Sun Exposure: Part Shade

Part shade  can fall under a number of categories. It may be very dappled shade from a high overstay of trees. It could be the east or west side of a building where the sun is at its maximum for just one half day. Another site that acts like part shade is what is referred to as an open north exposure. The north side of a building or fence, where the sky is unobscured but obstructions and sun angle never completely penetrates. This is a cool aspect but bright enough for almost full sun lovers.

Climate Adapted Plants for Gardeners in the PNW

Nemesia fruticans ‘Gray Mary’

This is an interesting discovery in my garden. I bought this plant as part of a 6 pack of annual color years ago. This species is hardy in our climate but it usually comes back in a wimpy way. Enter this individual seedling that is extremely vigorous, cold hardy, and unlike the species it blooms continuously through the heat of summer. This Nemesia does not take a break in the mid summer heat.  To just 6″ tall by 2′ wide this continuously blooming perennial has small snapdragon-like flowers  in clusters that have a lower lip of white  with a touch of yellow and upper petals that are gray and change to purple. Best in enriched soil with regular water in summer. It begins blooming straight away in May and continues until frost.  Loved by hummingbirds and pollinators. It makes a great perennial container plant that is so prolific in bloom for such a long period you might think it was an annual.  Loves rich soil and organic fertilizer. Cold hardy below 10ºF and disappears completely in cold winters, emerges in April. Excellent at the front of borders and trailing down rock walls. Easy and pretty perennial. Not bothered by rabbits. Native to high elevation South Africa.  Mix with other smaller scale perennials such as  Armeria or Diascia, Campanula ‘Dickson’s Gold’. Remove spent flowers to encourage more.

Xera Plants Introduction

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Cestrum parqui

Chilean Jessamine, this is a large growing sub shrub that blooms on new wood and produces clusters of small tubular yellow flowers that pump out a heady perfume at night. Large mid green leaves line sturdy stems. Freezes to the ground in winter in the mid-teens or lower. Roars alive with warm weather and can become a shrub 5′ x 5′ even if cut to the round in one season. The flowers at terminal ends of the shoots close during the day and yawn open at night. Its a good light yellow and is a great companion for other bold plants. such as Aralia californica and cannas. Excllent in very large containers. Rich soil with regular irrigation speeds growth and bloom. Begins growing when temperatures remain in the 70’s for highs, be patient. The fragrance is fruity in a citrus kind of way and doesn’t appear until nightfall. Not bothered by deer or rabbits. Excellent plant for the back of a border. Mulch for the first winter. Chile/Argentina.

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Epilobium (Zauschneria) canum ‘Horse Sign’

Another selection of Epilobium (Zauschaneria) that our friend Mark Wade made in SW Oregon. This is a lovely low growing form with smaller but profuse vivid lighter orange flowers and this selection supports pink stamens and pollen as well. To less than 6″ tall but spreading to an area of several square feet in a season. ‘Horse Sign’ bears sheets of these tubular flowers for several months beginning in August. Loved by hummingbirds it forms a vivid orange carpet of color. Enriched soil with a bit of all organic fertilizer will send this hardy perennial soaring. Water regularly for the first season, letting the soil dry in between. In subsequent years you can water much less if at all. Full sun to very light shade. Ideal for a slope and along rock walls at eye level. Very showy late season native perennial. Completely deciduous in winter with excellent hardiness to cold. This roaming perennial can inhabit and spill around other perennials, shrubs.  Low and spreading, avoid large perennials nearby that could flop on top. Long lived and easy to grow excellent for late season pollinators and vivid color. Mix with other low growing, sun loving perennials such as Scuttelaria, Orginanum ‘Xera Cascade’ and Erodium ‘Spanish Eyes’. Mulch with compost the first winter, this will help energize it to roar out of the ground in mid spring. Foliage is smaller and green but with a silver cast. Very  good looking native perennial. Oregon native plant

