Trees are a wonderful addition to a garden. They provide height, structure, interest, shade and make a garden look well established. And, of course, there’s a whole host of wildlife which thrives living in or near our trees. But despite all these benefits, the area under a tree can feel like a bit of a gardening challenge. So I thought over the next couple of weeks I’d share some suggestions of plants for under trees.
This week I’m covering some of my favourite bulbs, corms and perennials…but before I do, here’s what you need to first think about.
Plants for under trees – the considerations
To identify the best plants for under trees we need to first think about why they’re such tricky spots to grow in.
First up, and pretty obviously, the area under a tree is shaded for much of the year. In the case of evergreens like holly or conifers such as yew, that shade is all year-long.
The ground under a tree also tends to be dry and lacking in nutrients – because the big old tree is taking up the moisture and goodness that is there.
Finally, as I have found on many occasions, the area under a tree can be extremely difficult to dig in. The tree’s roots are near the surface making it hard to get your spade in to any depth.
Okay okay, so we need plants that can cope with dry shade and a low nutrient environment. But before you jump on Google to hunt for them, think ‘preparation’.
Preparation
Just because the area under your trees is challenging, doesn’t mean you can’t improve the conditions – something which it took me years to recognise but is so obvious when you think about it. So first up, if the soil under the tree in question is bare, start by mulching it. Use a 5-10cm layer of wood chip, bark or lovely leaf mould. If you have trees, you should have a ready supply of leaves to make your own leaf mould. I’d really give it a try, it’s so easy and it’s wonderful stuff to have at your disposal.
The mulch will improve the condition of your soil and help retain precious moisture. A quick warning however, don’t mulch right up to the trunk of the tree as this will encourage rot. Leave a generous space – about 20cm – around the base of the trunk, free from mulch.
If you have roots growing near the surface in this area it may be really difficult to dig in the mulch. That doesn’t matter. Even if you can’t dig it in it will help. In fact I’d throw down some leaf mould in these areas every year – not just when you’re preparing the area for plants.
What you will be doing by this is imitating what happens in woodlands – recreating a forest floor.
Recreating a Forest Floor
As you can imagine, in woodlands, the leaves are falling quite naturally and being left in place. So there’s a constant supply of rotting leaves to improve the soil and help what might grow under the trees. Whereas in our gardens we tend to tidy leaves away. I can understand it – I’m as likely as the next person to rake up leaves. After all they’re not good left on our lawns, they damage the grass and look pretty messy. But under our trees, where there isn’t grass to worry about, leaving leaves to rot is a good idea.
If you can’t bear to leave them, remove them but treat the area to a regular supply of leaf mould. I’d do this in the autumn.
Leaf mould doesn’t contain nutrients. That’s because our clever old trees take any goodness in the leaves back into their system before they shed the leaves. So I’d also add nutrient to the spot under your trees. To do this, I’d also think about mulching with garden compost or farmyard manure too. Again, I’d do this pretty regularly and keep it away from the tree’s trunk.
Plants for under trees
A walk through a woodland area – or ‘a nose’ around a friend’s garden who has succcessfully tackled the art of planting under their trees, will give you some inspiration for what might flourish in that tricky dry shade. But as a shortcut to all that, here are some of my top bulbs, corm and perennial suggestions.
Bulbs and corms for under trees
Snowdrops
Snowdrops (Galanthus) are an obvious and very beautiful choice. This woodland scene above shows what a natural and happy companion they are to trees.
Snowdrops are a hardy perennial. This means they come back year after year, with absolutely no trouble at all. Blooming from January to March, they’re an early arrival, kicking off your gardening year in the most gorgeous way. I absolutely love them.
Grape Hyacinths
Grape hyacinths (Muscari) are another spring flowering, natural companion for trees. (I think the scene above is beyond beautiful).
You can get them in a gorgeous range of dark blues, frosty blues to purples and in a pristine white.
They look lovely on their own or can combine really dramatically with other plants such as daffodils. The only draw back I feel to them, is their leaves. They’re sort of thin and strippy… so after the flowering has finished, I find them a bit scruffy. But that’s my personal taste and as I’ve said time and again, it’s your garden. What suits you and your family is the only opinion that matters.
