Semi shade/ shade trough planting advice

[Mark Griffiths]

hi, I have two unmovable troughs facing South West(ish)but due to being close to the house and in a sunken bit of the garden they are in shade much of the day.

I need to replant them as they are well past their best. I'm looking for plants to go in - one requirement is that they aren't loved by slugs - they back onto a dry stone wall.

One is even more of a challenge as it's only 4 inches deep. There are a few large bits of tufa that help give a bit of height. Many plants have already failed there.

To give some idea of what has succeeded - the plants that remain are

Ramonda nathaliae - within a tufa crevice - the one major success, grows and flowers profusely. They are staying.
Haberlea - grown well but no flowers.
Aquilegia unknown blue about 3 inches tall. Does reasonably well but it's down to a few seedings.
Salix boydi - looking very drawn
Salix reticulata - had increased but it's dried out in summers so it keeps losing half the plant.


The other trough is smaller but quite deep. Until last year it had a wonderful Rhododendron celphalanthum crebreflorum which grew and flowered wonderfully for something like 10 years and then suddenly died. It has a ratty looking cassiope (possibly "Randle Cook")that did flower a bit and a Phyllodoce aleutica that would have one or two flowers a year -  but neither seem particularly happy.

I'm debating keeping that as an ericaceous trough - whatever it will need a complete replant as I have suspicious about the state of the drainage and compost in there.


Any thoughts for plants I could try would be gratefully received - especially for the shallow one.

[ArdfearnAli]

Hello Mark,
               I have a couple of deeper troughs with a similar aspect. They are also huge and impossible to move but I have the following planted in them and they seem to be doing well. They get a bit of sun from late afternoon onwards. The mix is 2soil one compost 1 grit with more near the surface. They are about 10" deep but the drainage is very good. I reckon as yours are in shade they shouldn't dry out too quickly even due to them being shallower.

Small juniperus communis compressa
Hepatic nobilis
Soldanella cyanaster
Celmisia sessiliflora compacta (its in the brightest spot)
Gentiana prolata
Dianthus erinaceus (also in a brighter spot)
Silene acaulis frances
Gentiana hexaphylla
Androsace carnea Andorra (brighter spot)
Ourisia caespitosa
Small chamaecyparis? obtusa
Olcynium narcissiflorum ( quite spurprised its survived)
Thalictrum kiusianum
Epimedium grandiflorum  nanum


Alasdair

[Mark Griffiths]

thanks Ali, some things I hadn't thought of there.

[ArdfearnAli]

I had a look today and everything seems fine after the long winter. I forgot to mention that I also have Gentiana hexaphylla , Soldanella spring symphony,Anemonella thalictriodes schoaf double and an unnamed plant which I think is Saxifraga south side seedling as well. I planted them up about a year and a half ago so the soil/compost still has some feeding in it. I used a mix of two parts soil, 1 part grit and 1 part peat based compost. I added more grit nearer the surface. I generally give my troughs a liquid feed in mid spring and again in summer. I find it keeps the plants stronger and healthier and more likely to cope with what the weather throws at them. I did have a Douglasia vitaliana and Silene acaulis mt Snowdon but they got quite soft and leggy. It may have been due to too much feeding at the start but I removed them as they didn't seem too happy. The troughs are raised up on blocks to avoid the drainage holes getting blocked.

Hope you have success with them

Alasdair