Planting Containers for Shade… I’m Including My Favs

[@carriesmith9943]

I learn so much from this guy! He gets right to the point without all the small talk! He really knows his stuff and is just so practical!

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Thank you for your kind words.

[@mikec2810]

Love the selection Corey! Coleus are by far my favorite plant! One 16 inch basket I planted included Persian shield, silverstar helichrysum which says full sun I have in bright shade and it grew 3feet long and 1 1/2-2 feet wide!

[@greenthumbelina7331]

Corey, I love your plant selections for the shade containers. They will be gorgeous. Two other shade-loving plants that do well in outdoor containers are variegated spider plants (which make a great spiller) and snake plants (Sansevieria, now Dracaena). As you know, these plants are typically grown as house plants, but they also can thrive outside in dappled shade.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

EXCELLENT suggestions. Thank you.

[@pathorton8188]

Corey you are amazing! You are teaching me so much! Tx for sharing your knowledge with us. I so appreciate your honesty and practicality. You make me want to step out of my comfort zone and try something new

[@Kate98755]

Thanks ! Really appreciate your videos, especially with specific information like this one.

[@TJMcDowell]

I use the tradescantia in almost all of my part sun and shade containers. I usually buy a hanging basket from ALDI during the winter season and just clip and stick stems in the pot and it roots quickly and fills in beautifully

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

It’s very easy to grow. One of my favs for filling out containers.

[@judyingram-kh1vm]

Great. Video, so much groos informative t Great video, loved it 😊

[@lynnzimmerman9387]

You are so informative. So glad I found your channel. Thank you for teaching the world about growing flowers. Do you ever use Vinca?

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

I really like working with the regular trailing vinca. Flowering vinca is a little tricky for us because they tend to be slow starters in colder, short-season areas like ours.

[@aleta2109]

Thank you so much for defining what part shade or part sun means!

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Some plant companies might define it differently, but since I started paying attention to part shade not getting hot afternoon sun, I’ve have much greater success.

[@CynthiaHunt-ro5no]

My absolute favorite shade plant last year was proven winners endless illumination browalia. I put 3 in a 12 inch hanging basket and it was GORGEOUS!

[@kelleyforeman]

I love Dichondra Silver Falls in my shade containers! I use it every year. I'm zone 6A in Fort Wayne, IN.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

That’s another of my favorites.

[@lindagolembieski7405]

That's my favorite

[@janehollingsworth8108]

Thank you for these ideas. I have had very good luck with licorice plants…both small and large leaf…in my shade containers in mid-Michigan. They trail quite nicely.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Oooooo. Excellent suggestion. Thank you.

[@thistledowntreasures7990]

Have some creeping Jenny that escaped its pot two years ago. Now I have a nice little area of creeping Jenny in my yard. Gets mowed with the grass and doesn’t seem to care. It’s such a cute surprise, don’t plan on removing it. Northwest Ohio.

[@p.v.4538]

Thank you so much! I recently moved and went from a full sun, glorious cutting garden to wanting to cry at my garden center today bummed at the limited choices for shade. This really helped especially the information on sweet potato vine and diamond frost euphorbia. I am scanning the comments for any other tried suggestions. Thanks everyone!

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

I hope they work as well for you as they have for me. The other challenge is training yourself to water in shade after being used to sun.

[@p.v.4538]

@@UpNorthGardenMI Thank you so much. I am already realizing this and just text a friend to offer to give her all my drip irrigation supplies and set it up for her.

[@reginaneufeld1092]

Love all the info! Thank-you

[@Cyndi-Renee13]

Fuchsia and ferns for my shade containers.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Great plants for shade!

[@sharon5468]

I'm so glad i came across your channel. You have answered so many of my questions. I've only begun watching and it looks like i could learn a few more tips. Can you do a video on ferns in containers? Im assuming i should repot an oudoor Bosten fern. It came in a 10 inch pot.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Ferns can hold up a quite a while in a small pot, but eventually it’ll probably benefit from replanting.

