Looking for lush Foliage Plants that Grow well in Shade? You’ve come to the right place! Check out our hosta-like curation for your shadowy spots in the garden.
We have selected beautiful foliage plants like hosta that grow well in shade, both in the garden and indoors. Perfect for livening up dull, dim corners, windowsills, and landscapes, these plants emerge in myriad hues apart from a simple, straightforward green. Check it out!
Foliage Plants Like Hosta for Shade
1. Hosta
Let’s kickstart this list with Hosta, a broad-leaved perennial native to northeast Asia that absolutely adores shade! It produces pendulous blooms in white, lavender, violet, and purple on upright, woody scapes, and its leaves vary from blue to green according to the variety.
Thriving in partial shade, this plant needs fertile soil rich in organic matter and a cool climate (USDA Zones 3-9) to grow.
2. Coral Bells
Botanical Name: Heuchera
This hummingbird temptress has foliage and blooms in various bright, deep shades that stand in contrast against its preferred dimly lit backdrop. Also called coral bell, this Russian native produces towers of bell-shaped blooms that emerge from board palmately lobed leaves.
Give it soil that drains well but stays evenly moist, and enjoy its lush foliage. It can tolerate morning light but avoid hot afternoon sun.
3. Caladium
Botanical Name: Caladium
Caladiums are unique plants with large leaves in shades of white, pink, and red. They are perfect for lending a tropical feel to your home and garden. Keep the temperatures warm and avoid cold drafts and spots with sudden temperature fluctuations.
Ideal on shaded patios or under trees, caladiums grow well in part sun and fertile soil rich in organic matter.
4. Coleus
Botanical Name: Coleus
Desired for its variegated, multi-hued foliage, Coleus is another shade-loving alternative to hosta. It also produces small, inconspicuous blue flowers that are often pinched to make room for its stunning leaves and prolong its life. Pair it with other foliage or flowering plants in containers to create a striking visual, as Coleus can tolerate more sun.
This warm season annual is a perennial in warm frost-free regions (USDA Zones 10, 11). It thrives in moist soil but cannot tolerate waterlogging, so ensure that you water it accurately.
5. Siberian Bugloss
Botanical Name: Brunnera macrophylla
With heart-shaped, broad, hairy leaves adorned in white and green patterns and tiny blue flowers, this groundcover thrives in dappled shade and morning sunshine. Naturally found along streams and rivulets, it needs consistently moist, rich, organic soil and cannot tolerate dry mediums.
6. Japanese Forest Grass
Botanical Name: Hakonechloa macra
Native to Japan, this grass emerges with arching, bamboo-like foliage in fresh, lemony shades and variegated forms. A haven for birds and useful insects, its flowing texture makes it perfect for shaded borders and containers.
Japanese forest grass is a natural soil protector. Its dense growth helps prevent erosion and makes for an excellent ground cover. It prefers partial shade and humus-rich, evenly moist, well-draining soil.
7. Lungwort
Botanical Name: Pulmonaria
Lungwort has spotted or variegated leaves and small, bell-shaped clusters of blue, pink, or white flowers. While it enjoys morning or evening sun, it thrives in shade and dappled sunlight with well-draining, organic-rich soil.
It grows well as a ground cover and in containers. Its name comes from its traditional use in treating lung-related ailments.
8. Foamflower
Botanical Name: Tiarella
The heart-shaped leaves and delicate, foamy white and pink flowers make it a perfect combination of beautiful foliage and blooms. Foamflower is named after its dreamy flowers that appear in spring and often grow naturally in shady woodlands.
This plant needs regular watering to ensure moist soil, but it can also withstand a short drought, which makes it an easy-to-care-for addition.
9. Japanese Painted Fern
Botanical Name: Athyrium niponicum
This eastern Asian native has stunning fronds in shades of silvery green, often with hints of purple or red, which is why it tops the list of colorful ferns. Its fronds may take on a deeper green hue with more sun and warmth, but it grows bushiest in shade.
Producing airy, foam-like white or pink flowers in spring, this fern prefers neutral to slightly acidic, well-draining, moist soil.
10. Begonia
Botanical Name: Begonia
Despite lurking in the shadows, this shade-loving perennial is a bright and striking show-stopper. It has numerous types—wax, tuberous, cane, and rhizomatous—all of these prefer shade and dappled sun. With bold, showy blooms, even its leaves appear in various shapes, sizes, and colors, ranging from deep green to bright red, bronze, and variegated patterns.
Begonias are valued for their ornamental appeal and their medicinal use, thanks to their antibacterial properties. Besides your garden, you can grow them on shaded patios or as beautiful indoor plants on a windowsill.
11. Persian Shield
Botanical Name: Strobilanthes dyerianus
Native to Myanmar, Persian Shield has iridescent foliage that shimmers with shades of purple, silver, and green. It prefers partial sunlight, especially in the morning and evening hours, and afternoon shade, moist soil, and ample humidity.
You can grow Persian Shield as a perennial in warm and tropical frost-free climates, as an annual in cooler regions, or indoors year-round.
12. Syngonium
Botanical Name: Syngonium podophyllum
With stunning pink and green leaves shaped like arrowheads that eventually transform into more lobed forms, this tropical climber thrives in partial shade and humidity.
Perfect for both a shade garden as well as dim-lit indoor spaces, it spreads fast as a ground cover and needs support to grow as a vine.
