What small conifer does well in filtered shade?

(Question)

I made this downtown Toronto garden ten years ago – see photo – soil was 1.5 feet to 2 feet of fresh triple mix over hard packed Toronto clay. It is under a high maple tree with no branches until 30 feet up.
The evergreen tree with red arrow has not done well for ten years now and I want to replace it with another evergreen standard. Ideally, a lighter green colour so as not to blend in with the yew hedge at the back. What do you suggest?

(Answer)

Hello and thank you for contacting Toronto Master Gardeners.

There are several evergreens, but you have thrown in the additional parameter of colour (most are dark green as the various colours require more sun exposure), however we do have a solution! A broadleaf evergreen such as Wintercreeper (Euonymous fortunei). Having worked in a nursery I know there several varieties available as standards.

With leaves that have a vibrant blue-green interior, white edges, and a serrated shape, wintercreeper is a striking evergreen shrub that grows in a rounded shape. This shade-tolerant shrub is tough and hardy, growing almost anywhere and unbothered by drought, cold, or heat. It grows slowly and rarely tops five feet in height or width, making it an ideal plant for city, country, or suburban gardens alike.

You did not mention a preferred size, but these can eventually become 3 – 5 feet (I to 1.5m) tall and 3 – 6 feet (1 to 2 m) wide unless of course you prune it to your desired height and width.

Instructions on how to care for Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) can be found here.

There are other evergreen options that you may want to consider but many of them have the darker green leaf that you mentioned you’d prefer to avoid.  If that is the case please refer to this article which references Pennsylvania but is applicable to Toronto as a zone 5 location.

Finally, again for your consideration there is a Toronto Master Gardener’s guide Perennials for Shade and Part Shade