Here’s an all-inclusive list of the Best Shade-Loving Flowers for Containers that you can grow easily to add a colorful appeal to small spaces!
Best Shade-Loving Flowers for Containers
Though these flowers are shade-loving, exposing them daily to 1-3 hours of sunlight will give these plants a needed boost in blooming.
1. Impatiens
Botanical Name: Impatiens
Impatiens offer an array of colorful blooms and flourish in full shade. You can also grow them in partial shade as well. A location where they get bright morning sun and shade for the rest of the day is excellent.
Find out the best impatiens varieties here
2. Astilbe
Botanical Name: Astilbe chinensis
Add a colorful appeal to your shade gardens with red, pink, and white blooms of Astilbe with contrasting green leaves in pots. It also attracts butterflies and beneficial insects.
3. Foam Flower
Botanical Name: Tiarella
This beautiful perennial offers clusters of white blooms on a single stem and does well in the shade. Grow this flowering plant in decorative pots for an attractive look.
4. Caribbean Copper Plant
Botanical Name: Euphorbι̇a cotinifolia
The colorful foliage with matching little flowers in white-cream hue on pale yellow bracts look adorable in a pot when planted in the shaded spots of gardens all year round.
5. Sapphire Flower
Botanical Name: Browallia speciosa
This annual plant shows off pretty white, purple, blue blossoms that flourish well in shaded to partially shady locations. Varieties like Starlight Series offer compact plants, and Troll Series feature dense plants ideal for containers.
6. Fuchsia
Botanical Name: Fuchsia
Fuchsia displays multicolored flowers in a number of varieties that are vining and trailing. Grow this flowering plant in dappled light, as it can not tolerate heat.
7. Bush Lily
Botanical Name: Clivia miniata
Clivia is an evergreen plant and offers large clumps of funnel-shaped orange blooms with clusters of green, strap-like foliage. It favors dappled shade and protection from direct sun.
8. Wishbone Flower
Botanical Name: Torenia fournieri
The delicate multi and bi-color blooms appear in late spring to early summer. It is a perfect choice for containers in an area with morning sun and afternoon shade.
9. Flowering Tobacco
Botanical Name: Nicotiana altata
The ornamental colorful star-shaped blooms look adorable in the pot. Grow them in partial shade in rich, moist soil.
10. Begonia
Botanical Name: Begonia semperflorens
The colorful begonia flowers with contrasting foliage look adorable in containers. You can grow varieties like Boliviensis Begonia, Reiger Begonia, Big Red Bronze Leaf, Ambassador White, and Super Cascade does well in shade or partial shade.
Check more beautiful begonias for shade and indoors here
11. Silver Falls
Botanical Name: Dichondra argentea ‘Silver Falls’
This creeping perennial is grown as a spiller in containers. It grows well in partial shade and produces red blooms over green or silver leaves.
12. Lobelia
Botanical Name: Lobelia
The purple, white, or blue flowers fall over the rims of containers – it prefers partial shade and flowers best before nightᴛι̇ɱe temperatures become too warm.
13. Sweet Alyssum
Botanical Name: Lobularia mariᴛι̇ɱa
The sweet flowers of this low-growing annual flourish in partial sun. Plant it in upright containers or hanging baskets.
14. Bacopa
Botanical Name: Bacopa monnieri
Small pink, white, or blue flowers cascade along with this plant from spring to fall. Combine it with other annuals for attractive scenery in containers or window boxes.
15. Pansy
Botanical Name: Viola
Pansies are a great choice for containers and you can grow them in the full sun to partial shade – it requires a cool temperature to flourish and continues to flower longer if grown in partial shade.
Can you eat Pansy? Find out here
16. Cineraria
Botanical Name: Pericallis × hybrida
Grow this tender perennial in shady areas or in pots under a patio that receives dappled light. Use slightly acidic, moist soil with good drainage.
17. Hydrangea
Botanical Name: Hydrangea
Coming in a vast array of shades and colors, hydrangeas are one of the best flowers to grow in pots. They do well in dappled light and look stunning!
Check out our article on growing hydrangeas here
18. Primrose
Botanical Name: Primula vulgaris
Coming in an array of colors, primrose is the plant to have for the shaded spot that gets 2-3 hours of sun per day. Use rich, well-draining, and slightly acid soil for best growth.
19. Miss Piggy
Botanical Name: Bergenia cordifolia ‘Miss Piggy’
Large green leaves and contrasting pink flowers are what make this plant so special! Place it at a spot that gets 1-2 hours of sunlight and watch it grow in all its glory.
20. Phlox
Botanical Name: Phlox
Phlox come in a variety of shades and you will never have a problem picking your favorite one out! The flowers come in clusters and are sweetly fragrant.