Evergreen shrubs for shade
The two hardest constraints in ornamental planting, together, and the combination a north-facing boundary actually presents. Sarcococca, mahonia, skimmia and fatsia are the plants that answer it and are not what most people are sold.
How this list was built
Generated from the catalogue by the same engine that powers What can I grow? — 10 of the 26 shrubs qualify. It is published because it names a question people ask, returns enough plants to be useful, does not return most of the group it is about, and rests on fields that are actually populated. Lists that fail any of those are on the coverage page instead.
| Plant | Type | Light | Spacing | Min. pot depth | In a container |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PierisPieris japonica | OrnamentalSome care needed | Dappled shade, Partial shade | 120–180 cm | 40 cm | well suited |
| RhododendronRhododendron | OrnamentalSome care needed | Dappled shade, Partial shade | 150–300 cm | 35 cm | well suited |
| CamelliaCamellia japonica | OrnamentalSome care needed | Partial shade, Dappled shade | 150–250 cm | 40 cm | well suited |
| Christmas boxSarcococca confusa | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full shade, Dappled shade, Partial shade | 75–100 cm | 40 cm | well suited |
| FatsiaFatsia japonica | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full shade, Dappled shade, Partial shade | 150–250 cm | 40 cm | well suited |
| FirethornPyracantha coccinea | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade | 120–200 cm | 70 cm | marginal |
| MahoniaMahonia × media | OrnamentalStraightforward | Partial shade, Dappled shade, Full shade | 150–250 cm | 40 cm | marginal |
| OsmanthusOsmanthus × burkwoodii | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade | 75–150 cm | 60 cm | workable |
| SkimmiaSkimmia japonica | OrnamentalSome care needed | Partial shade, Dappled shade, Full shade | 75–100 cm | 40 cm | well suited |
| ViburnumViburnum tinus | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade | 150–250 cm | 45 cm | workable |
This is one cut through shrubs, which compares every one of them on foliage, size and container suitability — including the ones this list rules out, and why.