Designing and establishing a new landscape is easy. You’re starting everything from scratch, and the huddles are minimal.
However, an already-established landscape with ready structures presents a challenge. You don’t have much freedom. For example, selecting the wrong type of trees near structures or buildings and their roots could cause unnecessary damage.
Hence, selecting trees with non-invasive roots is the best course of action. But what happens if those same buildings cast shadows for most of the day?
Very few plants will thrive in those conditions.
Thankfully, finding trees that grow in the shade shouldn’t be tricky. This post will list carefully selected shade-loving trees that add interest to a dark corner with their ornamental foliage, delicate flowers, or bright berries.
7 Shade Loving Trees to Incorporate in Your Planting Scheme
Common Hawthorn Tree (C. monogyna)
This is by far the most ideal small tree for several reasons. First, it can tolerate a variety of growing conditions, including minimal light, and discourages deer foraging.
Most importantly, it will add interest to your landscape regardless of the season. For instance, in the Fall, the trees will produce berry-like fruits that persist through winter. In Spring and Summer, you’ll enjoy gorgeous, lush foliage and delicate blooms.
For these reasons, grow this tree as a focal or foundation plant. Other cultivars exist that you can grow as privacy screens along the border.
Caution: This tree is considered to be invasive in some regions.
Flowering dogwood
Flowering Dogwood, botanically known as Cornus florida, prefers full sun to partial shade, but more shade is ideal in hot regions, including the coast.
This tree is great for accenting a patio or children’s play area. Like the Hawthorn tree, flowering dogwood interest spans seasons. Its great foliage and fruits are experienced in the Fall, and it flowers in Spring. The scaly bark appeals over the winter.
Other dogwood cultivars to consider are flowering Chinese dogwood tree and white flowering dogwood.
Japanese maple
The Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) is a magnificent deciduous tree cultivated for centuries in Japan. It is an excellent choice for smaller courtyards or gardens, as it typically grows to no more than 15-25 feet tall and wide.
The vibrant foliage and cascading branches create a beautiful canopy over your courtyard.
Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
Grown primarily for its evergreen needles and conical shape, the Eastern hemlock is the only tree that grows extremely well in shade. In fact, it can tolerate shade in the upper canopy throughout the day.
However, a bit of sun will be beneficial when forming cones and subsequent seeds.
Eastern Redbud
This small deciduous tree produces stunning purple flowers in spring. The showy lavender-pink blooms of the Eastern redbud make it a popular addition to any courtyard landscape.
It has a low-growing, spreading form with thin roots that don't typically spread beyond its drip line.
Red Maple
Red Maple (Acer rubrum) is a fast-growing landscape tree that uniquely blooms in winter. The leaves break into a variety of colors, including yellow, orange, and red. This burst of color lasts for several weeks and brightens the fall season.
Although the tree prefers full sunlight, it can still thrive in some shaded conditions. The only drawback is that these trees prefer adequate moisture throughout their growing season.
Therefore, you have to irrigate them when it gets hotter.
American Hornbeam
The American Hornbeam, Musclewood, or Carpinus caroliniana, is one of the best understory trees with dark green, serrated leaves that turn into a shade of yellow, orange, and red in the fall.
As an understory tree, it prefers partial shade but tolerates full sun and full shade, tolerating less sun in warmer climates.
The only thing that I don’t like about this tree is its slow growth.
Conclusion
As the world becomes hugely urbanized, hard landscapes dominate. There are high-rise structures virtually everywhere, blocking sunlight.
For most gardens, there’s at least one dark spot.
Hence, the proper choice of trees to bring nature closer to us is becoming increasingly important. This post has highlighted most of those trees that grow and thrive in dappled shade.
I hope this list is helpful to you.
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons