Plants to Grow in Shades in Florida

By Saruque Ahamed Mollick | on Nov 12, 2024 | 4 min read

I often hear people say, " This portion of your garden is shaded; you can't grow anything here." Each plant has its own growing environment, and it will perform best if planted in its preferred environment. In this article, I am sharing a list of plants you can easily grow in partial shade or full shade in Florida.

Florida is not a small state, the North part's climate differs from South Florida. To make this list useful for all Florida gardeners, I have mentioned if the plant can grow well in Central, North, or South Florida (besides every plant name).

It's hard to find plants and trees that actually perform well in shady places. My list includes many plants that do well in sunlight but can also grow well in partial shade. I've made sure to include these versatile plants.

Fruit trees for shaded area

Fruit Tree	Region	Shade Tolerance	Max Height	Min Harvest Time	Harvesting Season	Maintenance Difficulty
Surinam Cherry	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	20 ft	1-2 years	Spring, Fall	Low
Loquat	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	20-30 ft	2-3 years	Spring	Moderate
Mulberry	North, Central, South	Partial to Full Shade	30-50 ft	1-2 years	Late Spring	Moderate
Blackberry	North, Central	Partial Shade	6-10 ft	1-2 years	Summer	Low
Blueberry	North, Central	Partial Shade	4-6 ft	1-2 years	Spring, Summer	Moderate
Jaboticaba	Central, South	Partial to Full Shade	15-30 ft	5-8 years	Spring	High
Avocado	Central, South	Partial Shade	30-40 ft	3-4 years	Fall, Winter	High

If you do not have a large space, go for their dwarf variants.

A good recommendation for you if you are a fruit tree grower: Best fruit trees to grow in Florida

Vegetable plants to grow in shaded areas

Vegetable	Region	Shade Tolerance	Planting Season	Harvesting Time (Days)
Spinach	North, Central	Partial Shade	Fall, Winter	40-50
Kale	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	Fall, Winter	50-65
Swiss Chard	North, Central, South	Partial to Full Shade	Fall, Winter, Spring	55-60
Lettuce	North, Central	Partial Shade	Fall, Winter	30-45
Broccoli	North, Central	Partial Shade	Fall, Winter	70-100
Carrots	North, Central	Partial Shade	Fall, Winter	70-80
Bitter Gourd	Central, South	Partial Shade	Spring, Summer	60-70
Beets	North, Central	Partial to Full Shade	Fall, Winter	50-60
Green Onions	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	Fall, Winter, Spring	30-50
Collard Greens	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	Fall, Winter	55-75

If you are a serious gardener, this planting schedule might be a good resource for you: Florida Planting Calendar

Flowering Plants to Grow in Shade

Plant Name	Region	Shade Tolerance	Bloom Color(s)	Blooming Season(s)	Planting Season	Plant Type	Maintenance Level
Azalea	North, Central	Partial Shade	Pink, White, Red	Spring	Fall	Perennial	Moderate
Begonia	North, Central, South	Partial to Full Shade	Red, Pink, White, Orange	Summer to Fall	Spring	Annual	Low
Camellia	North, Central	Partial Shade	Pink, White, Red	Fall, Winter	Fall	Perennial	Moderate
Impatiens	North, Central, South	Partial to Full Shade	Red, Pink, White, Orange, Purple	Spring to Fall	Spring	Annual	Low
Hydrangea	North, Central	Partial Shade	Blue, Pink, White, Purple	Spring to Summer	Spring	Perennial	Moderate
Caladium	Central, South	Partial to Full Shade	White, Red, Pink (foliage color)	Summer (primarily foliage)	Spring	Annual	Low
Bleeding Heart Vine	Central, South	Partial Shade	Red, White	Spring to Summer	Spring	Perennial	Moderate
Gardenia	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	White	Late Spring to Summer	Spring	Perennial	High
Fuchsia	North, Central	Partial to Full Shade	Pink, Purple, White	Summer	Spring	Annual	Moderate

I have grown gardening in a really shady area (Like no direct sunlight at all). The plant is healthy and has lots of leaves. But the flower is really small in number. You need to provide them with a little bit of sunlight. So if your area is fully shaded, it's better not to go for it.

If your landscape is sloppy you can read: best flowering plants to grow on slopes

Privacy Shrubs for Hedges for Shady area

Plant Name	Region	Shade Tolerance	Height Range	Flowering	Bloom Color(s)	Maintenance Level
Wax Myrtle	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	6-20 feet	No	-	Low
Sweet Viburnum	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	12-20 feet	Yes	White	Moderate
Podocarpus	Central, South	Partial to Full Shade	8-15 feet	No	-	Low
Florida Anise	North, Central	Partial Shade	6-15 feet	Yes	Red	Moderate
Clusia	Central, South	Partial to Full Shade	5-10 feet	No	-	Low
Firebush	Central, South	Partial Shade	6-12 feet	Yes	Red, Orange	Low
Simpson's Stopper	Central, South	Partial Shade	6-15 feet	Yes	White	Low
Japanese Yew	North, Central	Partial to Full Shade	6-10 feet	No	-	Moderate
Ligustrum	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	6-12 feet	Yes	White	Moderate

If you are from Central Florida, you can check Fast growing shade trees for zone 9 and fast growing hedges (privacy) for zone 9

Herbs for shady places - Florida

Plant Name	Region	Shade Tolerance	Height Range	Growth Habit	Uses	Maintenance Level
Mint	North, Central, South	Partial to Full Shade	12-18 inches	Perennial	Culinary, Medicinal	Low
Parsley	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	8-12 inches	Biennial (grown as annual)	Culinary	Low
Chives	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	12-18 inches	Perennial	Culinary	Low
Lemon Balm	Central, South	Partial to Full Shade	12-24 inches	Perennial	Culinary, Medicinal	Low
Cilantro	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	12-24 inches	Annual	Culinary	Moderate
Dill	North, Central	Partial Shade	18-24 inches	Annual	Culinary	Moderate
Sorrel	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	12-18 inches	Perennial	Culinary	Low
Thyme	North, Central, South	Partial Shade	6-12 inches	Perennial	Culinary, Medicinal	Low
Basil	Central, South	Partial Shade	12-24 inches	Annual	Culinary	Moderate

There are a lot of plants in this list, thus I am not including images.

Pollinator attractors

Plant Name	Max Height	Attracts	Blooming Season	Perennial/Annual
Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)	6 feet	Bees, butterflies, birds	Summer - Fall	Perennial
Firebush (Hamelia patens)	10 feet	Hummingbirds, butterflies	Spring - Fall	Perennial
Simpson's Stopper (Myrcianthes fragrans)	10 feet	Bees, butterflies, birds	Spring - Summer	Perennial
Walter's Viburnum (Viburnum obovatum)	15 feet	Butterflies, birds	Spring	Perennial
Climbing Aster (Ampelaster carolinianus)	10 feet	Bees, butterflies	Fall	Perennial
Corkystem Passionflower (Passiflora suberosa)	3 feet	Bees, butterflies	Summer - Fall	Perennial
Twinflower (Dyschoriste oblongifolia)	1 foot	Bees, butterflies	Spring - Summer	Perennial

All of these can perform well in shades.

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Saruque Ahamed Mollick

Hey, I am Saruque. I am here to guide you build a nice and beautiful garden through my years of experience. I am sharing my personal experiences on gardening through my blogs.

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