Flowers grow around trees

Question

I have this big tree in my back yard  that normally I put mulch around . This year I would like to grow a hardy pretty perennial around my tree . Does any have any suggestions on perennial flowers that will grow?

Funnygirl · Answer

Host as would look pretty.we really need to know how much sun you get there.Impatiens would work also

Wanda sinnema · Answer

REBLOOMING DAY LILLIES..lots and lots of colors..I'd go with something bright, since its a shaded area at times...these are NOT the old style our parents had..new hybrids are sooooo much better...will grow just about anywhere, no care after the first year...

Tess · Answer

What about phlox? Will it grow under my tree?

Kirt N · Answer

Blue Hosta, Bleeding Heart, Lily of the valley, Lenten Rose, or Bluebell. All of these are easy to grow in shaded areas. Hosta is easier to find, Bluebell is really pretty though.

Deb · Answer

Hi Tess, I'd plant a variety based on how much sun, if any the spot gets. I start with a ring of grape hyacinths so you have something early spring, then I'd add a few daffodils, then based on sunlight, either day lilies, or hosta. I have all that I can share with you and am in Columbus, OH

Deb · Answer

Phlox might grow but it doesn't flower for very long.

Donna Byram · Answer

I have 'Garden Phlox', it is not the typical phlox that you think of, this has leaves and bushes out. It says full sun, but mine are in part sun and part shade and are doing well. Also, Heuchera or common name Coral Bells will grow in the shade and there are several varieties. Both are perennials. Please click on photo for more information.

Tess · Answer

Thanks

Douglas Hunt · Answer

That looks like a shady area and phlox will not be happy there. A mixed planting of hellebores, astilbe and Japanese anemones would give you a long season of blooms in the shade.

Maureen Nussbeck · Answer

I have hostas encircling my big old oak tree....looks good and easy maintenance

CB · Answer

You might try a cranesbill geranium, or 'geranium oxonianum' under your tree. These are not the 'Martha Washington' upright plants (pelargoniums) you see in nurseries everywhere. They are a herbaceous perennial, which means they die to the ground in winter and come back every spring. My favorite is 'Wargrave Pink' which mounds up into a perfect half-circle with pink flowers all season long. They get bigger every year, so you might want to dig and divide every couple of years to avoid damage to your tree.

Tracy Halman · Answer

What about ferns,just not the tall type. Just my opinion, I would not go tall plants it would not look right. You do not want it to take away from the tree and tall plants tend to look like weeds.

Nancy De Blauw · Answer

We have Perriwinkle, several types of ferns, Lilly of the Valley, and Trillium under our centre clump of 60ft. cedars.  Pathetic different textures, shapes & shades of green offset the fact that we don't have a lot of colour as far as flowers go.  I've been toying with the idea of planting a few Astilbe or perhaps Bleeding Hearts to the mix.

Deborah · Answer

I love hostas and they're so hardy Lilies too.

Carolyn Hoxton · Answer

I don't think Phlox will grow unless in full sun, I would go with Hostas, or a shade perennial, Check it out with Spring Hill Nursery, or Santa Rosa Gardens.

Jan Posey Comer-Shipman · Answer

I have had luck with hostas, ferns (if deep shade), lily of the valley (it will take over) and bleeding heart. The beauty of all of these they will spread and fill the area. You can get a lot of expense, so check with friends and neighbors and local garden club, they may be thinning theirs out and have some to give away!!

Connie Mar · Answer

Fern leaf bleeding heart is one of my favorite shade plants. Watch out for Lily of the Valley, as it can be quite aggressive.

Patti @Hearth and Vine · Answer

As suggested above you may want to consider perennials with pretty foliage instead of flowering plants. This would be especially true if the area gets very little sun. I also like a variety of plants but that is just my preference. Japanese painted fern, huecheras, hostas, other ferns come in a variety of colors and do well under my trees and last all season.

Margie*Lee · Answer

I have tried Bleeding Hearts and Primroses around our red maple tree in our front yard to no avail. You may have success with Hostas but I read that flowers should no be planted around trees. I now have bark mulch in the area around our tree and put plants in pots and set them in that area. They look nice, don't die and all I have to do is keep them watered and dead-headed.

Michele Schneider · Answer

Geraniums or impatiens or begonias

Kathy K · Answer

Try some hosta

Cyndi Moore Tippett · Answer

If you can make the circle bigger and plant your flowers around the edge.  You are going to have a hard time keeping anything alive with the tree sucking all the water from the plants if you plant them close to the trunk of the tree.  The further you can place them out the better chance the roots from the tree will be less competitive.  Any of the plants suggested above will work.

Tanya Lynn · Answer

I have hardy geraniums and Hostas under our maple tree. The geranium has little pink flowers on it but they don't last all summer.I would suggest both these plants as perennials and maybe just add annuals each year for extra color.Impatients are awesome for shaded areas.

Gretchen · Answer

Most perennials have a big flush of bloom and color and then you are left with the foliage, so make sure you choose plants that have nice foliage. Or mix in some annuals with the perennials. For example, you can plant some hosta, astilbe, or fern (you will have to keep these well watered) and then in the empty spots (which will change over time as the plants grow), fill in with impatiens or another shade loving annual. So you will have color and a nice texture.You can add some of the same annuals around the edge of the playhouse too. It is a very pretty tree. You will always have to supply extra water (and amend the soil with compost before you plant anything) because that tree will suck moisture like nothing else. If you do mulch, be careful not to add too much - no 'volcano mulching!' Another idea - since you have children, how about adding in a fairy garden tucked into a piece of the roots of the tree? You can do that and add your flowers or plants around the rest.

Ruth Yunkun · Answer

I have had great luck with hostas for years, they are my old standby.

Mikie S · Answer

HELLEBORES! The say they are a shade plant, but I have some with all degrees of sun-and they bloom January/February ...the bleeding hearts are a great idea or Heuchara....they have so many different leaf colors. They also keep their leaves year young so you aren't left with nothing to look at in the winter...that's when the hellebores shine!

Cathy Bradley · Answer

Sweet Woodruff. It is a shade loving, perennial ground cover that has small white flowers in the spring. I have it growing under Cedar trees where nothing else wants to grow! Add a few ferns for height.

Kathi S · Answer

Yes, I had the same problem around my birch tree, only I have 2 spirea bushes I couldn't get rid of, so I widened the space, used bricks for my border, added some fresh garden soil and planted spreading plants, like creeping jenny, wild violets, various sedums, tansy, which spreads like wildfire, and can get tall, snow-in-the-mountain, also spreads rapidly and annuals, like dwarf marigolds around the edge inside the brick border. The rest of the plants are perennials.  Have fun!

Barbara C · Answer

go to your local nursery and ask for their advice for plants in your area.

Denise · Answer

I just finished planting more in my Shade Garden under Cedar trees. Caladium, Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra) a ground cover but somewhat invasive and a Cali Lily. I also planted some coleus (an annual) for additional color I already had hydrangea, False Spirea (astilbe), variegated Jacob's Ladder, different Hostas, Painted Japanese Fern, and Aucuba, both male and female. It is doing extremely well and very pretty foliage and berries. But beware of tree roots. I had to dig and re-dig to avoid the bigger tree roots, but it is well worth it. Good Luck!

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