10 Shade-Tolerant Plants for Sun-Starved Yards

Dalmatian Peach Foxglove

Why Some Plants Thrive in Shade

What makes certain plants more shade tolerant? It’s often a result of evolutionary traits which allow some to flourish in places others would wither.² Shade-tolerant plants tend to have leaves that are optimized for low-light situations, often resulting in wider, thinner, and flatter leaves. These traits aid in absorbing the most of the sunlight available as possible.

Shade plants often have a better ability to absorb nutrients, too. Plants get their nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, and more when water is soaked up by roots and moves moves through the plant to evaporate through the foliage. Shade plants not only optimize evaporation through leaf structure, but also allow more efficient transfer of water from roots to the rest of the plant.

Shade tolerant plants tend to be more foliage than flower, but there are many great options to add color and beauty to that low-light part of your yard or garden!

Chocolate Ruffles Heuchera

Heuchera spp. (Coral bells)

Heucheras make fine shade plants.³ Plant breeders have had a field day with the genus heuchera. There seems to be no end to the variations in leaf color: silvery, burgundy, purple-black, chartreuse, salmon and rusty orange. With heuchera, its the foliage that provides the visual excitement, though some varieties also have showy flowers on tall, slender stems. The variety in the photo is called Chocolate Ruffles.

Lamium

Lamium maculatum (Dead nettle)

A low, spreading plant with silvery foliage and purple, pink, red or white blooms in early summer. In shady locations, I find this plant spreads happily — not invasively. If you wind up with too much of it, just give it a tug, lift out a whole section and pass it on to a friend. A great groundcover for shade!

Tiarella

Tiarella cordifolia (Foamflower)

Similar to heuchera in leaf and form, tiarella has matte rather than shiny leaves, which gives it a slightly more "natural" look. The bottle-brush flowers are white or pale pink and I find them showier than those of most heucheras. New varieties often feature burgundy-red leaf veins. 

Pulmonaria

Pulmonaria spp. (Lungwort)

Another shade plant with beautiful silvery foliage. Leaves are typically long and narrow, and may be entirely silver, spotted with silver or randomly splashed with silver. Lungwort flowers in spring and its blossoms are quite showy, ranging in color from white through pink and blue — with different colors often appearing on the same plant.⁴

Astilbe

Astilbe

Known best for their colorful flower plumes, many of the newer astilbe varieties also have showy foliage that may be bronze, pale green, blue green, dark green or wine red. If you choose varieties with different foliage colors, bloom times and heights, they can add lots of interesting color and texture throughout the season. This shade plant also tolerates sun as long as it is kept well-watered.

Foxglove

Digitalis (Foxglove)

Most foxgloves are biennials, which means they spend their first year growing foliage, their second year flowering and then they die.⁵ This may sound troublesome, but the plants usually reseed and sort things out so you wind up having flowers every year. I find Digitalis grandiflora the easiest and most reliable as a shade plant.

Japanese Forest Grass

Hakonechloa (Japanese forest grass)

Grass...as a shade plant? Yes! Unlike most grasses, Japanese forest grass grows and looks best in partial shade. It's short (12-15") and clump-forming, and the narrow leaves have a cascading habit. Depending on the variety, its foliage is golden green, lime green or variegated. Some turn red, orange or purple in the fall.

Primula

Primula (Primrose)

Primrose is an easy-to-grow shade plant that will also tolerate partial sun provided it receives plenty of moisture and nutrient-rich soil.⁶ There are 425 species of primula. They come in every color of the rainbow and range in size from little 3-inch dwarfs to 4-foot giants. The photo shows Primula denticulata, also known as the drumstick primula. Colors range from white through lilac, pink and deep red.

Euphorbia Polychroma

Euphorbia (Spurge)

The beautiful, burgundy-leaved Euphorbia dulcis does self sow, but the seedlings can be easily removed (and given to appreciative visitors). I also like Euphorbia polychroma (shown at left), which is a dome of chrome yellow in late spring. In zones 5 and warmer, try Euphorbia polychroma 'Bonfire', which has three seasons of color. A variety named Jessie grows up to 4 feet tall. All Euphorbia thrives in both full and partial shade.

Lady's Mantle

Alchemilla (Lady's mantle)

When water falls on this plant's pleated leaves, it beads up into dazzling little jewels. The flowers, which appear in early June, are yellow-green and make a fabulous filler for bouquets of almost any color. This is a very long-lived and trouble-free shade plant. The standard-size plant is Alchemilla mollis. For small spaces, look for Alchemilla erythropa, which only gets about 6 inches high.⁷ 

Shade Plant FAQs

1. Can I grow flowers in a shady area?

Yes, a variety of colorful flowering plants can thrive in the shade. Primula, fox gloves, hostas, and more can all provide beautiful flowers in low-light areas of your garden. 

2. What are the best low maintenance shade plants?

Ferns and hostas are the most popular, easy-to-grow shade plants. Both provide excellent ground cover, beautiful foliage, and are easy to care for. These are excellent options for beginner and expert gardeners alike!

3. Are there shade plants that can tolerate drought?

Bleeding hearts, astilbes, and some hostas can all thrive in low-water environments. You’ll have to be careful in choosing plants, but there are a variety of options for planting up beautiful, hearty, low-light tolerant plants that also require minimal watering.

4. What about low-light indoor plants?

If you’re growing indoors there are many options that tolerate low light or lots of shade. Pothos and snake plants are some of the most popular. Look for plants with solid dark leaves as these are indicators a plant can thrive without much sun or supplemental light. You can always use an indoor grow light to supplement natural light too!

Sources

1 https://www.almanac.com/plant/hostas

2 https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-024-06701-9 

3 https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/heuchera-americana/

4 https://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2008/jun/070201.htm 

5 https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/common-foxglove-digitalis-purpurea/

6 https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-primulas/

7 https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:720776-1