6 Trees For Shade

Few trees perform best in shade over sun, but many can tolerate part shade. Several tree varieties that can grow in part shade can also be grown as shrubs. Read on to see a few trees that do well with a little bit of shade.

Alder

A member of the birch family, alder trees are a very traditional tree choice in Ireland. Some varieties grow tall with a single trunk while others are shorter with multiple stems similar to shrubs. The catkins, or flowers, produced on the tree look very similar to many conifer cones.

Redbud

Redbud trees are smaller, reaching no more than 30 feet tall. Beautiful pink flowers bloom in early spring and last for a few weeks on this ornamental tree. Although the tree will blossom more with ample sunlight, you can still expect to see some blooms when planted in shade. The blooms are an attractor for nectar seeking insects as well, including butterflies.

Pagoda Dogwood

Perfect for the four-season garden, pagoda dogwood trees provide clustered white flowers in the spring, green foliage for summer, burgundy leaves in the fall, and the horizontal branching pattern is a great snow catcher in the winter. Birds are also big fans of the pagoda dogwood for the blue-blackberries it produces.

Witch Hazel

The small witch hazel tree is a great addition to your landscape if you love fall color. Fragrant, yellow blooms adorn the tree from October through December.

Viburnum

Several varieties of viburnum grow as shrubs, but there are some varieties that get tall enough to be considered trees. Flat topped clusters of white flowers emerge in the spring. By summer, clusters of blue-blackberries replace the flowers, ripening in the fall.

Serviceberry

Serviceberry trees are the underdog of trees! They are beautiful all season long with white blooms in the spring, green foliage in the summer, and reddish gold foliage in the fall. During the summer months, the tree also produces plump red berries, which both birds and humans can enjoy. Try your hand at making serviceberry jam or a special pie.

Need help determining which type of shade you have? Check out my blog post on shade types. Feel free to reach out to our experts with your shade and landscaping questions, or you can always request a quote online too.