Shrubs for dry shade
Dry shade under an established tree or against a north wall with an overhang is the hardest position a garden has, because the two constraints are usually treated separately and the plants that answer one rarely answer the other. This is the short honest list of shrubs that take both.
How this list was built
Generated from the catalogue by the same engine that powers What can I grow? — 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas boxSarcococca confusa | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full shade, Dappled shade, Partial shade | 75–100 cm | 40 cm | well suited |
| CotoneasterCotoneaster horizontalis | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade | 120–180 cm | 50 cm | workable |
| 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 |
| FatsiaFatsia japonica | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full shade, Dappled shade, Partial shade | 150–250 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.