Q. I love your column and appreciate that you invite questions.\u00a0 I want to grow a thick but attractive shrub on the shady side of my house.\u00a0 It receives very little sun there and is somewhat damp.\u00a0 Do you have any suggestions?<\/p>\n
I live between Fremont and Del Monte off of Montecito in Monterey, if that gives you an idea of the weather.<\/p>\n
I like tea trees and they do well in my front yard, but there’s more sun there.\u00a0 A friend recommended Dodonea, which I’m not thrilled with, but it would be okay.\u00a0 I don’t know about Abutalon, it might need more sun.<\/p>\n
If you could suggest something, I would be most grateful.<\/p>\n
A. The Dodonaea is an interesting option, but it’s a tropical plant that appreciates more sun than you seem to have in this spot. Here’s a link to a description of the Purple-leafed Hop-Bush<\/a>,\u00a0from San Marcos Growers:<\/p>\n The Abutilon also prefers full sun. It’s attractive but may be more open in structure than you are looking for.<\/p>\n I prefer to recommend California native plants, as you might already know. A very good California native shrub is the Ceanothus (California Lilac), which would do well in your garden. I have a list of over twenty Ceanothus species that are shade tolerant. I could narrow down that list to a few options for your situation, based on the mature size that you would want for a plant in this location.<\/p>\n Let me know what height and width you have in mind for this plant.<\/p>\n Q. Wow!\u00a0 You’re wonderful!\u00a0 Thank you so much!\u00a0 I agree that natives are the best, but I forget that.\u00a0 Not quite there yet.\u00a0 The ideal height would be around 7 feet tall.\u00a0 It would be along a fence, so the width of the area I want to cover would be about 30 feet.<\/p>\n In my rush, I had forgotten to check what the Ceanothus looked like.\u00a0 Of course, having grown up on the Peninsula, I am very familiar with it.\u00a0 It’s flower is soapy, as I recall from having smashed them as a child.\u00a0 This is a beautiful plant, full of color!\u00a0 I love it!\u00a0\u00a0 With the dimensions that I gave you, do you think it would work, where would you recommend I buy it, and do you ever recommend gardeners?\u00a0 Thank you!<\/p>\n A.<\/p>\n I reviewed the lists of such shrubs in a couple reference books, and searched through the inventories of some likely sources: San Marcos Growers, Suncrest Nursery, Las Pilitas Nursery and Yerba Buena Nursery. They all list several Ceanothus plants, but most are sun-loving, and the shade tolerant varieties tend to be low-growing. The remaining candidates might or might not be in stock at present.<\/p>\n So, on a recent visit to Native Revival Nursery, I found two varieties of Ceanothus thrysiflorus that might meet your needs. Both are listed as being shade-tolerant and capable of growing to 10 feet. When grown in partial shade, I would expect that they would not reach their maximum height, but would top out closer to the seven feet you have targeted.<\/p>\n These plants are in stock \u00a0at\u00a0Native Revival Nursery<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(2600 Mar Vista Drive, Aptos).<\/p>\n They have both varieties in 5-gallon size for $24.99 each. The Snow Flurry is also available in 1-gallon size, for $9.99.<\/p>\n Blue Blossom grows to six feet wide, so for a 30-foot screen you would need five plants.<\/p>\n Snow Flurry grows to 8-12 feet wide (perhaps 8-9 feet wide in the partial shade), so you would need four plants.<\/p>\n You could mix the blossom colors, too!<\/p>\n Best wishes. I hope this helps.<\/p>\n Q. What a wonderful resource you are!\u00a0 Thank you for these ideas and attachments.\u00a0 I have written to the nursery and let them know that I’d like to buy three Blue Blossom and two Snow Flurry.\u00a0 Thank you so much for your help!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Q. I love your column and appreciate that you invite questions.\u00a0 I want to grow a thick but attractive shrub on the shady side of my house.\u00a0 It receives very little sun there and is somewhat damp.\u00a0 Do you have … Continue reading