23 Plants to Grow Under Pine Trees

Whether you have pine trees naturally growing around your property or if you planted them yourself, you’ll find that landscaping under pine trees can be a bit challenging. These trees have broadly spreading root systems that are close to the soil surface, making digging difficult. They also produce a lot of pine needles and pinecones that will fall onto the ground below creating some serious obstacles.

So, what kind of plant grows under a pine tree? One that prefers the same environmental conditions as the pine: somewhat dry, well-drained, acidic soil that sometimes is drought-prone. You’ll also need plants that tolerate the shade created by your trees. Luckily, there are some highly ornamental and easy-to-grow plants to add beauty and interest to your woodland garden.

Let’s dig a little deeper and discover 23 diverse perennials, ferns, grasses, sedges, and shrubs that don’t mind pine tree neighbors.

American Beautyberry

	botanical name Callicarpa americana
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3 – 8 feet
	hardiness zones 6 – 10

American beautyberry definitely qualifies as an all-American beauty. This versatile plant is native to eastern and central North America, where it grows in open grasslands, shrublands, and open woodlands. It is tolerant of a variety of soil types as long as it gets some sunlight each day. 

American beautyberry is a small to medium-sized shrub with a somewhat loose and open growth form. This deciduous shrub looks simple and unassuming until early summer. At this point, it develops clusters of small pink or white flowers. Over the rest of the summer, the fruits slowly form, changing from tiny green spheres to rounded bundles of bright pinkish-purple fruits. Pollinators visit the flowers and birds love to gulp down the berries as they mature in the fall. 

Blue Star 

	botanical name Amsonia ciliata
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2 – 3 feet
	hardiness zones 5 – 9

Blue star is an herbaceous perennial wildflower native to the southeastern United States. It typically grows in open woodlands with sandy, well-drained soil. When grown under pines, plant it in a location with abundant dappled sunlight, with some afternoon shade. 

These showy wildflowers bloom in the springtime. The pale blue star-shaped flowers grow in loose clusters and attract butterflies and other pollinators. This is a valuable plant to grow in dry, part-shade conditions. Use it in your pollinator-friendly landscape, native plant garden, or xeriscape garden.

Carolina Wiregrass

	botanical name Aristida stricta
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1 – 4 feet
	hardiness zones 8 – 10

You can find a multitude of native ornamental grasses for your landscape. Carolina wiregrass is an ornamental native grass found in coastal pinewoods of the southeastern United States. This plant not only grows well alongside pine trees, but it has specially adapted to live in this environment. It prefers well-drained sandy soils and the partial sun conditions of an open woodland.

Carolina wiregrass grows up to four feet tall and forms rounded tufting mounds of thin, wiry foliage. On windy days, you’ll see the long foliage blowing gracefully back and forth like delicate green waves. This grass blooms in late fall, but the flowers are small and not particularly showy. Allow the grass to remain standing through the winter to provide winter interest and shelter for winter birds and other small animals.

Christmas Fern

	botanical name Polystichum acrostichoides
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 1 – 3 feet
	hardiness zones 3 – 9

Christmas fern may be a familiar houseplant but it’s also a hardy native perennial perfect for growing under pine trees. This fern grows well in any shaded location with moist, well-drained soil. Pair ferns with some other understory greenery, or grow them alongside some spring-blooming wildflowers for an appealing complimentary display of foliage and flowers.

Christmas ferns are evergreen so you can enjoy their year-round greenery. By the middle of winter, the fronds are looking rough and ragged but in early spring, fresh fronds poke through the ground, unfurling into lush new growth for the next season. Christmas ferns will spread in ideal conditions, eventually forming attractive patches. Their foliage makes a good ground cover without ever becoming too aggressive.

Columbine

	botanical name Aquilegia spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1 – 3 feet
	hardiness zones 3 – 8

Columbines are easy to incorporate into many diverse garden settings. They will grow in full sun but prefer a shaded location where the leaves don’t risk scorching by intense summer rays. These plants develop deep taproots and like moist to dry, well-drained soil. Grow your columbines alongside other spring-blooming flowers or long-standing greenery, like ferns, for a spectacular woodland display.

Columbine foliage emerges early in the spring and even in late winter in warmer climates. The flowers bloom in early to mid-spring and are hard to miss! These unusual blossoms are very colorful and attract any early-season hummingbirds foraging in the area.