[@mandocool]

Thank you for sharing all your experiences! I’ve learned a lot from you

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Thank you for your kind comment. It’s good to know the info is helpful 😊

[@shanemccoy419]

Thank you for the shade info I needed this for my porch which I sometimes over look since the gardens take show❤

[@margolyn8291]

❤love the first kiss la luna..gorgeous

[@caroljensen4452]

Very interesting presentation✅ I have lots of house plants and often include in outdoor shade planters: such as, snake plant, spider plant and many ferns💚

[@cbak1819]

My front steps receive afternoon sun west direction.. variegated coleus is my go to, any other suggestions? Not a fan of begonia. Thanks for your help💜

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

If you’re getting afternoon to evening sun, you could try some salvia or geraniums. Calibrachoa can do pretty good in that kind of spot.

[@user-vg3cl1dm3e]

I have a bed with dense shade a lot of the begonias don’t flower I’ve put them in while they were flowering and fertilize but never flowered

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Have you restricted their water… let the soil dry right out? Sometimes that jolts them into flowering. We also fertilize begonias and impatiens less than other annuals.

[@hollybritton7255]

Love your videos❤ You talk fast!😮 I feel like I need to take a breath for you, haha. Thanks for all the information.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

I do go into overdrive when I’m talking about plants 😊. KZbin does have a setting that lets you slow down or speed up videos… and might help reduce the chances of you panting by the time you reach the end 😁

[@mifasola1]

Corey I'm so partial to plectranthus AND mecardonia. They are fabulous! I'm in zone 6b Holland,West Michigan .

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

I was planting up my own containers this evening and have both tucked in there. I forgot that the mecardonia does pretty well in lower light as well as sun. Thanks for the reminder - both are great plants.

[@cindyking9813]

I love each of these plants but none would be able to survive our heat in North Central Texas. I use them all in shade.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

The Dallas Arboretum has had amazing luck with Supertunias, but I have a feeling they keep them on a near-constant drip of irrigation.

[@KTen-cm6wx]

Excellent video

[@ruthfurlow5468]

I don’t know what zone you’re in but up to 6 hours here it’s going to fry. Our month of May here was again up to 90 degrees and the wind never stops blowing , I made 2 large pots just to see if it could take the wind and heat basically to see if it would last until July or August and it’s the 24th now and everything has tuned out as mush. These are full sun plants. So I never am able to set anything to take up to 6 or 8 hours of sun here. Zone 6/7 depends on the new growing zones created by the department of agriculture. Southern Illinois.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Location definitely plays a big role in how the plants do. I’m in zone 4/5 and above the 45 parallel (hence the “Up North” channel name). In the location you described, a lot of regular water is going to be required. My friends in Texas and Arizona have even more extreme conditions and they’ve said it’s all about extra water for many plants. Check out Amanda at @shesamadgardener - she has loads of suggests for hot climates. youtube.com/@shesamadgardener?si=OwJCtftAD7KOJH6J

[@lydvincecruz8395]

Thank you so much for all the tips and techniques. I appreciate it very much ❤I s there plants for total shade?

[@n.w.414]

Maverick orange geraniums are a true orange and they are fantastic plants.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

I’ve seen the Maverick and they’re very nice… I think the Rocky Mountain Orange is pretty good too.

[@davidthedeaf]

As a kid I found out I was allergic to all the geraniums my gramma grew, to her dismay.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Oh no.

[@terryulmer969]

Awww man! 😢

[@WalkingbytheSpiritAlways]

Such good advice about not overwatering begonias. It's difficult here in the south because we get such frequent heavy rains. Last year I had some great torenias. I have several this year, and I was wondering if you notice that they "cycle bloom" where it seems they bloom and take a couple of weeks to bloom again (seems like verbena does this too)? I am trying Nonstop White Begonia in my screened porch where there isn't any direct sun, and it does not seem to be growing. Do you think it's just working on root development (it's been potted for a month and a half here in Atlanta)? And didn’t you say that begonias don't want weekly liquid fertilizer too? Question: What about elephant ears in total shade? I was hoping to put some in a large pot underneath big shade trees. Thanks for your informative videos.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

My torenia last year had more blooms early in the season, so it might be cyclical. I find that verbena goes out of flower when it’s stressed, so consistent fertilizer and water are key. There sure elephant ear that can handle shade, you just need to find the right variety.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Had to tell with the begonia. They can hang out for a while street transplant.

