shade shrubs
By Lorraine707
Grand Traverse, MI,
United States 
Will Bottlebrush Buckeye, Butcher's Broom, Alpine Currant American Bladdernut, Mountain Pieris, Mountain Laurel, Inkberry, Kerria Japonica, Sweetspire, Coralberry, Cutleaf and Sweetshrub, (all bushes for shade), grow sparsely in the shade as compared to a more sunnier spot? What I really want is full shade shrubs that are dense growing in full shade, 6'-10' tall and spreads as much or more, and other shrubs 4-5 tall-spreading as much or more, blooms decently in shade, drought resistant, average to fast growth rate in the shade, perferably full to the ground, evergreen perferrably and disease, pest & deer resistant. I just cannot take the risk of time and money spent and settle for less. What shrubs have these qualities for zone 4 - 5? Who can help me??
17 Oct, 2009
Answers
Rhododendrons like shade and will grow to the height you want. Holly too but you may not get enough berries.
17 Oct, 2009
Coral Berry is Symphoricarpos and I believe it does much better in at least part sun.
25 Oct, 2009
Some of those names are not familiar to me, Lorraine, but these are the ones I think will be fine in shade:
Butcher's Broom (Ruscus)
Pieris
Laurel
Kerria (though you may not get as many flowers)
Coralberry, I'm guessing might be Cotoneaster? Part sun part shade best.
Bottlebrush buckeye - hmm, not sure what that is - Bottlebrush is Callistemon, won't do well in shade, and Buckeye, well there's one I know called Buckthorn but that prefers a more open situation. I don't know what the others are at all.
17 Oct, 2009