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Which of these shrubs likes the most shade?

Randommoose1Randommoose1 Posts: 99
in Plants
Hello!

I will be planting up my front garden soon with a mix of shrubs and perennials. There will be a bed in partial shade and I need to decide what goes where. I have the following shrubs to go in it and wondered if anyone can tell me which like more shade and which will be ok with less?:

Viburnum Opulus Compactum (I have 3 of these)
Viburnum tinis Eve Price
Sarcococca confusa

There will also be some Digitalis Excelsior (I have 6 plants coming later in March and then hope they self seed in future years), there is an existing weeping Cercis Ruby Falls.

As the summer sun goes round part 1 of the bed gets morning sun (and maybe a bit of midday), part 2 gets very little sun (maybe a bit of midday sun) and part 3 gets midday to evening sun. The bed is an elongated triangle if that doesn't seem to quite make sense! During winter parts 1 and 2 are in full shade and part 3 gets some late afternoon sun.

I would be grateful for anyone's experience with these shrubs, especially which of them will be happiest in the shadiest and sunniest positions.
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  • clematisdorsetclematisdorset Posts: 1,348
    Sarcococca confusa for me has done very well in shade @Randommoose1 but I am sure someone with more experience will be along soon to answer in more depth!
    Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus 
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    Iagree3 re the Sarcococca but V. tinus does quite well. V. tinus is larger shrub than any Sarcococca if that affects the decision


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • Randommoose1Randommoose1 Posts: 99
    Thank you for your replies.

    I was planning on keeping them pruned to about 1m spheres which I think should be ok for all them? Though yes, V. tinus Eve Price might need to get bigger, probably a while before it gets to that stage though. I will see how the space goes at planting time as to whether all the V. Opulus Compactum fit in or if any need to go elsewhere.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited March 2023
     @Randommoose1 If you like Viburnums you may like V bodnantense Charles Lamont flowers all winter. Needs to be thinned at the base after flowering in spring, takes up little space at ground level. I love it and often write about it! Photos not my thing sorry it is distant. Lovely scent too.  
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    We have Sarcococca in shade and full sunlight and both plants are doing what they do best this time of the year. Fantastic fragrance. We do cut them back to keep them at a small shrub size.
  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    GardenerSuze said:
     @Randommoose1 If you like Viburnums you may like V bodnantense Charles Lamont flowers all winter. Needs to be thinned at the base after flowering in spring, takes up little space at ground level. I love it and often write about it! Photos not my thing sorry it is distant. Lovely scent too.  
    Interesting that you grow Viburnum x bodnantense Charles Lamont.
    It is not often sold.
    Viburnum x bodnantense Dawn is by far the most common in garden centres./gardens

    I used to grow both, as well as Viburnum x bodnantense Debens...the flowers of which were paler.
    I struggled to see the difference.

    https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/viburnum/viburnum-x-bodnantense/

    Quote...from Trees and Shrubs.see link above.

    "'Charles Lamont'

    One of Mr Lamont’s seedlings (see above) has been named ‘Charles Lamont’. The late Rowland Jackman considered it to be finer than ‘Dawn’, with brighter pink flowers, more freely borne (Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 93 (1968), p. 419). It is still scarce in the trade."



    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • Randommoose1Randommoose1 Posts: 99
    edited March 2023
    GardenerSuze said:
     @Randommoose1 If you like Viburnums you may like V bodnantense Charles Lamont flowers all winter. Needs to be thinned at the base after flowering in spring, takes up little space at ground level. I love it and often write about it! Photos not my thing sorry it is distant. Lovely scent too.  
    Thank you for that suggestion, it looks nice for something taller. I will bear it in mind if I have spare space when I do the plant layout. 

    I don't know how I feel about Viburnums as such :D but this house is my first time learning about shrubs and perennials (I have only really focussed on trees before) so I have tried to get a mix of different shrubs. The sunny bed is a lot bigger and has a lot more varieties of shrubs and plants so overall the whole front garden should hopefully have something of interest to both me and the wildlife throughout the year. The V.tinis and Sarcococca are the winter flowering options.

    There are lots of the winter flowering Viburnums around here so it seems to be a soil and climate that suits them.
  • Randommoose1Randommoose1 Posts: 99
    bertrand-mabel said:
    We have Sarcococca in shade and full sunlight and both plants are doing what they do best this time of the year. Fantastic fragrance. We do cut them back to keep them at a small shrub size.
    That is really useful to know as this was the one I thought would tolerate sun the least! 
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Silver surfer It does have an RHS Award of Garden Merit which is why I purchased it. I had no idea that it was difficult to find. The flowers are a deeper pink and yes there are lots of them.Last year it started flowering in November, at that point it hadn't lost all of it's leaves due to the late Autumn. In December some of the flowers were frosted but new ones have replaced them, it is still covered in flowers today as I look at it at it against a blue sky. Flowers are at the top. think that is a result of pruning and thinning old and crossing stems at the base after flowering. I am also encouraging some new young stems too.  Flowers have a subtle almond scent.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'm just wondering why you want Viburnums if you want something to trim into a sphere @Randommoose1. You'll compromise the potential flowering   :)

    Sarcococca would be fine clipped, as the foliage is smaller, and would stand that. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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