The winner: Catmint, 87/100. Runner-up: Hellebore at 85.
Most 'shade flower' lists are just full-sun favorites with a shrug: this one admits only species extension sources actually rate for shade, gives true shade-dwellers their own tier, and then rewards what a shade bed really tests: bloom you can see, tolerance of the dry root-woven soil under trees, and deer.
The picks
The flowers that won
The top score, plus the qualifier that asks least of you.
How deep a shade it takes: full sun, part sun, part shade, full shade · Months in bloom: 6 months · Care while it grows: low
Flaws, not dealbreakers:toxic to cats
Deer: sometimes eaten (Rutgers C)Not for cat households
81/ 100tap for the breakdown
How deep a shade it takes10 / 10full sun, part sun, part shade, full shade
Months in bloom26 / 306 months
Care while it grows25 / 25low
Copes with dry root-filled soil under trees15 / 20a only: black walnut, drought, heat, heavy shade, humidity, sandy dry soil
Stands up to deer5 / 15C
The protocol
How the score is built
5 rules, 100 points, no opinions. Every line reads one field of the table.
How deep a shade it takes10 pointsthrives even in full shade 10; part shade as its true home 7; prefers sun but accepts part shade 4 Read from: the light it is documented in.
Months in bloom30 pointseight or more months 30; six to seven 26; four to five 23; three 15; two 8; one 3; no bloom data 8 Read from: the months it is in bloom.
Care while it grows25 pointslow upkeep 25; middling 14; demanding 4; sources disagree, we average the range; no rating 12 Read from: how much upkeep extension guides report.
Copes with dry root-filled soil under trees20 pointsshrugs off both drought and poor soil 20; drought only 15; poor soil only 10; neither documented 5; no data 8 Read from: stress tolerances.
Stands up to deer15 pointsRutgers A, rarely damaged 15; B 11; C 5; D, deer candy 0; not rated 7 Read from: the Rutgers deer rating.
Not ranked here: rated full sun only: shade is not its habitat.
The full method ↗
The leaderboard
The top ten
The 10 highest of 71 that qualified. Tap any score to open the lines behind it.
How deep a shade it takes4 / 10full sun, part shade
Months in bloom23 / 304 months
Care while it grows25 / 25low
Copes with dry root-filled soil under trees15 / 20a only: clay soil, drought, heat, sandy dry soil, wet soil
Stands up to deer11 / 15B
Considered, not chosen
Not qualifying is a verdict too: the table simply says this question is not theirs.
rated full sun only: shade is not its habitatRoses, Tulips, Sunflower and 11 more
The winner's badge
Generated by the ranking above, and re-scored whenever the table changes.
Catmint
The badge is generated by this ranking, not awarded by hand. When the
table changes, it re-scores itself.
How we rank
We keep one table of 85 flowers,
with 25 documented facts each, drawn from university and extension sources. Every ranking is
a published formula worth 100 points; tap any score and it unfolds into the lines that made
it. A flower that does not fit the question is not scored lower: it is excluded, and the reason is
shown. When the table changes, every score and stamp updates itself.
The full method ↗