Downy Serviceberry

	botanical name Amelanchier arborea
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 15 – 25 feet
	hardiness zones 4 – 9

If you’re looking for a larger understory shrub or small tree to grow with your pines, check out the downy serviceberry. This attractive shrub is native to eastern North America, where it grows as an understory plant in open woodlands, shrubby thickets, and along rocky outcroppings. It prefers a sunny or lightly shaded location with moist, well-drained soil. 

Downy serviceberry has spectacular spring blooms. Its abundant white blossoms attract a great number of bees and butterflies and the small reddish-purple berries mature in late summer to early fall, attracting birds and small mammals. The foliage turns beautiful shades of orange, red, and burgundy in the fall for a memorable late-season display.

Dwarf Palmetto

	botanical name Sabal minor
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2 – 10 feet
	hardiness zones 7 – 10

Dwarf palmetto typically grows as an understory plant commonly found in moist forests. It does very well growing in mixed hardwood and pine forests and looks great planted along a woodland edge where it gets plenty of sun but also some afternoon sun protection from nearby trees. Once established, dwarf palmetto become more drought tolerant. 

These semi-tropical, low-growing palms are native to the southeastern United States and Mexico. Their broad evergreen foliage offers year-round landscape interest and habitat for wildlife. The summer-blooming white flower panicles attract pollinators while the fall fruits attract birds and small mammals.

Foam Flower

	botanical name Tiarella cordifolia
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 0.5 – 1 foot
	hardiness zones 3 – 8

Foam flower is a small wildflower native to eastern North America. This herbaceous perennial makes a good ground cover for your shade garden. It will grow well under pine trees in an area with moist, well-drained soil. 

Foam flower attracts pollinators, including butterflies and native bees. The showy white flower spikes bloom in early to mid-spring. When not blooming, this plant has rounded clusters of low-growing leaves to blanket the soil beneath pine trees. Foam flower spreads slowly via underground rhizomes and within a few years, you will have a lovely patch of vegetation with delicate white flowers.

Hellebore

	botanical name Helleborus spp.
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 1 – 1.5 feet
	hardiness zones 5 – 8

This hardy, shade-loving perennial is amazingly versatile. Hellebore, also known as Lenten rose or winter rose, isn’t a rose plant at all, but rather a member of the buttercup family. This hardy perennial contains many species and cultivars of sturdy, clump-forming herbaceous plants that don’t mind the shade and acidity under pine trees. 

The tough, leathery foliage is evergreen in most climates. If grown in full sun, the leaves can scorch and turn brown, but plants grown in partial to full shade perform well and stay green year-round. Hellebore is a wonderful plant to enjoy in your winter landscape. Not only will you appreciate its evergreen foliage, but you’ll also enjoy the large nodding flowers that come in shades of pink and creamy white.

Highbush Huckleberry

	botanical name Vaccinium stamineum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 5 – 15 feet
	hardiness zones 5 – 9

The highbush huckleberry, also known as deerberry, is a deciduous shrub native to eastern North America. It grows best in rich, well-drained, acidic soils. Since it performs well in partial shade, it makes a good understory plant. Grow it alongside blueberries or azaleas for an appealing shade garden shrub assortment.

This spring-blooming medium-sized shrub attracts all sorts of pollinators with its pretty bell-like white flowers. By mid-summer, bright scarlet red fruits form, providing a tasty snack for the resident birds. If the birds don’t eat all the fruits, a handful of huckleberries makes a tasty snack. They’re very tart when eaten raw but can be used in pies, jams, and preserves. In the fall, the leaves of huckleberry shrubs turn attractive shades of red and burgundy.

Hosta

	botanical name Hosta spp.
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 0.5 – 2.5 feet
	hardiness zones 3 – 9

Hostas are widely cultivated, herbaceous perennials with numerous showy species and cultivars. These plants have large, attractive leaves that come in a wide range of colors, including blue-green, bright green, golden yellow, and many variegated patterns. The leaves form large, mounding basal rosettes which enlarge a bit each year. The summer-blooming bell-like flowers are very showy and attract hummingbirds and insect pollinators.

Hostas prefer rich, moist, well-drained soil, which can sometimes be difficult to achieve under pine trees. They also love the shade and do very well in acidic soil, so if you have high-quality soil under your pines, hostas should work well.