[@WalkingbytheSpiritAlways]

@UpNorthGardenMI Thanks for the reply. I found a pretty good sized Alocasia California Odora, Elephant Ears for $19 at Home Depot, so it seems like the info is that it handles shade. I guess for the verbena baskets I got, it's going to be a cycle because they were in heavy bloom (like Firehouse Red and Firehouse Purple) and after I deadheaded all of it, I have fertilized three weeks and buds are all over. So after this group blooms, it will be the same cycle of deadheading and fertilizing. For the 4-5 inch pots of verbena, it will be more continuous bloom I guess. I even got a premium hanging basket with Bees Knees and a White Verbena that was in full bloom, and fertilizing weekly, but it's not blooming as well now either. It may be because my full sun/direct sun is only 2-5 or 11-4 depending on the shadow of the house and the trees that surround my east facing back yard on a concrete pool deck so reflected light. I appreciate you referring to the difference in your climate to those of us who are southern gardeners. God bless.

[@bettywillard9168]

What soil do you suggest? Or do you have a video on soil selection?

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

I use the kind we get in bulk for our baskets, so I I don’t have a favorite.

[@C123abc]

Question: Why do your plants seem to have a bit of straw on the top? I've been enjoying these videos and thank you. I need to be more adventurous!

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

We use rice hulls as mulch.

[@Sarah-sb6ji]

Hi Corey -- I just found you and I'm loving your videos! I know this might be an unanswerable questions, but a few years ago I put two tightly packed window boxes of pansies in a pretty shady spot. They only got a couple hours of morning sun. They grew like gangbusters, mounded up and looked really nice. Ever since then, I've never been able to recreate that situation. Was it just a fluke? Do pansies generally do well in shade? Maybe they were something else and were mislabled. I was (and still am) pretty uninformed about flowers but I'm pretty sure they were pansies, about six of them in each 2 feetx8 inch box. What do you think? I'm in Brooklyn, NY Zone 7B

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Pansies can usually tolerate a good amount of shade. You may have gotten lucky with a variety that was extremely happy with your location. Too bad you weren’t able to get a variety name.

[@marilynrichard6580]

This video has helped me with a very difficult area I have and haven’t had success with any hanging basket. I have a west front door that gets hot sun from 1:30 on and nothing I’ve tried works.

[@WalkingbytheSpiritAlways]

Hi, My flowers are on the east side of my house in the south, but for your situation, have you tried scaveloa/fan flower or Mandevilla?

[@mariamenani1536]

Do all these plants come back? Next year or are the trash after summer?

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

These are all annuals in Michigan. If you’re looking sure perennials, try these kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5qaeGhrateGj5Y

[@daymoonfarm2903]

I love astilbe

[@imcateyz]

How many begonias and impatiens for a 10” pot, plz?

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

It depends on the variety. I’d likely go with two to four New Guinea impatiens/Sunpatiens (regular impatiens likely four or five) - four to five begonias (unless you’re planting a vigorous wax begonia then one or two). I suggest asking at your garden center how many they recommend planting for the variety you’re getting.

[@shanemccoy419]

Love you❤❤❤❤

[@SS11660]

Green leaf begonia will burn up in a little sun . Red leaf ones are a little better.b

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

I’ve grown the Surefire White and the Red in full sun and had zero problems… have also seen many green leaf wax begonias in full sun at trial gardens in both Michigan and California.

[@SS11660]

@UpNorthGardenMI they burn in south carolina. Use have shade or only a little early morning sun. Even red leaf will burn with mid day sun. So it depends where you live.

[@markwagner4909]

I made the mistake by putting creeping Jenny in a pot and it grew towards the ground Well now three years now I’m still trying to get rid of it.

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Oh no. It hasn’t been a problem for us. You must have ideal conditions for it.

[@rc-ki4uy]

I love it for that reason. It’s a beautiful ground cover!

[@markwagner4909]

@@rc-ki4uy I liked it as well but it grew like wild fire and was creeping into the yard cracks in sidewalks and driveway and up the bricks of my house. I guess they call it creeping for a reason 😝

[@chelainevilleneuve411]

I have planted in shade (ground and containers) Brooke.ia (proven winners)

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

I’m guessing auto correct changed your spelling of Browallia. That’s another nice one.

[@caroljensen4452]

Very interesting presentation✅ I have lots of house plants and often include in outdoor shade planters: such as, snake plant, spider plant and many ferns💚

[@UpNorthGardenMI]

Great suggestions. I tend not to keep houseplants, so I forget about those.

[@petrapiciacchia2456]

I use Spider plants in my shade window boxes. I bring them inside during winter then bring out again.