Plants for Shade

[Aunt Tat]

I really, really did read a bunch of other posts for answers before posting this, but nothing seems to quite fit my situation.

I am building a near-chicken utopia on my property. They'll have about 1000 sq ft of chicken pasture in an area we cleared in our woods. But because it's been cleared, there are no shade trees for them, and it gets very hot here in the summer. The pasture will be covered with heavy-duty bird netting (because hawks).

I need to add shade, so I'm planning on adding shrubs and shade cloth in some areas, but I'd like small trees that can create a canopy if sorts as well as visual interest. But since the area will be covered, I need something that will stay relatively short - like 4-5 feet tall.

I thought about butterfly bush, but the ones I have now are about 8 ft tall and need constant cutting back. I'd prefer something a little lower maintenance, if at all possible. I'm leaning Mexican sage, but those can get tall, too. And something broad-leafed would be ideal. There's gotta be something out there. I'm just drawing blanks right now...

Any ideas? We're in hardiness zone 9a.

TIA

Have you considered vines? Or edibles like peas, string beans? Even Loofah
I'm also thinking of Claret vine. I have 2 of them (not using around chickens) But they're easy to care for and give a brilliant show every year.

I usually cut them back in the spring, avoiding the new growth.

 

[JCinNM]

Sorry I’m late to this fantastic discussion. Zone 8 here. I am also working on a chicken heaven.
How about Vivax? I had a big ugly bush about 6 feet tall. Pruned out most of the inside. Now it is the absolute favorite spot for my chickens. I put a couple dead branches inside (across some living branches) so some even perch/roost in there.
And how about tall grasses? I have two different kinds. Pampas and something else. Used a large dead branch and laid it on the ground so the grass grew up through the horizontal branches. The branches part the grass to make forts and teepees. They love it under there. So do the bugs because they think they can hide.
Speaking of teepees…. I am making a teepee for my chickens. It may turn into a tiki hut thing. I have several rolls of bamboo fence from Lowe’s. Gonna use long branches (or 2x4) for the main support then wrap bamboo fence around. Then trim the bottom in large wavy or scallop patterns so chickens can go in/out. Once I know it’s in the right spot I hope to find a vine to grow on it. One chickens won’t eat.
Bonus: my chickens won’t eat Rosemary, Artemisia, Lavender once the plants are larger. And they don’t like SNAPDRAGONS! They may trample them but after the first few bites they won’t eat them. I have all these in a rock garden. The rocks are large (I can barely carry them) so the chickens can’t move them when scratching.

 

[cmom]

I built rain/shade tables for my birds. I did plant trees in all of the pens many years ago and as the trees grew worked the trees through the netting that covers my pens.

 

[The Duck Dad]

I like to use pumpkins for my ducks. they seem to like to take naps under the pumpkins and to like hide when there is a hawk or something in the sky

here are some pics of my pumpkins and my ducks. This is just one plant and it is huge!

 

[texsuze]

For plants, check with a Native Plant Society if you have a nearby chapter, or a native plant nursery. Plants native to your part of the state will not need the heavy maintenance that non-natives and imports require. Also, take a look at whatever you cleared to make the run space: there might be a shrub or tree species you can use since they were already growing there. I would stay away from thorns, stickers or potentially poisonous plants. You know chickens, they'll test anything!

Suncloth works really well for shade. This company www.farmtek.com sells lots of shade cloth remnants, returns and off-cuts of varying opacities and dimensions.

We made 'chicken huts' for shade and shelter--kind of a pallet table--by using a single pallet for the top, and cutting another pallet in half to use as the two sides to support it. Makes a large, upside down "U". Sort of. Chickens love getting under neath, especially when I wet down the dirt.

 

[BeckyOB]

Mulberry. Broadleaf. They don't get too tall and chickens love the fruit. You can even use the leaves to feed silk worms

Silk worms? Are these beneficial somehow? We get overrun with them yearly... But if I knew they'd benefit my flock I might not mind then as much!

 

[LuckiestMamaof3]

I really, really did read a bunch of other posts for answers before posting this, but nothing seems to quite fit my situation.

I am building a near-chicken utopia on my property. They'll have about 1000 sq ft of chicken pasture in an area we cleared in our woods. But because it's been cleared, there are no shade trees for them, and it gets very hot here in the summer. The pasture will be covered with heavy-duty bird netting (because hawks).

I need to add shade, so I'm planning on adding shrubs and shade cloth in some areas, but I'd like small trees that can create a canopy if sorts as well as visual interest. But since the area will be covered, I need something that will stay relatively short - like 4-5 feet tall.

I thought about butterfly bush, but the ones I have now are about 8 ft tall and need constant cutting back. I'd prefer something a little lower maintenance, if at all possible. I'm leaning Mexican sage, but those can get tall, too. And something broad-leafed would be ideal. There's gotta be something out there. I'm just drawing blanks right now...

Any ideas? We're in hardiness zone 9a.

TIA

Could you build a short-ish pergola or put a few arbors several feet apart to make a tunnel and then plant some vines around them?
just thinking that would fill in fast.

 

[Porpie Pie]

Mulberry. Broadleaf. They don't get too tall and chickens love the fruit. You can even use the leaves to feed silk worms

I was going to say mulberry as well. I have one over my run it provides a lot of shade and the fruit falls right into the run for the chickens they just love it!

 

[dovecanyon]

While I didn’t have much experience in your zone, we did use a book we bought to choose 2 trees for our property. The book did shrubs snd trees for this area (not sure if it was Ohio specific), but it was extremely helpful bc one needed to be wind tolerant-really wind tolerant. The other needed to not have a huge root spread, and be on the larger side, etc (a few other site specifics). This book gave very good info on height, roots, spread, etc. also listed what trees/shrubs worked well in certain conditions (like wind, or heavy deer population etc). It was worth the cost to have in our hands and mull over options.

I’m sure you could begin with your library -they will have a section on plants/shrubs/gardens/landscape.

we chose Serviceberry for one location -I like serviceberry bc it has an attractive look all year-more of a bushy tree, but with small leaves. Not sure if that would do well in your zone. Can’t remember the other tree -but it’s a slower grower.

While I didn’t have much experience in your zone, we did use a book we bought to choose 2 trees for our property. The book did shrubs snd trees for this area (not sure if it was Ohio specific), but it was extremely helpful bc one needed to be wind tolerant-really wind tolerant. The other needed to not have a huge root spread, and be on the larger side, etc (a few other site specifics). This book gave very good info on height, roots, spread, etc. also listed what trees/shrubs worked well in certain conditions (like wind, or heavy deer population etc). It was worth the cost to have in our hands and mull over options.

I’m sure you could begin with your library -they will have a section on plants/shrubs/gardens/landscape.

we chose Serviceberry for one location -I like serviceberry bc it has an attractive look all year-more of a bushy tree, but with small leaves. Not sure if that would do well in your zone. Can’t remember the other tree -but it’s a slower grower.

could you give the name of the book you used?

 

[Borders3]

How about Japonica broad leaved and evergreen our chickens always use it for shade doesn't grow too tall nor needs any maintenance. But that is in North Yorkshire UK don't know whether you are able to get it.