Jack in the Pulpit

	botanical name Arisaema triphyllum
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 1 – 2 feet
	hardiness zones 4 – 9

Jack in the pulpit is a unique plant native to the woodlands of eastern North America. It thrives in shaded conditions with rich, moist, well-drained soil. In your shade garden, it would look great planted in a location where you can enjoy its peak performance each spring. Combine with it ferns or hostas for a beautifully lush early-season display.

This native wildflower is one of the first plants to emerge each spring. The three-part leaflets generally fade away again by mid-summer, although plants that form fruits retain their leaves until fall. The Jack in the pulpit flower is a fascinating hooded structure where you can see “Jack” lurking inside his hooded “pulpit.” Pollinated flowers go on to produce a very showy cluster of bright red berries that linger on the plant until they mature in the fall.

Little Brown Jug

	botanical name Asarum virginicum
	sun requirements Partial shade
	height 0.5 – 0.75 foot
	hardiness zones 6 – 8

Little brown jug, also known as heart-leaf ginger, is a native ground cover from the southeastern United States. It grows as an understory plant in upland forests and grows well under pines and mixed hardwood trees. Little brown jug spreads by creeping rhizomes to form a loose colony yet never becomes aggressive.

This low-growing plant is best appreciated for its attractive foliage. Although it blooms in the spring, you will probably never see the leathery, bronze-green, jug-shaped flowers because they appear at ground level, partially hidden by leaves.

Lowbush Blueberry

	botanical name Vaccinium angustifolium
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 0.5 – 2 feet
	hardiness zones 2 – 8

Lowbush blueberry is an understory shrub native to the central and eastern United States. There are many blueberry cultivars available with subtle differences in size, fruit quality, and fall foliage. These attractive, low-growing shrubs perform well in full sun or partial shade. They need acidic, well-drained soil, and appreciate consistent soil moisture. Add a layer of mulch around your blueberries to help keep the soil moist and protect the shallow root system.

Since lowbush blueberry plants stay fairly compact, they make excellent container plants and allow anyone to grow their own fruits. Delicious fruits are one of the best things about growing blueberries. All blueberry plants produce edible fruits and planting multiple varieties will increase fruit output. Blueberries are also very wildlife-friendly, attracting bees and other pollinators to their bell-shaped flowers, and you can expect to share some of your tasty fruits with the birds.

Partridge Berry

	botanical name Mitchella repens
	sun requirements Full sun to full shade
	height 0.25 feet
	hardiness zones 3 – 8

Partridge berry is a lovely little ground cover that grows in woodlands throughout much of eastern North America. This diminutive plant stays low, isn’t aggressive, and has showy foliage and berries. If you’re growing it under a lot of pine trees, you’ll probably need to help remove the pine needles occasionally or they’ll completely cover your partridge berry plant. 

This little creeper has rounded, glossy, evergreen leaves. As the stems grow and touch some moist ground, they will take root and form new stems. Soon, you’ll have an attractive colony of partridge berry plants. Little white flowers bloom in early summer, and by late summer, bright red berries attract ground-foraging birds. These plants will perform best when grown in moist soil and make excellent edging plants where you’ll be able to easily see them.

Pennsylvania Sedge

	botanical name Carex pensylvanica
	sun requirements Full sun to full shade
	height 0.25 – 0.75 foot
	hardiness zones 3 – 8

Pennsylvania sedge is a small, grass-like plant native to dry woodlands and brushy thickets of eastern North America. This diminutive sedge is versatile and can grow in a variety of sun and soil conditions. Its preferred location is in a partially shaded woodland setting with well-drained soil. There are a great number of interesting sedge plants to try if you can’t find this one.

Pennsylvania sedge would be a good addition to your shade garden. It won’t grow fast or large and it won’t spread out of control. It can make a good turfgrass substitute in areas where you want a bit of greenery but don’t want to manage a lawn. This sedge doesn’t tolerate much foot traffic but is highly ornamental and makes a good edging plant and attractive clusters.

Piedmont Rhododendron

	botanical name Rhododendron minus
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 3 – 6 feet
	hardiness zones 5 – 8

Piedmont rhododendron is a small to medium-sized shrub native to the southeastern United States. These understory shrubs perform best with light to moderate shade and organically rich, well-drained, acidic soil. You can grow several different species of rhododendrons under pine trees, just be aware that some species require greater soil moisture than others. 

