Plants for Under Oak Trees

Perennials

• For color year after year, plant shade-tolerant perennials. Choices include goat's beard, which grows between 4 to 6 feet and thrives in partial to full shade. Goat's beard produces showy, fluffy plumes of white flowers and has lush, attractive foliage. This perennial prefers moist soil. Queen-of-the-prairie also grows up to 6 feet tall and prefers moist soil. This cold-hardy plant blooms with large, fuzzy clusters of bright-pink flowers and thrives in partial shade. Other shade-tolerant annuals include Culver's root, leopard plant, martagon lily, milky bellflower and turtle's head.

Annuals

• Most annuals prefer full sun to light shade, but a few species tolerate partial shade conditions, such as found under an oak tree. These include impatiens, a shade-loving annual that blooms in a range of colors from red to purple. Impatiens grow between 8 and 24 inches tall but spread quickly. Iowa State University Extension recommends New Guinea impatiens, a cultivar producing large blossoms with attractive, variegated foliage. The wishbone flower produces blue, purple, pink and white blossoms, some with multicolored spots, and grows between 6 and 12 inches tall. Its flowers have unusual, wishbone-shaped stamens and bright-green foliage. Other shade-tolerant annuals include browalia, caladium, fuchsia, lobelia and pansies.

Ground Covers

• Groundcovers grow low to the earth but spread widely, filling in bare spots. Groundcovers for shady sites include barren strawberry. This deciduous plant also tolerates drought, dry soils and a range of soil pH levels. Barren strawberry grows up to 6 inches tall and produces red, inedible fruits. Goutweed tolerates both drought and shade. Goutweed grows from 6 to 12 inches tall and has green foliage with white edges. An evergreen groundcover, the chokeberry reaches heights up to 2 feet. Chokecherries thrive in a variety of soils from dry to acid and produce white clusters of flowers followed by large, black fruits. Other shade-tolerant ground covers include bush honeysuckle, hostas, sweetfern and yellow archangel.

Shrubs

• To thrive under an oak tree, shrubs must remain small and tolerate dry soil. The tiger eye sumac grows to 6 feet tall with an equal spread. This deciduous shrub thrives in sandy, well-drained soil and prefers light to partial shade conditions. The tiger eye sumac's foliage turns bright yellow, orange and red in fall. The Japanese barberry grows to 4 feet tall with a similar spread and prefers well-drained soils. This adaptable shrub tolerates deep shade and has bright-green foliage that turns red to purple in autumn. Other choices include Autumn Magic chokeberry, highbush cranberry, lace shrub and Northern Lights azalea.