Shade Plants for Zone 5

Can you give me a list of shade tolerant plants other than hostas that will grow in zone 5?

Hostas are a great mainstay of the perennial garden but there are many others that complement them or can be used alone. Ferns, wild ginger and astilbes all combine nicely with hostas and each other. The astilbes come in a variety of flower colors, bloom times and heights. Use several different species to add season long bloom.

Coral bells (Heuchera), foam flowers (Tiarella) and the hybrid Heucherella all provide attractive foliage and many produce white, salmon or rosy-red blooms. Use these low growers for the texture and color the foliage provides.

Meadow rue (Thalictrum) has blue-green foliage and yellow or purple flowers.

A standard shade plant is bleeding heart. Try the Dicentra ‘King of Hearts’ for the best flower display. This fringed bleeding heart is 15 inches tall has blue-green foliage and blooms throughout the summer.

Snakeroot also known as bugbane (Actaea formerly Cimicifuga) is a tall plant with summer or fall blooming varieties. Its white flowers dance above the foliage. Rodgersia is a seldom used shade plant that has bold foliage and spike-like panicles of creamy white or pink flowers.

Use Salvia lyrata as a substitute for ajuga. The purple foliage on this low grower adds texture and color to the shade garden.

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