Pine trees, also known as "evergreens" due to the unchanging color of their needles, are a popular and beautiful addition to any yard.Their beauty can be significantly enhanced if you know the right plants to pair with them, so that's why we've gathered all the necessary information for making a great choice right here in this article.Pine trees, also known as "evergreens" due to the unchanging color of their needles, are a popular and beautiful addition to any yard.Their beauty can be significantly enhanced if you know the right plants to pair with them, so that's why we've gathered all the necessary information for making a great choice right here in this article.Lack of sunlight, acidic soil, and lots of competition for water make it difficult for even hardy plants like grass to grow.Plants in this category include azaleas, rhododendron, camellias, daffodils, and hydrangea.Plants in this category include coral bells, foxglove, Japanese forest grass, and primrose.Plants in this category include orange daylily, blue spire, milfoil, bloody geranium, and red valerian.Hostas, also known as plantain lilies or giboshi, are a hardy, leafy perennial that is highly tolerant of shade.Commonly found in dimly-lit forests, ferns are graceful perennial plants without flowers or seeds.Foxgloves grow in tall spires covered in long, tapered blossoms.Wild geranium is a low-growing, perennial springtime plant with delicate lavender and pink flowers.Hydrangeas are native to Eastern Asia and have clusters of blue, pink, purple, or green flowers growing on a medium-sized bush.Although they require full to partial sun, other qualities that we discuss in detail later in this article make them an excellent choice to pair with pine trees.Rhododendrons are shrubs or small trees with fluffy, funnel-shaped flowers, usually magenta, amongst large, thick leaves.Many varieties also love shade or partial sunlight, reinforcing them as a great way to add some color to the yard space under your pine trees.Since they require full to partial sun, it's essential to plant them under a pine tree with widely-spaced branches that allow sunlight to reach the ground.Hydrangeas do better under pine trees than many other shrubs because their roots are close to the surface of the ground, making it easier for them to get the necessary nutrients.An interesting fact is that the flowers of bigleaf hydrangeas change color depending on the pH level of the soil.This means that if you plant this variety of hydrangea in the acidic soil under a pine tree, you'll end up with blue flowers.Peonies are not a good choice for planting under pine trees, as they need full sun, and do not like acidic soil.They can grow in most types of soil, and the deep roots of the tree will not compete with the plants for moisture and nutrients.If your towering pine is beautiful but does not block your neighbor's view, you have a few options that will thrive in the acidic soil beneath your tree.Azaleas, Rhododendrons, and Witch Alders all will do well under a pine, as they prefer the dappled sunlight and acidic soil.Since shedding pine needles create a thick covering on the ground, you'll need to clear it periodically, so it doesn't suffocate the grass that is trying to grow.This myth came about because pine trees do best in acidic soil, which is why other plants sometimes struggle to grow beneath them.If you'd like to add flowers or shrubs, it's a good idea to remove the pine needles since they can suffocate a young plant.You can save the raked up needles and either add them to your compost heap or let them dry thoroughly and use them as mulch.However, if you'd like to grow grass beneath your pine trees, removing the fallen needles is a good idea.To make this happen, you'll need to add enough lime - usually made from calcium carbonate or limestone - to the soil to pass its "buffer pH.".You may need to repeat this process the following spring, as it sometimes takes a couple of years for the pH levels to balance.
Edward R. Forte
Author