minty fragrance. It likes to grow under
coast live oaks and is very drought tolerant. It is a great
butterfly flower. It grows about a foot tall.
This little fern likes full
shade. Goldback fern goes dormant when it gets to dry. It can't
take a lot of mulch. Gold back fern likes the protection of a
rock. It is called gold back fern because the spores on the
underside of the leaves turns gold as the mature.
Currents, are great for attracting
birds and butterflies to your garden.
To
learn more about currants and gooseberries in a shade garden, see
our Ribes Page
This is a colorful pink
current. It likes shade and is drought tolerant. The leaves are
fragrant. Hummingbirds love it!
Golden currant has shiny
bright green leaves and no fuzz. It has yellow flowers and small
black fruits. The fruits are small and sweet. It grows 3 to 6 ft
tall.
 The
wood rose is a delicate little native rose. The flowers are
fragrant with a single layer of pink petals. It grows 3 to 6 ft
tall.
This native Rhododendron
has white flowers. It likes moist areas and full shade.
Hummingbird sage grows
about a foot tall with a 2 to 3 feet burgundy flower spikes. The
leaves are fragrant. It spreads by underground rhizomes and makes
a great ground cover. Hummingbirds love it. It likes leaf litter
and full or part shade. It is native under coast live oaks.
Walk through the Yerba buena.
Without water it just goes
deciduous in summer, coming back lush with the first rain.
 This
Yerba Buena was planted 12 years ago and the three plants we
planted have become one big plant, 6-9 ft across and 3-6 inches
tall. It smells clean and minty and makes a very low, only a few
inches, groundcover.
Bumblebee plant has tall
flower stalks with lots of little black flowers. Bumble bees and
other interesting insects enjoy it. The Chalcedon Checkerspot
butterfly lives on this species and sequesters Iridoid glycosides
from the plant, making the larva poisonous and adults
unpalatable.
Western spirea is a
beautiful open shrub with arching branches and attractive
foliage. It has great fall color and large pink flower clusters
in spring. It grows 4 to 5 ft tall. It grows in moist forest
areas so it may need a little extra water.
Southern California
Snowberry is shorter and more compact than S. albus. It is
also very drought tolerant.
Huckleberry is a shrub
related to the blueberry. It likes full shade in moist forested
areas. It has light pink umbel flowers, reddish bark and shiny
green foliage.
Our wild violets, or
Johnny-jump-ups, are happiest in clay soil under blue oaks.
However they are also under Chamise, Ceanothus, and coast live
oak. They seem to not be able to tolerate a lot of leaf litter.
They get buried. The yellow flowers are a great addition to
salads.
Yerba de salva is a low
growing herbaceous plant with small white flowers. It is happy in
full shade. It is native along the coast ranges under the forest
canopy.
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Wild Ginger is a really
neat little perennial with heart-shaped leaves that likes full
shade. Wild ginger smells spicy in a nice way. The flower is the best thing
about this plant there are three petals with 1 to 2 inch
spur-like projection. The inside is white with a red center. The
flowers are about 0.5 to 1 inch wide. It is native in the redwood
forest and yellow pine forest so it may need a little moisture.
Giant Rye is a huge grass.
It likes full shade. You can find it along the coast under the
full shade of coast live oaks. It is not aggressive. It has a
better form when given some sun. It is happy in the shade but it
tends to look a little leggy. It receives no water.
Alumroot is a dainty little
perennial with reddish green foliage and dainty cream-colored
flower clusters that may reach 3 ft in hight. It is happy in the
shade with a little moisture as it is from climates with rainfall
higher than our 15 in. It is cold tolerant to about 0 deg F.
This is a delicate little
Alum root with scalloped leaves and pendulant little cream
colored flowers. It is native at high elevations.
Cream bush is a very
elegant shrub. It has arching branches, with soft light green
foliage and large cream colored flower clusters. The flower
clusters turn a chocolate color after a while and hang around
through the winter. It works great in flower arrangements. You
can use it like a classy babies breath. It loves shade and is
drought tolerant.
This pretty yellow Iris
likes moist shade or wet sun. It goes deciduous in the winter. It
forms a neat little clump spreading slowly by short underground
rhizomes.
Wallaces Pitcher sage is a
shrub with light purple flowers. It has large fragrant clasping
opposite leaves. It does well in part or full shade and is
drought tolerant.
 Chaparral
honeysuckle is very drought tolerant. It has pretty little yellow
flowers, purplish stems, and clasping gray green leaves.
This Mahonia is erect and
not as bushy it has the same yellow flowers and berries.
California barberry is more drought tolerant. The leaves are very
holy like.
Miner's lettuce is an
edible little wildflower that often comes up under oaks. It is a
sign you have a healthy garden. Don't pull it up. When it is done
doing its thing, it will disappear.
Chaparral currant is a very drought tolerant
Ribes that grows in shady areas in the chaparral. It has delicate
white flowers that are liked by hummingbirds.
Pink flowering currant
likes full shade. It is deciduous. It has large fragrant leaves
and large pink flowers. He hummingbirds really like it. It is
drought tolerant.
This is an evergreen
currant (no spines), with dark green foliage. It grows from 1 to
3 ft tall. Catalina Perfume has fragrant foliage. It is very
drought tolerant and loves full shade.
Thimbelberry grows wild
under redwoods. It likes moist areas in full shade. The berries
are pink and resemble raspberries. It grows 3 to 6 ft tall.
This purple nightshade
grows 2 to 3 ft tall. It has dark purple flowers and grows well
in full shade. It is very drought tolerant.
False solomons seal likes
moist deep shade. It is native in coastal forest where it
receives fog drip. It sends out a stem with large opposite leaves
terminating in a white cluster of flowers. It spreads my
underground rhizomes.
Snow berry is a delicate
small shrub with a lacy habit. It has small pink flowers and fat
snow white berries. It is very drought tolerant and happy in full
shade. It goes deciduous but the white berries hang around for a
long time after the leaves are gone.
Mountain meadow rue is a
feather herb with tiny pendulant flowers. The leaves look similar
to that of columbine. It likes full shade and is happy under
coast live oaks.
Canyon sunflower likes
moist shade. It would be good with a lot of mulch or in a moist
shady rock garden. It dies back in the winter. Canyon sunflower
is a small bush 2 to 3 ft tall. The sunflowers are around 2
inches wide.
This is a horrible name for
a cute little plant. The leaves are long and green like mule
ears? It stays less than a foot tall and has 2 to 3 inch
sunflowers. They make good cut flowers. It is very drought
tolerant. It goes dormant in the winter.
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