Plants for Shade

[Finnie]

Mulberry is a nightmare.

Amen to that!

 

[Chicken Heel]

I have an unknown plant that has come up on the west side of my lot that contains my ten mixed large breed hens and Black Australorp rooster. It is providing excellent shade with its wide canopy and its height now over six feet. The same plant had come up there last year and it doesn't seem to harm the chickens when they peck at its leaves through the fence. It has unique green blossoms that turn black after a few days and has large heart shaped leaves. I have tried to determine what it is but have had no luck thus far. I call it the devil plant because it came up near the pen that has my hateful BA rooster that I call El Diablo.

 

[The Duck Dad]

when Pumpkins get big enough, the ducks and chickens won't bother to eat it becuz of the needles on the pumpkin. The needles don't hurt the animals becuz of their feathers.

 

[Ascholten]

Apples would be very tricky in zone 9a. I'm at the 7b/8a border and have to be very careful about choice of variety this far south.

The Anna Apple works fine down here, so does the Slappy Apple, and the Dorsett.

The Dwarf Cavendish Banana grows maybe 6 foot tall max that I have ever seen with mine, and they are very prolific too so will have plenty of pups to make a nice canopy for them to hide under. Mine actually do hide under mine and they are sturdy enough too so that when they start digging stuff up, it won't kill them.

Aaron

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

What about viney plants that you could plant along the edges and allow to grow and crawl through and around the netting along the outer edges?
Any thoughts from you experienced ones on this? Morning glories, honeysuckle, etc.?

 

[The Duck Dad]

corn works too. you can feed it to your chickens once ready too. plant the corn very close together and in like bunches of three. do like a group of three seeds right next to each other and then do another 3 seeds about 4inches away. this is my way of doing it. seems to work better, gives the other plant support.

 

[Sbr73]

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

Check out Arbor Day Foundation
https://www.arborday.org/trees/

 

[Bridget B]

Myrtle works in Phoenix. Its a fast grower and you can shape it pretty much however you want it. We have made a couple of hedges out of it. One hedge is about 15 feet long and 36 inches tall. If we wanted a taller one we could have just let it grow to the height desired. They train in the shape you want pretty easily. We only trim it back once or twice a year. Inexpensive plant in our area.

 

[MgnRose]

I would plant broadleaf evergreens for protection from the elements through all the seasons.

Arctostaphylos/ Manzanitas would love your zone and provide edible berries for birds and flowers for pollinators/ hummingbirds. Many varieties stay small (Howard McMinn, Sonoma, Demeter, Lester Roundtree), are hardy (needing no supplemental summer water), and are an absolutely gorgeous genera.

You have an excellent list of herbs- I would like to suggest cardoon and winter savory.

Floribunda roses are popular with my chickens as they love to jump up and eat the petals. I harvest the rose hips and use them as a supplement, feeding them both to my ladies and my family.

Chickens shouldn’t eat citrus so I would check out which fruits or leaves could be poisonous to chickens first because sooner or later they’ll eat what falls from it. Apple seeds are poisonous.

I would not plant Heavenly Bamboo/ Nandina domestica as their berries are toxic, unless you are planting a sterile cultivar.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I would plant broadleaf evergreens for protection from the elements through all the seasons.

Arctostaphylos/ Manzanitas would love your zone and provide edible berries for birds and flowers for pollinators/ hummingbirds. Many varieties stay small (Howard McMinn, Sonoma, Demeter, Lester Roundtree), are hardy (needing no supplemental summer water), and are an absolutely gorgeous genera.

You have an excellent list of herbs- I would like to suggest cardoon and winter savory.

Floribunda roses are popular with my chickens as they love to jump up and eat the petals. I harvest the rose hips and use them as a supplement, feeding them both to my ladies and my family.


I would not plant Heavenly Bamboo/ Nandina domestica as their berries are toxic, unless you are planting a sterile cultivar.

Manzanita is high on the list! We have many on the property, and I love their shape/colors. I plan to add a few. My hubby pointed them out. Can't believe I overlooked them...