Shade tolerance Puns

I'm working on a proposal for my grad project and in the background I made the comment that: "Shade intolerant pioneer species trend towards small, wind dispersed seeds while shade tolerant trees trend toward larger, animal dispersed seeds." My advisor called me out on this suggesting I needed to cite this, which is reasonable, but I'm having a hard time finding anything that describes this all together. I've seen some papers suggesting parts of it, namely the relationship between seed size and shade tolerance, but less that link dispersal to successional niche.

My advisor also asked if it was my own idea entirely, which I didn't think it was, but am I just making this up? Somewhere along the line I thought it was established that earlier successional trees trend toward being wind dispersed and would in turn have lighter seeds than later successional trees, but is that not as true as I'm assuming? (I get there are always exceptions, though) I'm thinking namely about birches and maples in a general Eastern Temperate context. I also probably shouldn't specify 'animal dispersed' as heavier seeds can be moved otherwise, as well.

So to sum up my question: am I just making up this relationship or is this as established as I thought it was?

I built a small raised bed in a spot that will probably get little sun (maybe as little as 2-4 hours) in the summer. I was thinking about maybe trying some leafy greens there since they are harder in the summer here in northeast ga. I just want to know what some of y'all do with shady spots. I could be off on the time. I didn't put much thought into where I put it, I just built it because I was bored and had some boards. I'd rather have edibles but would be ok with flowers to.

I am in DFW.

I had read multiple places that St. Augustine is the most shade tolerant of the three major grasses we have here (others being bermuda and zoysia). Today I had someone here to give an estimate on replacing our sod and he suggested zoysia is the most shade tolerant. I can’t tell if he just wanted to sell us the most expensive or if he’s actually correct.

Any other opinions?

I’m looking to move some cannas (orange) and I am looking for anyone with experience putting them in shade. The location I am thinking of has dappled shade from large trees. The area can also retain water for a day or so after heavy rains. I have a few in a slightly sunnier location and they’ve done well and bloom but get a few hours of direct sun. Thanks

I’m attempting, within the confines of my HOA, to plant my front flower beds with native wildflowers that can take over the beds and give my house color, cover the bare ground and attract bees and pollinators. I love the idea of creating a sort of wildflower meadow that’s pretty and low maintenance.The trouble in researching this is finding flowers that will thrive in an area shaded by the house and two large trees, though the trees have been trimmed back a lot recently. Results I see reading the reviews have not been great. Has anyone found a blend or approach that works well? I live in zone 8 if that helps.

Hey, so I know this may not be possible as it's such a weirdly specific request, but thought I'd ask! I'm a teacher and would like to keep all windows open in my classroom due to the pon de replay, but loads of mosquitos tend to fly in from one side of the classroom. I know of a bunch of herbs that repel mosquitoes, but most of them are outdoor plants. Wondering if there are any plants that would work indoors next to a window (there are trees outside, so it's not the brightest window).

Hello everyone, I am a bit curious about your experiences with the new slap stick. How did you select the shade you ordered? How did it turn out on your skin? How did your skin react? How do you use and/or apply it? Did it melt during shipping? How do you like it? What was the packaging like....Please share your experience - thank you so much and enjoy your weekend <3

I have a narrow lot on a main road. At the front of the property there’s two large trees, an oak and a maple. When we first moved in the PO had a mess of bushes underneath them. We decided we would clear them out and plant grass for a clean look. 5 years later and I still cannot get a consistent lawn to grow there.

So I want to go back to the original look. Besides the lower maintenance, the added privacy would be good.

I don’t know what type of bushes were there when we moved in, they were the type that grew in all directions with pretty thick stalks. They will obviously have to tolerate shade, and it would be nice to plant something that will not take decades to fill in the space. Ideally, they would grow to about 6 feet high though I expect to trim them as they grow of course.

Zone straddles the line between 5 and 6 with temperatures closer to zone 6.

