Herbs That Grow in Shade

Evening Primrose

Today we're going to talk a little about herbs that grow in shade. In a perfect world, you'd have enough space in your garden to grow every plant that interests you. In the real world, your plant passions are probably constrained by a number of factors, including  the shade cast by nearby trees and buildings

All plants need sunlight to survive, but some have developed strategies for surviving and even thriving with less sunlight. That doesn't mean every shady spot is a perfect place for shade loving plant, though. 

Trees in Your Landscape

Periwinkle

If you misjudged just how tall that Arbor Day project was going to grow between the time your kids were toddlers and the day one of them would ask you for the car keys (or were misled by the description on the label) you may well be dealing with a big swath of garden that's in shadow much of the time. 

If you haven't had your tree trimmed in a number of years, creating good airflow with judicious pruning will help keep your tree healthier and allow dappled light to penetrate to ground level. This will create much better growing environment for many plants (including your lawn) than deep shade.

Trees do pose some unique challenges for growing herbs in the shade under them, though:

Tree roots may be closer than you think. An estimated 50 percent of a tree's roots reside in the top 6 inches of soil. This means plants placed close to trees have less room to put down their own  roots, which can make them more vulnerable to stress, drought conditions and cold snaps.

Trees can also be water hogs. The area directly under a tree's canopy usually remains relatively dry, too, even during wet weather. What water does penetrate may be soaked up by thirsty tree roots before plants have a chance to get a good drink.

Choose the Right Shade-loving Herbs for Your Growing Conditions

The bad news is that many common plant varieties may not get enough water to survive under (or near) trees, even when they can tolerate some shade. Plants that manage to do well under trees usually have somewhat shallow roots themselves. They are also champions at being able to access moisture quickly before it passes deeper into the soil. Many are traditional woodland residents. If you have problem with trees in your landscape, prefer woodland plants and herbs for those locations. One excellent example is sweet woodruff. 

Other features on your landscape that may create shade related challenges are buildings and hardscape features like fences and decks. Although these elements do produce shade, their microclimates don't create as many problems as the more complex microclimates created near and under trees.

Herb Plants for Shade

The following is a list of attractive herbs that do well in shade. For the best results, position shade-loving herb plants where you can dig six inch deep and six to eight inch diameter holes. Provide plants with rich soil, and give them a two to three inch layer of protective mulch unless otherwise noted in the plant profiles you see here or elsewhere.

Angelica - Angelica archangelica

Black Cohosh - Actaea racemosa

Catnip - Nepeta Cataria

Chervil- Anthriscus cerefolium

Chives - Allium schoenoprasum

Cilantro - Coriandrum sativum

Evening primrose - Oenothera -

Ginger (wild) - Asarum canadense

Goldenseal - Hydrastis canadensis

Hyssop (anise) - Agastache foeniculum

Lemon balm - Melissa officinalis

Mint - Mentha 

 Parsley - Petroselinum crispum (likes shade, but needs room for taproot growth)

 Pennyroyal - Hedeoma pulegioides

 Periwinkle - Vinca -

 Sweet Cicely - Myrrhis odorata

 Sweet Woodruff - Galium odoratum

 Tarragon, Russian - Artemisia dracunculus L. 

 Thyme - Thymus vulgaris

 Valerian - Valeriana officinalis 

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Periwinkle - By Dcrjsr (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Vinca_minor_periwinkle.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AVinca_minor_periwinkle.jpg

Evening Primrose - By Dr. Thomas G. Barnes, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Evening_primrose_%281%29.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEvening_primrose_(1).jpg


Chives Photo - From my garden

Varerian Photo - Valerian1_Wiki.jpg By Christian Hummert (Ixitixel) (eigenes Foro) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valeriana_officinalis_%28Flower%29_2.jpg


Sweet Woodruff Photo - From my garden