7 Outstanding Salt Tolerant Shade Perennials

One landscaping assignment I had to tackle recently was to plant a perennial flower garden in an area that was shaded. To further complicate the matter, this area was out by the road so the perennial plants needed to also be salt tolerant in addition to being able to grow in the shade. I had to research what salt tolerant shade perennials I could work with. Here is a list of salt tolerant shade perennials.

Salt Tolerant Shade Perennial #1: Daylily: Daylilies like to grow in the full sun, but can take full shade very well, provided it is not a deep shade. Daylilies come in a wide range of colors, including yellow, range, red, pink, purple, and a light yellow that is almost white. Daylilies are salt tolerant and flourish along the roadsides. Daylilies are also drought tolerant. Their only fault is that the deer like to eat the flower buds just before the bloom time. The height of Daylily flower stalks varies from a foot to over three feet. Daylily bloom time varies by cultivar and is between June and August. Some Daylily varieties can bloom earlier or rebloom in September. White, yellow, bright gold, orange, and light pink daylily varieties lighten up a shaded area well. Red, dark pink, and purple daylily cultivars work well if the desired effect is the dark and almost dreary garden or landscape.

Salt Tolerant Shade Perennial #2: Astilbe: Astilbes bloom mostly in late June, although some newer Astilbe cultivars vary more in their bloom time. Astilbes do best in part to full shade, and tolerate road salt. Astilbes range in height from a foot to two feet tall, depending on the cultivar. The Astilbe foliage somewhat resembles a fern in its texture and appearance, and the flower spikes add a unique soft and graceful texture to the landscape. Astilbe comes in white, peach, light pink, pink, red, and light purple. The varying shades of Astilbe compliment each other and create a beautiful color palate. After the astilbe flowers fade, the Astilbe flower heads can either be cut back or left for winter interest, depending upon the taste of the individual gardener.

Salt Tolerant Shade Perennial #3: Ferns:The salt tolerance of ferns came as a surprise to me, but I figured if a grower with fifteen years of experience in an upscale garden center recommended ferns for a roadside shade perennial flowerbed, they would work. So far, the Japanese painted ferns and "lady in red" fern cultivar are doing very well. Come to think of it, it is common to see wild ferns growing alongside the road. Ferns like to be on the moist side, so they will need some water during a drought.

Salt Tolerant Shade Perennial #4: Hosta. Hosta is a very good perennial for the shade and can tolerate moderate road salt. Due to the personal preference of the homeowner, I was not able to include Hostas in the garden landscape that I installed. From what I heard, the Hostas should go a little bit back from the street to avoid the heavy salt directly by the roadside. Hostas should do well by the street, but if you want to play it safe, experiment by planting a division from a common green Hosta and see how it holds out. Hostas bloom violet spikes in summer.

Salt Tolerant shade perennial #5: Archangel False Lamium. I planted this one by the street more as an experiment because I knew that Archangel False Lamium was a very rugged plant. The false lamium did suffer some dieback during the first winter due to not having time to get established, but the false lamium has managed to not only come back but has begun to try to take over the entire flowerbed. This happened despite planting the false lamium only a couple feet from the road. False Lamium blooms small yellow flowers in May.

Salt tolerant shade perennial #6: Hakonechloa grass. Hakonechloa grass comes in several varieties. The most popular is the golden Hakonechloa grass, which has green and gold variegated foliage. There is also an all gold variety of Hakonechloa grass as well as a green Hakonechloa grass cultivar that is supposed to have good autumn color. Hakonechloa grass is salt tolerant and also tolerates moderate shade to full shade, which is unusual for an ornamental grass.

Salt tolerant shade perennial #7: Vinca Minor: Vinca Minor, known as Myrtle or Periwinkle, is a common, shade-loving groundcover known for its evergreen foliage and purple flowers in spring. Vinca Minor is an excellent salt tolerant shade perennial and can be used by itself as a groundcover.

There are the seven best salt tolerant shade perennials I found. It is not easy to find a plant that fits both of those qualifications, but with these plants, there still are a number of landscape possibilities to work with.