So ive been smoking oil for about a year or so now on and off while still smoking bud. Since the beginning I never noticed a huge difference between the highs, just more euphoric from dabs. Anyways, for the last week or so, I was almost completely dabbing because I have this great wax I just picked up. But then this morning I decided to wake and bake outta my double shower head perc bong before my shower so I could have a nice buzz for work. I was probably a good [3] or [4] tops. So after I get off work I decide to go to the beach for a little beach blaze. I grab my pipe and shitty shake and pack a bowl and halfway in im a solid [9] and way higher than the dabs have gotten me in the past week. What I dont get, is how was I that much higher when i previously smoked better stuff out of a better piece only a few hours before? Let alone compared to the massive dabs ive been taking. In addition to this, edibles DO NOT work on me. At least anymore. I made 2 gram firecrackers and ate both and felt nothing. I ate 2 quad dose cheeba chews (basically medicated tootsie rolls) and felt a little buzz, so got a 10 dose a different day and felt next to nothing. So I decided to go overboard and make brownies for 4/20 with 10 grams of crumble in it. I decarbed it as per skunkpharms chart, ate 2 at one time and felt nothing. I thought maybe I made them wrong until my friend and cousin tried them. My friend had 1/4 of a brownie and sounded like he was on xanax cause he was so stupid stoned. My cousin was brave enough to eat a whole one and was asleep for 20+ hours. Does anybody have ANY clue whats going on? Thanks

Hey r/gardening so which berry bush would do better in a partial sun/shade spot. The spot had a very high overhead tree company which provides partial shade all day but receives a couple hours of nice solid sun in the late afternoon. I'm sure both would survive but is one better suited?

Hi all,

I'm looking to install new sod in my front yard. Ideally low maintenance, as I don't have an irrigation system and my neighbors have a lot of weeds in their yards. But, my concern is its shade tolerance. I don't get much sun (yard faces east) and I've read that bahia does not do well in the shade. Does anyone have experience with bahia in shady areas? Do you think it will be alright?

My soil is sandy. I've got an elm tree in the front yard, which I hate, so I may cut that down, but hate the thought of killing a big tree. I'm looking for the most cost effective and low maintenance solutions. I tried laying Palmeto St. Augustine a couple years ago, but learned my lesson....I needed a sprinkler system, lol. It's a small yard, about 700-800 sq feet.

Thanks.

I have very large trees shading the borders of my property which I would like to plant some defensive plants (thorns and the like) which could do double duty as a source of food like fruits and maybe a good food source also for bees. Any ideas? Thanks!

Hi all, I moved from the northeast to San Diego this year and am new to growing plants outdoors (especially in the winter!). I have a set of window box style planters hung from the railing of my balcony and am looking for recommendations of flowers that will do well. The balcony is north facing, and through the summer months the angle of the sun and height of our roofline are such that there is plenty of direct sunlight.

I planted some zinnias around late July that absolutely exploded, but now that the sun is lower in the sky the planters are in the shade of our roofline essentially full time. The zinnias had their fun but have mostly died off now and are looking pretty shabby so I’m trying to identify what I can plant next to add some color back to my balcony through the winter.

What shade tolerant plants or flowers can I put down now that will do well in window boxes through the SoCal winter? I’m happy to either start from seed or to buy already sprouted plants.

I have an east facing bed that is next to a brick wall. I live in CO (zone 5) and would love to put peonies there (love me some peonies). Will peonies tolerate afternoon shade? The sun is pretty intense in CO.

I building a large shade garden beside my house and would like to add variety.

Shade gardens are not real popular in south texas so the garden centers carry a very limited stock of shade plants. I've found a few hostas (all un-named), 3 ferns types (japanese box, autumn, and an un-named dwarf), and lots of caladiums.

What I have is thriving.

I love to add variety if anyone can help with seeds.

Edit for a little more info:

Drip Irrigated, USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 29

morning and afternoon shade. 2-6 hours late morning/early afternoon sun depending on the planting spot.

I have a few plant stands and I have a dog and cat, both of whom will ignore greenery for the most part. However, I always leave plants that are toxic up on the top of these stands so they don’t have the opportunity to get to them….

However, that has left my plant stands a little too top heavy since I can’t seem to find good plants that are safe for pets to put on the bottom. Any recs?

I'm looking for a smallish(2-3ft wide, 2-6 ft tall) conifer for my yard, and i need something that's relatively small in diameter, and very shade tolerant. (yard has 2 huge oaks blocking about 60% of sun throughout day,). I kind of want a Cypress or juniper, but frankly i don't know a whole lot about the topic. Any suggestions?

I used to have a ligustrum bush that created a privacy barrier between my yard and front porch. I thought it was dead after the winter freeze so I tore it out. My initial plan was to plant some tall grasses like muhly grass in the area but I realized the large spanish oak tree in my front yard keeps that area shaded for pretty much the entire day. I want to plant something that will grow to about 4' fall to create some privacy for the front porch but it needs to be shade tolerant and drought tolerant. Any suggestions would be helpful!

