Like almost all plants, trees and shrubs need sunlight. Nevertheless, you do not have to do without beautiful trees in shady gardens. We introduce you to 29 attractive shade trees for every location.
Table of Contents
8 evergreen shrubs
Evergreen trees and shrubs provide color even in the shade during the gray winter months. The following species keep their leaves all year round or are evergreen, ie these shade trees only lose last year’s leaves in spring.
Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens)
- Growth: upright, slow, densely bushy
- Growth height: 200 to 450 centimeters
- Flowers: inconspicuous, valuable for bees
- Fruit ornaments: no
- Position and soil: Sun to shade, normal garden soil
- Special features: topiary that tolerates pruning very well
Dickmännchen (Pachysandra terminalis)
- Growth: low, forms mats, forms rhizomes
- Growth height: 20 to 30 centimeters
- Flowers: white spike flowers between April and May
- Fruit ornaments: no
- Site and soil: Partial shade to shade, fresh to moist, slightly acidic garden soil
- Special features: robust, undemanding, for planting under trees, ideal for shade
Japanese Aukube (Aucuba japonica)
- Growth: slow, broad bushy
- Growth height: 150 to 300 centimeters
- Flowers: reddish flowers between April and May
- Location and Soil: Partial shade to shade
- Special features: attractive variety ‘Variegata’, mainly with variegated leaves, hardy only when old, for planting in containers
Kirschlorbeer (Prunus laurocerasus)
- Growth: upright, bushy
- Growth height: between one and three meters, depending on the variety
- Flower: white, inconspicuous
- Fruit ornaments: yes (not edible)
- Location and soil: sunny to shady
- Special features: very robust and tolerant of frost, ideal shrubs for hedges in shady areas
Mahonie (Mahonia aquifolium)
- Growth: upright, bushy, slow
- Growth height: up to approx. 120 centimetres
- Blossom: golden yellow grape blossoms between April and May
- Fruit ornaments: berries (not edible)
- Location and soil: sunny to shady, normal garden soil
- Special features: perfect as underplanting for trees and shrubs
Purple War Spider (Euonymus fortunei ‘Coloratus’)
- Growth: climbing (with climbing aid) or creeping
- Height of growth: up to 450 centimeters as a climbing plant, up to 50 centimeters as a ground cover
- Flowers: greenish-yellow, inconspicuous cymes between June and July
- Fruit decoration: red-orange fruits in October / November (not edible)
- Location and soil: sunny to shady, normal garden soil
- Special features: well suited for greening house walls, for pot culture or the rock garden
Shadowbell (Pieris japonica)
- Growth: loose, broadly upright, fast-growing (up to 20 centimeters per year)
- Growth height: 150 to 300 centimeters
- Flowers: simple, white panicle flowers between the end of March and May
- Fruit ornaments: fruit capsules (not edible)
- Location and soil: semi-shady to shady, fresh to moist, slightly acidic soil
- Special features: frost hardy, easy to care for, shrubs also bloom very well in the shade
Shrub-ivy (Hedera helix ‘Arborescens’)
- Growth: upright, compact, not climbing
- Growth height: 150 to 200 centimeters
- Flowers: yellow-green umbelliferous flowers between September and October
- Fruit ornaments: yes
- Place and soil: semi-shady to shady, for any garden soil
- Special features: very easy to care for, bee-friendly
6 conifers
Many conifers and shrubs prefer sunny locations. But there are also some attractive trees to choose from for the shade garden, as the following examples show.
Blue cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)
- Growth: slow, very dense
- Growth height: 200 to 300 centimeters
- Location and soil: Sun to shade, normal garden soil, as nutritious as possible
- Special features: blue-green needle colouration
Eibe (Taxus baccata)
- Growth: upright, bushy, branched
- Growth height: 200 to 10,000 centimeters
- Fruit decoration: bright red berries (not edible)
- Location and soil: sunny to shady, grows in almost any soil
- Special features: undemanding, tolerates pruning, very well suited for hedges, highly toxic
Japanese umbrella fir (Sciadopitys verticillata)
- Growth: very slow, conical, dense
- Growth height: 1000 to 1200 centimeters
- Location and soil: sunny to shady, fresh, nutrient-rich and lime-free soil
- Special features: for sheltered locations, frost hardy, sensitive to drought
Spanish fir (Abies pinsapo)
- Habit: fast-growing (up to 80 centimeters a year), broad, conical crown, even
- Growth height: 600 to 800 centimeters
- Location and soil: Sun to shade, nutrient-rich and calcareous soil
- Special features: tolerates drought, long-lived, attractive blue-green needle color
Dwarf balsam fir (Abies balsamea ‘Nana’)
- Growth: dense, spherical, rather wide than high
- Growth height: 80 to 100 centimeters
- Location and soil: Sun to shade, nutrient-rich and moist garden soil
- Special features: pleasantly scented, very short needles
Dwarf mussel press (Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’)
- Growth: compact, hemispherical to conical, densely branched
- Growth height: 100 to 300 centimeters
- Site and soil: sunny to shady, fresh and nutrient-rich garden soil, likes sandy-loamy soil
- Special features: shiny, scaly needles
10 deciduous shade trees
Like most plants, deciduous shrubs prefer sunny to partially shaded locations. However, some trees and shrubs also feel comfortable in the shade as long as it is light there – so-called full shade is not suitable for this group of plants.
