What herbs and vegetables grow well in very little sun?
The following is a list of vegetables that can tolerate partial shade. While productions may be greater in the sun, these plants will produce an edible crop when grown in a shady location.
From an article on The Old House Web (no longer available online):
VEGETABLES
Arugula
Beans
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Cress
Endive
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Parsnips
Peas
Potatoes
Radish
Rhubarb
Rutabagas
Salad Burnet
Sorrel
Spinach
Summer Squash
Turnips
HERBS
Garlic
Angelica
Borage
Caraway
Chervil
Coriander
Parsley
Lemon Balm
Lovage
Mint
Tarragon
Thyme
This article (“Best Shade-Tolerant Vegetables”) in Mother Earth News offers more detail about the amount of sun or shade needed.
Remember that most of these plants do not grow in complete shade. Plants will need some morning, evening or filtered sun; a total of two to six hours of direct sun is the minimum.
I bought a Lysimachia punctata ‘Alexander’ (variegated) at a plant sale last weekend. I can’t find anything about it in my books. Can you tell me more about it? How tall, invasive or not, best place to plant, anything else you think I should know.
I found information on the website of a local gardener, Paghat, with a detailed description of this form of loosestrife. Although it is not supposed to be as aggressive as the species (L. punctata) or as invasive as L. vulgaris (a noxious weed in King County), I recommend keeping an eye on it. Paghat says:
“‘Alexander’ has variegated leaves, sage-green with cream borders, and sunny yellow flowers. It purports to be a more restrained version of a flower that in the species form is notoriously invasive and often too aggressive for neighboring perennials. Even ‘Alexander,’ though comparatively slow growing, eventually becomes a large two-foot by two-foot clump with a big root system that can threaten nearby delicate flowers, so take care what you plant around it.”
We know avocados like dry soil, but are there specific guidelines to follow?
“Growing conditions: Give avocado direct light; insufficient light will cause spindly growth. Provide a warm temperature and medium humidity. Keep the soil evenly moist but not wet and soggy. Fertilize once a month throughout the year… Use an all-purpose soil mix for repotting… Avocado is vulnerable to aphids, mealybugs, scale insects and thrips.”
Source: The Time-Life Gardener’s Guide; Foliage Houseplants, 1988, p. 125
“Growth habit: The avocado is a dense, evergreen tree, shedding many leaves in early spring. Growth is in frequent flushes during warm weather in southern regions with only one long flush per year in cooler areas.”
“Foliage: Avocado leaves normally remain on the tree for 2 to 3 years.”
Source: California Rare Fruit Growers Association website
I have a start from a large hen & chicks (Echeveria). I have seen these plants grow up to 6 feet tall like a shrub. My start is over two years old. It takes off and seems to thrive, but never gets tall or hardy. It seems to go a year and then the outer leaves wilt. Once it got big enough to tip over, so I am wondering how to give it the right pot and correct soil to allow it to grow. It is located in our west sun room here in the great northwest. Is it alright outdoors in the summer?
I wonder if you have information about the particular species of Echeveria you are growing. Usually, ‘hens and chicks’ is the common name for Echeveria glauca. The larger growing Echeveria are the ones with “loose, cabbage-like rosettes which reach a foot or more in diameter on heavy stems” (from The Book of Cacti and Other Succulents by Claude Chidamian, Timber Press, 1984).
I consulted Victor Graham’s book, Growing Succulent Plants (Timber Press, 1987) for some general guidelines on the best growing practices for Echeveria. He says that the soil you provide should be gritty and on the poor side (for good drainage), and they should not be overfed. In The Succulent Garden: A Practical Gardening Guide by Yvonne Cave (Timber Press, 1997), the recommendation for areas with wet winters such as ours is to grow them in containers on a covered porch or in any sunny spot with overhead cover. In the warmer, drier months they can be placed or planted in the garden without cover. Your sun room sounds like a fine place to grow them during the winter here, although they may prefer morning sunlight and afternoon shade to bring out the best color in their leaves.
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has a page on growing succulents that may be useful.
I’m having a problem with my daffodils. They came up, but very few of them are blooming. This is the third year for them, and the worst turn out. They seem to be turning yellow at the bottom of the plant. They have multiplied well, and came up looking fine. Several of my friends are having the same problem. Could it be because they had so many days of below freezing weather this winter?
We found a helpful article from the American Daffodil Society. Potential causes for a lack of flowers include lack of fertilizer, too much nitrogen fertilizer, shade, competition with other plants, poor drainage, virus, foliage cut off too soon, need to be divided, or weather stress (such as early extreme heat) in the spring.
The cold weather should not have been a problem provided the bulbs were planted deep enough.
I am attempting to find detailed plant information on a variety of hydrangea called Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Miss Belgium’, and can find very little in my plant books and online. Do you have any suggestions? Some of the details I am looking for are flower shape and size, plant habit, height & spread, and foliage details.
I found some information about Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Miss Belgium’ in Glyn Church’s book, Hydrangeas (Cassell, 1999):
An excellent pink in alkaline soil or in containers. The plant is ideally suited to pot and tub culture as it stays small and compact (3 ft.) and the rounded heads tend to be tiny, keeping the flowers in proportion to the bush. Its free-flowering habit and healthy nature are its good qualities. It is not the best plant for acid soils as the flowers will be a strident purple-blue.
There is a photograph of ‘Miss Belgium’ in Corinne Mallet’s Hydrangeas: Species and Cultivars (vol .1).
Heritage Hydrangeas’ website (no longer available) has this description: “Bright magenta-red on neutral soils or purplish blue on acidic soils, the centre of each floret is always white. Impressive flowers on a compact shrub.”
The United States National Arboretum gives a short history and explanation of the USDA plant hardiness zone map. Click on their link to the Zone Map to actually see the map and learn your climate zone. The site also lists representative plants by zone as well as an alphabetical list of popular woody plants and their respective zones.
Help and advice problem solver, including links to advice on top pests and diseases.
Gardening books that use a calendar format are especially valuable to newer gardeners, and having one that’s tailored to our region is even better. Best of all is having an author who worked in the Washington Park Arboretum for many years! Christina Pfeiffer brings her considerable experience to “Month-By-Month Gardening Pacific Northwest” and has consultation help from Mary Robson, a retired Horticulture Extension agent for Washington State University.
The same pair collaborated on a 2005 book, with Robson taking the lead on that publication. This new book begins with a short but very meaty introduction chapter covering the basics. The monthly chapters that follow build on the introduction with topics cleverly positioned when you’ll most likely want the advice. For example, in June we learned how to turn an area of your lawn into a garden bed, perfect timing so it will be ready for fall planting.
I appreciate that each month begins with a section on planning. What do you want from your garden? What is working well? What needs changing? Only after you’ve asked and answered these questions, do you start doing. These activities sections include planting and all aspects of caring for common garden plants ranging from annuals to trees. Lawns and houseplants are considered, too.
You are also encouraged to get out to nurseries and plant festivals, and to see our native plants where and when they are at their peak. Enjoying your own and other gardens is important, too. During July, “pause to revel in the beauty and bounty the garden has to offer. This is a time for picnics in the shade and leisurely strolls at local parks and gardens.”
Excerpted from the Summer 2017 Arboretum Bulletin.
By Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A common-sense approach to plant disease prevention