The Piedmont rhododendron is a showy native shrub that’s worthy of admiration. The spring-blooming flowers attract plenty of pollinators and hummingbirds also come to sip their nectar. These rhododendrons have thick, glossy, evergreen foliage, with some leaves developing a purple tinge in the winter. Rhododendrons are a valuable addition to your shade garden, pollinator garden, or native plant garden.

Southern Lady Fern

	botanical name Athyrium asplenioides
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 2 – 3 feet
	hardiness zones 5 – 9

Fern plants look great growing under pine trees and many ferns are well-suited to shaded woodland sites with acidic soil. The southern lady fern thrives in rich, moist soil with good drainage. It needs a shaded location and is perfectly adapted to thrive as an understory plant. These ferns are native to eastern North America.

The southern lady fern is highly ornamental. Its fronds are large and showy and form attractive clusters. In the spring, the delicate fern fiddleheads slowly unfurl into numerous highly ornamental compound fronds that are broadest at the base and taper to a pointed tip. Ferns are excellent foliage plants to provide lush greenery from spring through fall.

Solomon’s Seal

	botanical name Polygonatum biflorum
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 1 – 1.5 feet
	hardiness zones 3 – 9

Solomon’s seal is an easy-to-grow herbaceous perennial native to central and eastern North America. This wildflower is primarily grown for its interesting foliage. The lance-like leaves develop in an alternating pattern along long, gracefully arching stems. The flowers are small and bell-like, nodding below the stems and mostly hidden from view. The attractive greenery of these plants makes them look elegant in a shade garden.

Give your Solomon’s seal a location with plenty of shade and rich, moist soil. If the soil under your pine trees is particularly dry, you can amend a plot with organically rich soil in which to grow Solomon’s seal and a few other moisture-loving perennial wildflowers.

Western Bracken Fern

	botanical name Pteridium aquilinum
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 2 – 4 feet
	hardiness zones 3 – 10

This stately fern is sure to make a statement in your woodland garden. Western bracken fern is native to the eastern United States where it’s commonly found in open woodlands. This widespread fern is highly adaptable and will grow just about anywhere with light shade and well-drained soil. 

Western bracken fern is an ideal plant species for growing under pine trees. It’s low maintenance, easy to grow, and doesn’t mind acidic soil. The pinnately compound fronds grow in dense bunches and after spreading for a couple of years, you’ll have a dense, long-standing patch of lush, green, ground cover.

White Wood Aster

	botanical name Eurybia divaricata
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 1 – 3 feet
	hardiness zones 3 – 8

The white wood aster is a low-maintenance wildflower native to woodlands of eastern North America. This plant attracts pollinators and birds and is the larval host plant for the pearl crescent butterfly. Its prolific white daisy-like flowers bloom in late summer to early fall, giving your woodland garden a dash of late-season interest. 

This herbaceous perennial grows mounding clumps of oblong to heart-shaped vegetation. Individual plants spread over time and within a few years, will develop into an attractive cluster. White wood aster forms a loose ground cover that is quietly attractive without being flashy.

Witch Hazel

	botanical name Hamamelis virginiana
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 15 – 30 feet
	hardiness zones 3 – 9

Witch hazel is a fascinating understory shrub. This plant is native to eastern North America where it grows along moist woodland edges. As a landscaping plant, grow witch hazel in a sunny or partially shaded location with acidic, well-drained soil. Witch hazel prefers moist soil and wouldn’t be a good option for a dry or sandy site.

From mid-fall until late winter, a witch hazel shrub lights up the landscape with its feathery blossoms. The flowers are commonly yellow but there are witch hazel cultivars with white, cream, and red flowers. These unique flowers bloom while the branches are bare and leafless, so they really stand out, giving the branches the appearance of being covered with a fluffy yellow sweater. The fall foliage is also bright yellow.

Yaupon Holly

	botanical name Ilex vomitoria
	sun requirements Full sun to full shade
	height 10 – 20 feet
	hardiness zones 7 – 9

The yaupon holly is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the eastern United States and Mexico. It grows well in any light conditions, although plants grown in the sun will flower and fruit more profusely than those grown in full shade. Since yaupon holly keeps its leaves all year round, you can use it as a privacy hedge and understory shrub near your pines. 

Frequently Asked Questions