Berberitzen (Berberis)
- Growth: depending on the type and variety from flat to bushy
- Growth height: between 50 and 300 centimeters depending on the type and variety
- Flowering: yellow flowers between May and June
- Fruit ornaments: yes
- Site and soil: sunny to semi-shady, also tolerates light shade, normal garden soil
- Special features: great wealth of species and varieties, many varieties with red foliage
Blasphemy (Physocarpus opulifolius)
- Growth: sprawling, wide
- Growth height: 300 to 400 centimeters
- Flowers: white, light pink, in June
- Fruit ornaments: yes (not edible)
- Site and soil: Sun to semi-shade, humus-rich soil
- Special features: very suitable for hedges or as underplanting for trees and shrubs
Cotoneaster horizontalis
- Growth: low, wide, heavily branched
- Growth height: 80 to 100 centimeters
- Flowers: white to pink-colored plate flowers in June
- Fruit decoration: bright red berries (not edible)
- Site and soil: sunny to semi-shady, grows on almost any soil
- Special features: very well suited as ground cover, for example under higher-growing trees and shrubs
Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
- Growth: bushy, dense
- Growth height: 200 to 300 centimeters
- Flowers: white to pink, between June and September
- Fruit decoration: white, spherical berries (not edible)
- Site and soil: sunny to semi-shady, also grows in light shade and on almost any soil
- Special features: tolerates dry soil, takes pruning, native species
Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)
There are very few deciduous, shade-tolerant trees. An exception is the hornbeam , which is often used for hedges.
- Growth: upright, dense
- Growth height: 300 to 1400 centimeters
- Flowering: April to May
- Fruit ornaments: no
- Location and soil: sunny to shady, nutrient-rich soil
- Special features: very compatible with pruning
California honeysuckle (Lonicera ledebourii)
Attractive flowers, pretty fruit decoration and a robust nature. Shade trees like the California honeysuckle feel at home in any garden.
- Growth: upright to arching, overhanging, wide
- Growth height: 200 to 300 centimeters
- Flowering: between June and July
- Fruit decoration: black, shiny berries (not edible, but very popular with birds)
- Location and soil: sunny to shady, grows in almost any soil
- Special features: plentiful flowering, very robust, tolerates both wet and dry conditions
Kornelkirsche (Cornus mas)
- Habit: Large shrub or small tree, often multi-stemmed
- Growth height: 300 to 500 centimeters
- Flowers: golden yellow umbelliferous flowers between March and April
- Fruit ornaments: red, edible drupes
- Site and soil: sunny to shady, grows in almost any soil, likes chalk
- Special features: native, very robust wood
Liguster (Ligustrum vulgare)
- Growth: upright, wide
- Growth height: 200 to 500 centimeters
- Flowers: white, between June and July
- Fruit decoration: black-bluish, small
- Location and soil: Sun to semi-shade, also tolerates light shade, completely undemanding
- Special features: tolerates pruning, very well suited for hedges
Platane (Platanus hispanica)
Trees like the plane tree need a lot of space and are therefore particularly suitable for large gardens, parks or as a street tree.
- Growth: wide, spreading
- Growth height: 2500 to 3000 centimeters
- Flowering: April to May
- Fruit ornaments: yes
- Location and soil: sunny to shady, grows on almost any soil as long as it is nutritious
- Special features: similar to Norway maple, but more robust
Weißdorn (Crataegus laevigata)
Native shrubs such as hawthorn and hawthorn are uncomplicated and feel at home in almost any spot in the garden. Although the Crataegus species are shade trees, they prefer a partially shaded to lightly shaded location. It must not be too dark.
- Growth: large shrub, often multi-stemmed
- Growth height: 300 to 500 centimeters
- Flowers: white, between May and June
- Fruit decoration: scarlet, edible fruits
- Location and soil: sunny to semi-shady, undemanding
- Specialties: loves lime, very good for hedges
5 flowering shrubs
Shade trees that also inspire with their lush flowers? These trees and shrubs for shady locations are mainly planted for their beautiful and usually long-lasting flowers.
Berglorbeer/Lorbeerrose (Kalmia latifolia)
- Growth: slow, broad bushy
- Growth height: 150 to 200 centimeters
- Flowers: delicate pink to crimson flowers between May and June
- Fruit ornaments: no
- Site and soil: sunny to semi-shady; fresh to moist, slightly acidic and humic
- Special features: evergreen, hardy
European mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius)
- Growth: initially upright, later overhanging
- Growth height: 200 to 300 centimeters
- Flowers: creamy white, between May and June
- Fruit ornaments: no
- Location and soil: sunny to semi-shady, undemanding
- Special features: heat-tolerant, cut-resistant, soil-tolerant
Japanese Blossom Skimmia (Skimmia japonica)
- Growth: bushy, compact
- Growth height: 60 to 100 centimeters
- Flowers: white to pink, between April and May
- Fruit ornaments: no
- Site and soil: Partial shade to shade, prefers acidic, humus-rich soil
- Special features: easy to care for, evergreen
Perlmuttstrauch (Kolkwitzia amabilis)
- Growth: broadly upright, bushy
- Growth height: 200 to 350 centimeters
- Flowers: pink umbels between May and June
- Fruit ornaments: no
- Location and soil: sunny to shady, undemanding in terms of soil requirements
- Special features: for hedges, but also as a solitary plant or for group planting
Prachtglocke (Enkianthus campanulatus)
- Growth: tightly upright
- Growth height: 200 to 300 centimeters
- Flowers: reddish-white bell-shaped flowers between May and June
- Fruit ornaments: no
- Site and soil: Partial shade to shade, prefers fresh, slightly acidic to acidic garden soil
- Special features: develops beautiful autumn colors
