Greater London garden - shady corner planting advice

Hello,

Would appreciate some advice on what to plant in a pot, in the corner of greater London city garden, that recieves a very small amount of sun late afternoon (where ive stuck the bucket)?

Ideally if a shrub would need to be narrow - I like blue arrow juniper but not sure how well that would do in these light conditions?

If climbing plant on trellis would prefer something evergreen? And not star jasmine as that already makes up most of my border.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

Irish yew (Taxus baccata fastigiata) has a columnar habit, will grow in a container in full sun to dense shade. They are slow growing to start but take off after a couple of years. I have one in a tall container, it’s an attractive green with interesting foliage. Alternatively you could try a Fatsia japonica which has a tropical look, but keep it pruned to a single stem. There are variegated forms which are less vigorous which might suit a container better.

 

Thank you, I love the fatsia Japonica but would take up too much floor space unfortunately. The Irish yew looks nice. Do you know anything about japanese sky pencil holly? I came across that whilst looking at yes.

 

The J. skyrocket variety is quite a common one @JCT , as is J. scopulorum, but most of the upright types are quite slow growing, and if you fork out for a more mature specimen, you'd have to be able to give it the right care, long term.
They can also eventually become quite sizeable so you need to trim them later on. However, in a container, they're much slower growing than in the ground, but need more attention because of that. The container would need to be changed [bigger] as it grows too, and watering will be the main priority, especially through summer. The right growing medium too - a soil based one. Ordinary compost alone is no use for long term growing, especially for anything woody.

There's a golden yew which might be more colourful. I think that would be an easier choice for you.
Have you got a container already? I'm just thinking that the other alternative might be one of the early flowering clematis. Not a montana, but an alpina, or macropetala or similar.

 

I think the Juniper will struggle with the light conditions.
As @Plantminded has suggested you can easily keep a fatisia japonica trimmed to a compact size to suit the space available. You would simply need to cut out any unwanted stems/branches

 

Have you considered a climbing Hydrangea? White flowers would look amazing against the dark fence. Not sure whether a pot would be enough for it though.

How about a Rhododendron or Azalea? A decent pot with some ericaceous compost would be needed.

Final idea is a a Japanese Acer. Not evergreen but the Autumn colour makes up for it. I have one in the shade which is very pale white with green and pink markings and it sings out in my shady corner: Ukigumo. Until it reaches a decent size (few years), you could raise the pot up and underplant with pots of Geraniums or ferns maybe.

 

Id rather a shrub/dwarf tree as I have climbing plants with white flowers over the rest of the fences.

I did look at the japanese acer but thought it may grow too wide and the corner I am looking to plant in really needs something tall and narrow.

 

How about a nice Camellia?
Camellia sasanqua 'Jean May' | camellia 'Jean May' Shrubs/RHS

 

Can thes ebe trimmed and kept quite narrow?

 

What is the size of the space available @JCT ? I’m guessing you want a spread of around 1m if you were looking at J.Skyrocket?

Amelanchier Obelisk has a maximum spread of 1-1.5m but probably tending to the lower in a pot

 

A container, and that small space would be very difficult for Camellias unfortunately. Short term, it would be ok.
There really isn't a lot of room there. Anything shrubby will need to be quite narrow and would probably need regular pruning to keep it from spreading too far, and most trees would be unsuitable too because of the width needed. Philadelpus might, and I stress might, be ok, as they can be pruned, but it wouldn't be ideal. One of the conical Ilexes would work well enough, and can be pruned, but you may not want anything jaggy there.
Constantly pruning and constricting a plant's growth to fit a space is rarely good for it, and doesn't do the plant justice either.
Might be better to opt for taller perennials, or possibly something smaller which can be raised, as @AuntyRach describes, with some lower growing planting to hide the pots/stands.

 

Do you think ilex crenata could work? Sems that could be trimmed and mainted so doesnt become too bulky.

 

Have you considered ornamental grasses? My first choice, Calamagrostis Karl Foerster, is columnar with flower stalks reaching 1.5m. It is happy in light shade and a container. The browned leaves and flowers look good over winter. Very low maintenance, apart from watering in a container. It just needs to be reduced to ground level in late February. You could underplant it with a trailing plant like a small leaved ivy, Erigeron or a hardy Geranium for extra interest.

 

Or bamboo maybe?

 

Actually a black bamboo would look really nice. Just wonder if it will get enough sun?