Plants to Replace Roses for Low Light Levels

Q. My roses are not doing good because there is no sun by the wall where they are planted. Can you please suggest other flowers that can be planted there?

From the look of the leaves in this picture you might need to amend the soil before planting roses. Roses appreciate amended soil in the soil surface covered in wood chips, not rock.

A. Whenever you have a location in a landscape that’s not getting much sun, you can’t grow flowering plants in that location. They need more sun  to produce flowers. Instead, focus on plants that do not produce flowers but are still ornamental. In other words, forget most flowering plants in that location. Flowering plants will need at least six to eight hours of sunlight to flower well.

            Some examples of ornamental, nonflowering plants for nondesert shady areas might include Agapanthus, Box Leaf Euonymus, Dwarf Indian Hawthorne, asparagus fern, Mondo grass, sago palm, Algerian ivy, purple flax, split leaf philodendron, dwarf Burford Holly, heavenly bamboo, and Oregon grape. All of these require compost mixed into the soil at the time of planting, moist soil and they will do better with woodchip mulch on the soil surface.

All of these plants are mesic (nondesert) so make sure the soil is amended with compost at the time of planting.