newshoot3
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Posts: 19
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:25 pm
Location: Cocoa, FL

Shady Back Porch help

My back porch gets NO sun until around 5pm, and then, only in 1 corner. Is it possible to grow plants in such full shade? If so, what should I start with? We just moved in and right now, the "concrete prison" is making me sad! Need to make it worth sitting on, ya know?

Thanks for the help! :-)

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hendi_alex
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Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina

Hosta, toad lilly, coleus, caladium, elephant ear, various ferns, impatiens, to name a few. All of these can be grown in containers. Elephant ear needs a fairly large container. Coleus and impatiens are annuals, not sure about caladium in Florida, but probably survives the winter there. All else should do fine as perennials.

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Earl K
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Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:44 pm
Location: Melbourne ,Fl.

newshoot3,good to see you here,I'm new here also.I'm down in melbourne,about 10 miles from you,no advice for shade plants but saw you were in cocoa and had to reply,if anyone knows it would be hendi_alex seems to me ,he has all the answers.

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hendi_alex
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Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina

"he has all the answers."

You know better than that! :lol:

What's that they say about a little knowledge being a dangerous thing? I've always been a generalist and know a little bit about quite a lot of things. Was a science teacher but am equally comfortable building a house from the ground up. No kind of expert but can do a respectable job with most of the tasks. Same thing with gardening. Am no kind of expert but do have a little knowledge about many aspects of gardening. My main hobbies are raising orchids, flower gardening, and vegetable gardening. A person can't spend that much time envolved with such activities and not pick up quite a few tid bits.

If interested, here is a link to my current house project, renovating a repo house that my daughter bought.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/15582147@N04/collections/72157606957672675/

Here is a link to gardening photos, last year and this.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/15582147@N04/collections/72157606957696419/

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Earl K
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Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:44 pm
Location: Melbourne ,Fl.

hendi_alex,seems that you give alot of advice,I appreciate that.it is much needed for all us new gardeners.I am really enjoying watching my plants grow.just added some organic compost to my 8 buckets,counting all my tomato buds,I'm hooked.anyways thanks again for all your knowledge,I am 35 and really look forward to reading and learning so much more about growing veggies from you and all on this forum.

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hendi_alex
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Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina

That long growing season with early veggies must be great there in central Florida!

Good luck with the gardening.

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Here's some more perennial flowers that can handle your shady spot, some are native wildflowers: monkshood, lily of the valley, bleeding heart, Christmas rose, virginia bluebells, forget-me-not, solomon's seal, trillium. Between some of these and what you already heard about, you could make some gorgeous shade containers. Look the plants up. Some of the above (eg trillium, virginia blue bells, solomon seal) are spring ephemerals, means they come up, bloom, go dormant. So then you could have other things in the same container that bloom later.

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bonsaiboy
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Location: Earth

What is the USDA hardiness zone there? Some other shade tolerant plants (that might be able to grow there) that are grown more for there unusualness rather than flowers are cycads. Quite a few species, like Zamia vazquezii, are very shade tolerant, and can make quite interesting grownd cover, like that of some ferns. Also, you could try Lepidozamia hopei, as it grows more palm-like, but it is highly shade tolerant.

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

I'm still new enough here and excited about sharing garden experience I sometimes forget that people are here from so many completely different climates. I didn't think to look that the original question came from Florida. Looks like east of Orlando, probably zone 9b. Wipe out everything I said. The ones I mentioned are shade plants for MY area, like a cold winter to rest in and don't tolerate your heat. You do have your own version of bleeding heart Bleeding Heart Glorybower Clerodendum, different than ours, but stunning. Scarlet hearts surrounded by white petals. It is also a shade plant and a tropical. I'm sorry, I'll be more careful after this.



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