Daffodils
Although you can get some white varieties such as Thalia, which I love, daffodils are most typically yellow. They’re such reliable, rock solid plants for under trees. Planted in early Autumn, tough as old boots they cope with rain and, when in flower, some will even cope with a severe late frost.
Apparently, including hybrids, there are some 13,000 different daffodils out there and thanks to them having slightly different flowering times, with careful selection you can have daffodils flowering under trees (or anywhere) in your garden from January through to May!
Autumn-flowering Cyclamen beautiful plants for under trees
So far my suggestions of plants for under trees have been late winter and spring flowering corms and bulbs. What about some autumn interest? Look no further than the gorgeous autumn-flowering cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium).
Now I’m not talking about the indoor pot plants. They won’t survive long planted outside.
What I mean for your trees is the hardy perennial cyclamen. It’s a much more delicate looking and less blowsey plant. It looks more real. I feel the indoor pot plants look almost fake they’re so vibrant.
Anyway, the hardy cyclamen has delicate silver-lined dark green leaves a bit like ivy, and dainty flowers. You get them in pale pinks and whites and they’re a real tonic in the garden in autumn, when so many other plants are dying off. They’re perfect for growing at the base of small trees and if your tree is growing in a lawn, the good news is this cyclamen naturalises really well in grass – so they will multiply beautifully. Hurrah!
Bluebells
Back to earlier flowering options, specifically March – May, how about bluebells? I know I bang on about the British native bluebells but they are a gorgeous woodland plant and we need to protect and encourage them as otherwise they will be wiped out by the Spanish varieties which seem to flood our garden centres. So for something which looks utterly natural under trees, and thrives, I think they take some beating. I’ve got a glade of them developing, under and around our beech tree.
All of these suggestions will work well under both deciduous and evergreen trees. As they can cope with a lot of shade. However they will want to be planted in enriched soil (so do that soil prep I mentioned) and if things are really dry they may well need a watering boost until they’re established.
Crocus
If you have deciduous trees, then there’s another bulb option to try – crocus. They’re so colourful – coming in yellows, purples, whites. They’re an absolute bee magnet, providing a valuable early source and pollen, and I think they can look really effective creating a wonderful, colourful ‘shadow’ under a tree. We have them under our leaning apple tree and coupled with daffodils at the base of the tree, I think they look lovely.
Perennial plants for under trees
There are a number of perennial plants which work really well under trees. The first of these is Ladies mantle (Alchemilla mollis).
Alchemilla Mollis
As plants go it’s a bit old-fashioned and not at all showy. As a result it’s often overlooked. But with its frothly form and small limey flowers, from June to September, I think it’s superb at lightening up a shaded spot under a tree. Alchemilla grows about 1 ft tall and creates a lovely mound of velvety green leaves. These look particularly attractive after a shower, as the leaves seem to hold raindrops perfectly.
So it’s a top plant in a rainy UK garden!
Hellebores
Hellebores are, like alchemilla, a much underrated plant. Lots of people think they’re just a lot of leaves. But they have gorgeous flowers and like snowdrops not only provide much needed early January interest (and pollen for our insects) but are also good for brightening up otherwise tricky spots under trees. They come in some utterly exquisite colours – purples, pinks, reds, yellows and greens.
Added to all this there are actually some interesting hellebores varieties with slightly earlier blooming times. As a result, with a bit of careful plant selection you can have heavenly hellebores in bloom from November through to April or May. That’s seven solid months of interest.
Galium Odoratum
If you want a cushiony spreading mat of gorgeousness under a tree, look no further than Galium odoratum, otherwise known as Sweet Woodruff. This hardy perennial provides the most gorgeous fluffy soft cushion of dainty white flowers from spring right up until July. It’s happy as can be in shaded areas and while it will romp away carpeting a whole border, it doesn’t strangle other plants. We have it in our semi-shaded border under an apple tree and if I feel it’s taking over I simply pull it up. It is quite easy to manage I think.
So that’s my first set of suggestions of plants for under trees. Next week I’ll get onto all those plants which glorious leaves…until then…happy (wet by the look of it) gardening! xx