Shade Tolerant Evergreen Shrubs

Evergreen shrubs can be easy to care for and bring color to your yard, even in the winter when other plants have faded away for the season. When selecting shrubs, it's important to consider whether the area where you will plant them receives full sun, partial shade or full shade. Some evergreens tolerate shady situations.

The anglojap yew can tolerate "fairly deep" shade but must have well-drained soil, according to the University of Illinois. This evergreen shrub is a match for U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 5 through 7. Its mature height ranges from 2 to 20 feet, depending on variety. One of the tallest cultivars is the hicksii, which grows in a column shape up to 20 feet tall. The Fine Gardening website reports the plum yew prostrata is a variety that grows in full shade, where it reaches a height and width of up to 6 feet when mature. Fine Gardening describes the prostrata as a slow-growing, drought-tolerant and low-maintenance evergreen shrub.

Those living in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 9 can consider some varieties of the juniper for sites that receive partial shade. The blue forest juniper spreads outward to 6 feet as it grows, but it only reaches a height of up to 12 inches. It works well as a groundcover and handles dry conditions. The Chinese juniper grows in a column shape up to 15 feet tall, spanning 15 feet in width when mature. Fine Gardening claims its "silvery-blue, waxy berries are highly decorative."

Holly shrubs can be suitable for USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5 through 11. "Hollies are grown for their leaves, which are often spiny and glossy, and their colorful berries, which often attract birds," notes the Fine Gardening website. "Flowers are small, cup-shaped, and rather inconspicuous and are borne from spring to early summer." Among the holly plants that tolerate partial shade is the blue holly, which grows quickly and can reach a height of 15 feet and a width of 10 feet. Its female plants produce red berries. This variety needs moist, well-drained soil. The meserve hybrid holly takes a rounded form and features reddish-purple stems with bright red berries on female plants. "Fruit will be produced only if a male plant is available to pollinate the females," notes the University of Illinois Extension website. The meserve thrives in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5 through 8, reaching a mature height of up to 15 feet in cultivars like the blue boy and blue princess.