Xera Plants Introduction

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Anaphalis margaritacea

Pearly everlasting is a widespread North American perennial that is common in our area at slightly higher elevations but it is found in every biome. A vigorous spreading perennial in the daisy (Aster) family  with thin olive green leaves  with a silver underside.  On average to 2′ tall. In richer conditions and following disturbance it can become prolific and overwhelm clear cuts and fire scars until it is out competed and shaded out. The bright white phyllaries appear as pure straw petal -like flowers that gives its common name.  Once the golden center of the flowers goes over it emits an incredible amount of fluffy seed. So prolific it can coat nearby trees and shrubs with downy seeds.  It makes a very useful native perennial that can be used to out compete invasive non native weeds. Very easy to grow. Water regularly after planting let the soil dry between summer irrigation.   Water  until established, then tolerant of summer drought in subsequent years.  Full sun to very light shade. A great perennial for bioswales. and rain garden. It can have a brief lifespan- 3 -5 years, but copious seed constantly regenerates this plant. Loved by native bees and bumbles. Combine with other vigorous natives such as Douglas aster (Symphyotrichum subspicatum) and our native Golden rod (Solidago c. elongata) to keep everyone in check and provide a summer long display of pollinator flowers. Blooms, depending on elevation from May in the lowlands to mid summer in alpine areas. Cut back hard in winter to emerging leaves.  1′ to 5′ wide per plant. Do not enrich or amend the soil, water, water to establish in virtually any soil that is not boggy. Drought adapted when established. Deer and rabbit resistant. Dislikes nursery pot culture, often looks poor in containers.  Easy in the ground where its roots can spread.  Oregon native plant.

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Hakea nodosa

We love cold hardy plants in the Protea family, not only do they have exotic flowers, they can sport foliage that is just as interesting , Hakea nodosa is another shrubby  Hakea that is known as yellow Hakea. Multiple fine stems emerge from the ground and are staunchly vertical. They  have few side branches and each stem is clad in slightly swollen blue phyllodes, these are not prickly and are about 1 cm long.  In spring, very small yellow flowers crowd the leaf axils on older wood.- not conspicuous but hummingbirds find them.  An upright small shrub to about 6′ tall and 2′ wide.  Pollinated flowers produce large seed pods  that can cause the stems to nod, not sure if this is what the specific name refers to. Moderately fast growing in native, un-amended soil that drains, including clay soils that dry in summer. Water to establish then extremely tolerant of drought. A wonderful textural evergreen that we love at Xera. An excellent companion to Grevilleas, Ceanothus, Halimium, Arctostaphylos.. Fulll sun to very very light shade. This form has been cold hardy below 10ºF in western Oregon with a probable lowest temperature around 5ºF. Native to areas of South Australia into Tasmania. Ours are grown from high elevation, cold hardy seed from Tasmania. Lovely soft, rare shrub . Pronounced HAY- kee -uh. But with an Australian accent. Well adapted to the Oregon coast and can be cultivated on sand.  Deer resistant, but protect newly installed plants from rabbits. Very easy to grow, a natural with ornamental grasses and large hardy succulents, Cactus, Agaves. Not prickly but rather soft.

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Abutilon x ‘Gingerbomb’

We selected this Abutilon from a seed batch eons ago and it still holds up as one of the best. Upright growing sub-shrub to 6′ tall in a season. Profuse bloomer produing  ginger / parchment colored  pendant flowers from a contrasting russet/ beige calyx. This incredibly unique flower color mixes with a huge range of hues. It can even hold its place with bright red flowers. Everblooming, rich soil, and regular water with several handfuls  of organic fertilizer scratched around the base of the plant- 2, 3 times per growing season. Surprisingly cold hardy its spring appearance would not lead  you to believe that. In a normal winterF – above 15º, it will likely freeze back by 2/3rd  below that it will die to the ground. Spring recovery is a combination of all organic ferilzer and water and warmth. Seemingly from dead sticks life will emerge and if you are consistent with water recovery and bloom is fast , usually in bloom by June and continuing until frost. Excellent container plant and it may act as a seasonal plant that way. Loved by hummingbirds and butterflies. A wonderful, blendable, sophisticated flower color. Mulch for its first winter to protect the base. Full sun to part shade. Naturally fine branching with large arrow-shaped  mid green leaves.  Protected location. 3′ x 4′ in a season.

