Plants and Shrubs That Grow in Zone 9 Gardens
Here are some of the most common shade-loving zone 9 plants: Ferns – Millions of years old, ferns are the definition of an old standby. Usually native to forest floors, they thrive in shady spots. While ferns come in a huge range of species and varieties, some good ones for zone 9 include:
Autumn fern Holly fern Bird’s Nest fern Button fern Sword fern Ghost fern Log fern Lady fern
Spiderwort – Happiest in partial shade, spiderwort is a good border plant with small attractive flowers that are usually blue but can also come in white, red, and pink. Camellia – Camellias love deep shade and will flower prolifically in it. They grow into small trees and shrubs with flowers in white, red, and pink. Some good zone 9 varieties include:
Jury’s Pearl camellia Long Island Pink camellia Winter’s Star camellia
Periwinkle – A crawling groundcover that prefers partial shade, periwinkle produces flowers very similar to violets. It can get aggressive if not kept in check, however. Astilbe – A bright perennial that thrives in light to moderate shade, astilbe produces big, spiky clusters of tiny flowers that range from white to pink to red. Hydrangea – While they don’t like deep shade, hydrangeas do very well in dappled or afternoon shade. Some varieties that do very well in zone 9 shade include:
Orb hydrangea Star hydrangea Beni Gaku hydrangea Bluebird lacecap hydrangea Bigleaf hydrangea Oakleaf hydrangea Climbing hydrangea
Bleeding Heart – like many ferns, bleeding heart plants can be the stars (or hearts) of the show when included in the zone 9 shade garden. They are especially suited to woodland garden areas.
