By Moyrasmith
United Kingdom 
I live in the cambridgeshire Fens and we have very heavy clay soil. We also have a row of conifers which leaves half of garden in the shade. what can I plant under these trees that will give a good covering and be easy to maintain? Thankyou
29 Jul, 2011
Answers
You may have some success with euonymus. But you'll need to prepare the ground well and keep them well watered.
As Bamboo says nothing much likes it under conifers
29 Jul, 2011
The only thing I can think of that will grow well in dry shade under conifers is Euphorbia robbiae. It might take a while to get established but when it does it will spread quite quickly. I have some under what I think is a juniper or some sort of biggish standard conifer, and it is the only thing that will survive there - soil powder dry & full of roots, yet the euphorbia grows right up to the trunk even though I never water it. If you try it be careful to avoid the white sap when a stem gets broken, especially don't get it in your eyes. (And do water it a bit until it gets going)
29 Jul, 2011
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Nothing much directly under them - 4 feet in front, maybe. Have a look at shade loving plants, particularly those which prefer dry shade, by clicking on S below and selecting plants for shade.
29 Jul, 2011