How to Plant a Shaded Plant Bed

In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook explains how to plant a shaded plant bed.

Planting a shaded garden bed

1. Pull all the weeds from the planting area by hand.
2. Create a planting bed with a loam mixture of compose, sand, topsoil.
3. Rake loam over planting area to a depth of 4 inches.
4. Mix starter fertilizer with superphosphorous and rake it into the loam.
5. Randomly set plants in the planting bed, spacing them 12 to 16 inches apart.
6. Press down on each pot to mark its location in the soil.
7. Dig a hole at each pot impression with a cultivator.
8. Place plants in the holes and backfill to the same depth as in the pot.
9. Set up a sprinkler and liberally water the planting bed for the first two days.
10. After three days cover the planting bed with 1 inch of pine-bark mulch.
11. Water twice a week throughout the summer.

When placing plants in the holes, be careful not to plant any deeper than the top of the soil in the pot — planting too deep can rot the crown. Tap the bottom of each pot to slide the root ball out cleanly, then gently free up the roots before setting the plant in the hole.

When laying out the plants, avoid mixing different varieties together in the same cluster. Separating them into distinct sections gives you better contrast between the plants and makes maintenance easier. If one variety doesn’t make it, you can simply remove and replant that section without disturbing the others.

Pro Tip: This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook advises: “It’s not difficult to find interesting plants for shade. You just have to do your homework and find ones that are suited to your particular low-light conditions.” In general, if your site receives three to five hours of morning sun each day, you have a wide range of shade-tolerant perennials to choose from.

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