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Vaccinium ovatum ‘Tillamook Formal’

A form of evergreen Huckleberry that is found on the north and central Oregon coast. The leaves are slightly longer and curve a bit and have a fine but noticeable serration. This is a slightly bolder form that is very handsome and somewhat formal in appearance from the species. Forms a shrub with large canes that grow in earnest and then arch.. White flowers are slightly larger than  normal and appear in spring form slightly larger than normal black sweet fruit, about the size of a caper. Plant more than one shrub to increase pollination and fruit set. Full sun to full shade in humus rich, highly organic soil . Mulch for the first several years. Irrigate to establish for the first year or two then it should have a large enough rootball to resist summer drought.  Otherwise light summer irrigation speeds growth.  New growth is salmon orange and turns to shades of yellow before settling to dark green. Very pretty native shrub that demands more irrigation and mulch in full sun.  Makes a wonderful informal hedge in time. This form has a pronounced arching shape.  Excellent hedge material as this is cutting propagated and will maintain a uniform habit.  Wonderful form from the northern Oregon coast. To 8′ x 8′ in 10 years.  Prune if needed in Autumn.    Oregon native plant.

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Thujopsis dolobrata ‘Nana Variegata’

A fantastic, tough and exotic looking evergreen (conifer)  that is striking and easy to grow. To 4′ in 10 years, a slow growing shrub that is often as wide as it is tall. The scale leaves are deep glossy green liberally splashed with cream. The large leaflets protrude from a single trunk and is layered like a gigantic moss. The foliage is glossy on the surface and dull beneath. Wonderful specimen or even small hedge. Scaled very well for large rock gardens. This is a very rare form of this enchanting species native to Asia. Full sun and water to establish, let it dry between irrigating, then in a year or two it can survive on natural rainfall alone. Very cold hardy and takes the subfreezing wind from the east with no damage. Excellent in the Columbia River Gorge. Not bothered by deer,and likely not bothered by rabbits, but we are not 100% sure, but its worth a try. Good appearance year round.

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Eurybia radulina

Rough leaf Aster or also referred to as False Aster. The  description of a rough leaf is apt and you can immediately identify this inhabitant of dry woods throughout western Oregon and north more sporadically into Western Washington by a rub of the scratchy leaf.  It even makes an appearance in the Ochoco Mountains of Central Oregon. My experience with this sprawling, late blooming perennial  was as an under story component of black and White Oak woodland in the southern Willamette Valley.  At higher elevations it can be found in Fir/Pine woodlands.  It is a profuse follower of fires and will quickly occupy recently opened space. Simple white minimalist daisy blooms appear in large clusters from August to October. An established plant is incredibly drought adapted as long as it is out of full sun. The scratchy leaves become smaller near the flower truss .  To about 2′ tall but decumbent (trailing) in most circumstances, Adaptable to clay soils that dry in summer. An excellent late season pollinator plant for shade/dry shade. Water regularly the first season in sightly enriched soil in part shade to high overhead shade . Not the showiest perennial but it does its job well. Hardy perennial . Does not compete well with invasive grasses -protect.  Best with clumping native grasses primarily  California Fescue Festuca californica . Expect this semi-evergreen to flop and accomodate that- 2′ x 2′ but never full.  Very easy to grow. Plant with Symphyotrichum hallii Hall’s Aster’ and  and Achillea millefolium ‘Willamette Gray’ in a dry understory.  Accepts regular summer irrigation as well.  Oregon native plant

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Fuchsia ‘Delta’s Sarah’

A very old and impressive hardy Fuchsias that has stood the test of time and is surprisingly tolerant of heat as well. Large double flowers on a very upright growing hardy Fuchsia. Established plants can freeze to the ground below 15ºF and regrow 3′ – 4′ in a single season. Following mild winters it can be even taller than that. Beautiful white sepals open to reveal a double center of violet purple- the effect is voluptuous and graceful. Upright growing sub-shrub for rich soil. regular water and full sun to part shade. Light green leaves are disease resistant. This is a ultra hardy Fuchsia and established plants are root hardy to near 0ºF.  Steady water and applications of organic fertilizer in its first year will aid establishment. Normally in bloom from May to October. Loved by hummingbirds and bees. Do not cut back until you see new growth emerging in spring then you will know what is dead and to be eliminated. Mulch in cold gardens for the first year. Spreads to 3′ wide. Long lived and early to bloom.

 

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