Guides

Native Plants for Dry Shade Under Trees in Maryland

The strip of bare, root-filled dirt under a big oak or maple is the single hardest spot in most Maryland yards — low light, dry soil, and a thousand thirsty tree roots competing for every drop. Grass won't grow, mulch washes away, and most plants sulk. But a handful of tough native woodlanders evolved for exactly this.

These are the species I reach for under established trees around College Park, Silver Spring, and the wider DC area — plants adapted to a shady forest floor, where dry shade is simply home.

Two rules for planting under trees: (1) Don't till or pile soil over the roots — it can kill the tree. Plant small (plugs or quarts) and tuck them between roots. (2) Water consistently the first year; once established, these need far less. A leaf-litter mulch (instead of bark) mimics the forest floor and feeds the soil.

Ground CoversCarpet the bare ground so you stop fighting it (and stop buying mulch).

Carex pensylvanica — Pennsylvania Sedge. The closest thing to a native lawn for dry shade — soft, fine, spreads gently.
Packera aurea — Golden Groundsel. Spreads happily; cheerful yellow spring bloom; deer leave it alone.
Tiarella cordifolia — Foamflower. Spires of white spring flowers over handsome semi-evergreen leaves.
Phlox stolonifera — Creeping Phlox. Low woodland phlox that flowers blue-purple in spring.
Asarum canadense — Wild Ginger. Lush, heart-shaped leaves for deep shade; a beautiful living mulch.
Chrysogonum virginianum — Green-and-Gold. Long-blooming yellow stars on a low mat.

FernsThe easiest win of all — and deer almost never touch them.

Polystichum acrostichoides — Christmas Fern. The champion of dry shade: evergreen, tidy, indestructible.
Dryopteris marginalis — Marginal Wood Fern. Evergreen, blue-green, unfussy.

PerennialsFor flowers and texture in the gaps.

Eurybia divaricata — White Wood Aster. One of the best dry-shade bloomers — clouds of small white flowers in fall.
Heuchera villosa — Hairy Alumroot. Bold foliage and airy late-summer flower spikes; very adaptable.
Geranium maculatum — Wild Geranium. Soft pink spring flowers; a woodland-edge workhorse.
Aquilegia canadensis — Wild Columbine. Nodding red-and-yellow spring blooms; seeds around gently.
Solidago caesia — Blue-stemmed Goldenrod. A graceful, shade-tolerant goldenrod for late-season gold.
Polygonatum biflorum — Solomon's Seal. Arching stems with dangling spring bells; elegant vertical structure.

ShrubsFor height and the garden's "bones."

Lindera benzoin — Spicebush. Aromatic, shade-loving; host to the spicebush swallowtail.
Viburnum acerifolium — Mapleleaf Viburnum. A small viburnum genuinely happy in dry shade; great fall color.
Hydrangea arborescens — Smooth Hydrangea. Our native hydrangea; white summer flowers in part shade.
Hamamelis virginiana — Witch Hazel. Fragrant yellow flowers in late fall, when nothing else is blooming.

That bare patch under your tree can be the best part of the garden.

Dry shade is the problem I get asked about most. I'll design a layered, low-care planting that actually thrives there.

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