Which Plants Can Live Under a Cedar Tree?

Perennials

• Perennials add color and texture to shady areas. Perennials that tolerate dry, shaded sites include the wild ginger (Asarum canadense), a tiny perennial that grows from 6 to 10 inches tall. The wild ginger blooms with purple to brown flowers in early spring, but this perennial is generally grown for its large, heart-shaped foliage.

  Bergenia (Bergenia cordifolia) can tolerate the conditions found under cedar trees. This pink-blooming perennial grows from 12 to 18 inches tall and prefers partial shade. Bergenia has shiny, evergreen foliage and grows in dense clumps.

Ground Covers

• Ground covers fill in empty spaces and prevent soil erosion and runoff. The myrtle or periwinkle (Vinca minor) grows from 6 to 12 inches tall and tolerates both shade and dry soil. This trailing evergreen has thin stems and glossy, dark green foliage. Myrtles produce blue spring flowers.

  Trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens), a North American native, grows to 6 inches tall and up to 2 feet wide. This evergreen grows in a dense, thick mat and has leathery, thick foliage. The trailing arbutus blooms with fragrant, white to pink flowers in spring and grows naturally under evergreen canopies.

Deciduous Shrubs

• When choosing deciduous shrubs for shaded sites, choose species with light-colored flowers to add contrast. The pinxterbloom azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides) prefers rich, acidic soil but tolerates thin, dry soils. This deciduous shrub grows from 4 to 6 feet tall and blooms in late spring with clusters of pink flowers. Plant pinxterbloom azaleas in partial shade.

  The mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) grows best in shade and well-drained, slightly acidic soil. This 4- to 6-foot-tall shrub blooms with yellow to white flowers in late spring to early summer, followed by long-lasting black berries. Mapleleaf viburnum have large, triple-lobed foliage that turns red to purple in fall.

Evergreen Shrubs

• Evergreen shrubs keep their foliage all year, unlike deciduous species. The mountain laurel's (Kalmia latifolia) natural habitat is at the edge of forested sites. This evergreen shrub grows from 5 to 12 feet tall with a similar spread and grows in shaded sites with cool soil. Mountain laurels produce showy, long-lasting pink to white flowers in late spring.

  The wintercreeper euonymus (Euonymus fortunei), a semievergreen, starts as a vine and matures into a shrublike form. The euonymus has dark-green foliage with silver to white markings and tolerates a range of site conditions, including shady and dry.