Bonus points if the suggested plants are something I can acquire locally.

Hey I'm in zone 12 and it can get pretty hot and humid. I have a nice shaded balcony which gets lot of bright, indirect sunlight. I love roses so much but keeping one in my balcony means it has to

1. Tolerate heat
2. Tolerate shade

Plus tolerate high humidity and be suitable for container gardening. I haven't heard of anything that can do all 4 but is there any rose out that that might?

What are some attractive perennials that could grow in salt lake city well and fast..lots of trees and hence it is shady. Don't want grass. Could use some color as well.

For green, I am thinking mint. Suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I would like to landscape this spring with plants that are native, attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and that are shade tolerant.

I am planning to plant milkweed, asters, cardinal flower, and columbine. My goal would be to plant things that bloom at different times so there are flowers from May - September. Any suggestions you have for other native plants would be appreciated.

I've got a section of my garden (zone 9b) where I have some citrus trees against a wall and everything below the wall line basically gets zero sun most of the year. I'd like to plant a little ground cover to help with the weed situation and I can't get anything to stick. I've tried some fountain grasses and the like, but they die off within a year or are so strangled for sun they barely sprout new growth in spring.

I've looked at the California chain fern, which is drought tolerant and native to some areas around me, but I think that might be too big for the space since I see they grow to 3-5' and I'm probably looking to keep it under 3ft. I'm also not sure how well the chain fern does in clay soil, since I understand they build pretty strong root systems and clay soil is anathema to that, or if it has any negative impacts on citrus trees.

Any ideas would be appreciated

I imagine it is a longshot, but I thought I would ask.
Can I grow any groundcover in my dog run that is mostly shaded?

It's a difficult spot by my door, gets afternoon sun, heat from wall, sidewalk & AC. Had good luck with red impatiens last year (except for having to water them every other day when not raining) but they only had purple impatiens this year and I guess they're not as hardy as they've declined. And even the reds couldn't take the heat closest to wall. Any suggestions for what would do well there and look nice?

https://preview.redd.it/zxjxjgh79ik71.png?width=1056&format=png&auto=webp&s=8fc6cc62f40cd9d0e4f6433d297ef37cd5409b5c

Hi everyone, looking for some help -I need to add some privacy along my back fence. Problem is, the area along there doesn't get the most sunlight, and currently has other trees that don't offer much privacy at eye level, and almost none in the winter. I have no problem removing some of these trees to make enough room for other trees and plants that are better suited for the task, but want to make sure I get something that tolerates shade very well and ideally something that grows very quickly. I'm in central New Jersey. See pic attached for the area in question. TIA!

I have a tough yard to grow ... anything. Tired of trees dying as I continue to find new things about my ground / yard that will kill the tree I just planted. So, with what I know now, what would you recommend?

• Soil is alkaline
• I have black walnut trees around (but rather not have more!)
• I've not verified, but I'm theorizing that verticillium is an issue (newly planted maples keep dying unexplainably, neighbors too)
• I prefer deciduous shade trees, but would also be interested in evergreens if there are any appropriate.

I know it's a tough application, but thought I'd ask the internet for best advice.

Thanks!

I have a St Augustine yard but portions of the yard dont do well due to a lot of shade from a mix of the house and large trees. I would like to overseed these areas with a grass that will blend in reasonably well with my existing grass (so not the fescue shade mix sold at home depot). Looking for options and recommendations on what grass seed I should use?

I'm trying to start cleaning up the couple acres of woodlot on my parent's farm, clearing brush, cutting down dead trees and so on. I want to replace the dead trees with something that is moderately fast growing, but hardier than pine. My dad recommended norway spruce because that's what he planted decades ago as a windbreak on another part of the farm.

The place I'd be looking to plant the trees is surrounded by mature trees, so probably wouldn't recieve much direct sunlight if any. I'd also want to plant a couple black walnut or black cherry trees along with the faster growing ones. Would norway spruce be able to tolerate the full shade from the mature trees?

I have a tough yard to grow ... anything. Tired of trees dying as I continue to find new things about my ground / yard that will kill the tree I just planted. So, with what I know now, what would you recommend?

• Soil is alkaline
• I have black walnut trees around (rather not have more!)
• Not verified, but theorizing that verticillium is an issue (maples keep dying unexplainably, neighbors too)
• prefer deciduous shade trees

I know it's a tough application, but thought I'd ask the internet for best advice.

Thanks!