bulbs/plants for VERY dry shade

[mrsmayitstimetogo]

There's a huge planter at the end of our road. It's got too rather too many trees in it, and I think it probably sits on old tarmac (40 year old tarmac). It is VERY dry. Even weeds do badly in it - almost nothing grows there in the summer. A neighbour tried nigella and nasturtiums, but few grew.

We did better with bulbs earlier in the year - tulips and daffodils.

It would be lovely to get something beautiful there this year - any ideas?? Needs to be cheap, maintenance free, and not the sort of thing that rubbish clings to!

[BartiDdu]

I think the problem may be the trees, which will drain any moisture away. Are the trees conifers, or something else? It's difficult to grow anything under a conifer, but there are some plants that can cope with growing under/near other trees. You could try googling "plants that grow under trees", if you haven't already done so.

This time of the year, you can try growing cyclamen, which should be ok and you can usually buy these cheaply in garden centres. Anemones may work too, but basically you are looking for plants that flower in winter/spring, while the trees are dormant.

[abitoflight]

Euphorbia robbinae - woodland splurge will grow. Can become a bit invasive but I quite liked it spreading under my conifers and wouldn't have been hard to deal with tbh
Japanese anemones- white flowers now - they spread too and seen some borders taken over by them but not hard to get them out

[aircooled]

Liriope muscari (blue lilyturf) might survive. It has unusual purple flower spikes this time of year.

[mrsmayitstimetogo]

Thank you! Yes, spring-flowering stuff has been best so far - early bulbs were lovely. Trees aren't conifers - I think (haven't ever looked very carefully!) there's maybe a maple, and possibly an ash? It's not a big bed, perhaps 12 by 30 foot; still has I think 4 large trees and until not long ago had 7.

Any really cheap sources of Japanese anemones and the blue lilyturf? I'm not sure anemones wd make it (it's SO dry) but I've seen the other in equally unpromising beds!

Cyclamen I think might get nicked... also not quite big enough for the space, and would be dwarfed by litter...

[sunnyhills]

I have lamium and forget me knots in my dry shade .

Choisya - mexican orange blossom ?

Bizzie lizzies did quite well this summer .

Some hardy geraniums will cope with dry shade .

[MrsBertBibby]

How about pulmonaria? Lovely early flowers, and gorgeous spotted silver green leaves. It's a wildflower so pretty tough too.

[Liara]

I have a shady dry spot in my garden where I have tried every one of the plants listed above and they have all died.

What has survived though, is periwinkles (vinca minor), violets, one or two heucheras (others died), and hardy geraniums. I have bulbs coming through in the spring too.

[Liara]

I should probably clarify though that I am in southern europe and this year so far we have had 6 months without a drop of rain - so I am talking very, very dry (it's somewhere where I can't really water well)

[WellTidy]

I have an enormous weeping ash in my garden and the area underneath that is dry shade. I have heucheras in it which do really well and also cornus alba. Everything else that I've had does really poorly.

[mrsmayitstimetogo]

Liara - I was thinking, as I read those suggestions, that they'd all die! Lovely ideas, but it's SO unfavoured. Big road; litter; rubbish (never fertilised) soil; trees; lack of water - awful!
Periwinkles might well do. Heuchera - do you know which lived? Bulbs are rather lovely in it (a happy surprise!); it's what follows them that is problematic.
Cornus alba - that's the variegated one, right? we have it in our garden and I love it, but I think we need littler stuff (litter; anti-social behaviour-hiding-opportunities etc. etc.)

[Liara]

The heucheras which survived were a purple one (probably palace purple) and a green one with red flowers (I think it's pluie du feu). I had several others with interestingly patterned leaves which didn't make it.

[AndromedaPerseus]

If you know anyone who has Japanese anemones you can get new plants from them in spring/summer as they produce lots of new shoots which you can remove and plant just make sure you keep them well watered.