THE FRONT of our house stays in the shade all day- maybe only a couple of hours of sun later in the afternoon and that is it- this is the area along he Foundation- it is very sandy due to the dirt used to backfill around the foundation- had pjms and none survived after the builders put them in- replaced all 6 and all 6 died again- looking for some type of evergreen shrub that we can put in this location that will grow and do well in well drained sandy soil that doesn’t get much sun… help!
he problem with your location is not only that it is shady but that it faces north so plants there are exposed to the harsh, drying winds that blow from the north all winter long. This dies them out so it is no wonder that the PJMs failed there. The bad news is that there are very few options for that location and none are evergreens. You might try Clethra, a flowering shrub that likes shade. It loses its leaves in fall so it won’t have a problem with the wind. Another option might be the large Hostas like Sieboldiana which gets as large as many shrubs. As a perennial, it will die to the ground for winter but would de very well in that location. More on them HERE