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Any ideas?

Jenny128Jenny128 Posts: 24
in Plants
Hi,
Can anyone suggest any plants or small shrubs I can plant under this holly tree please? I don't want them to grow too high so they cover the wall lights. This area doesn't get much sun.
Thanks
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Posts

  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    edited August 2023
    A few evergreen ferns that don't mind dry soil might suit.  I've used quite a few named in this article for a similar area:

    evergreen-ferns-dry-shade

    There's also a small ornamental grass worth considering, Hakonechloa macra aureola, which is deciduous but retains some shape over winter, or try Euphorbia amygdaloides robbiae which grows happily in difficult shaded areas. 
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    What the soil like ? I should imagine that it's quite dry what with the wall and the Holly tree ?
  • BulbbankruptBulbbankrupt Posts: 6
    Perhaps Epimediums (more for leaves than flowers). They can cope with dry shade but will need regular watering first couple of years to establish
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    There will be plenty of plants that may suit, but we'd need to know roughly where you are [not all plants are hardy everywhere in the UK] and whether the soil is light or heavy, wet or dry. 

    Many people assume it would be dry, but again - that depends on location, and also the aspect of the bed.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    Fairygirl said:
    There will be plenty of plants that may suit, but we'd need to know roughly where you are [not all plants are hardy everywhere in the UK] and whether the soil is light or heavy, wet or dry. 

    Many people assume it would be dry, but again - that depends on location, and also the aspect of the bed.  :)
    Guilty - I assumed it was dry because of the size of the Holly and the small bed @Fairygirl but you’re right, we need a bit more detail please @Jenny128.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • WaterbutWaterbut Posts: 344
    Ferns for me as well but we had to cover our new young ones under plastic domes slightly sunk into the soil to protect them from some nasty nibblers. Just replaced the domes with a larger set.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I grow heucheras and primulas in front of my holly @Plantminded . It's in a bed with a cherry laurel and a mahonia... and a hedge  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Maybe Hakonechloa macra



    I have 5 on each side of my patio planted in raised beds.
    I panted these just over 2 yrs ago and they're doing well.
    They look great rippling in the wind when it blows.

    RHS says happy in deep shade too
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/33668/hakonechloa-macra/details


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I like Brunnera Jack Frost for dry shade. It copes with most soils, temperatures, dry or normal. It has sprays of pretty little blue flowers in April May then the leaves grow bigger in the summer.

    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    Fairygirl said:
    I grow heucheras and primulas in front of my holly @Plantminded . It's in a bed with a cherry laurel and a mahonia... and a hedge  ;)
    Your clay soil gives you a head start I think @Fairygirl, not an option for dry sandy soil!
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


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