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Understanding what full sun and shade really means
nickoslesteros
Posts: 178
Hello,
I know there is a lot of information out there, but I am really struggling to get clarity on what is meant my full sun, part shade etc. For instance, in my garden at this time of year an awful lot of it is shaded by trees (one evergreen, and a few deciduous) for a good chunk of the day. Back to the spring and until a few weeks ago, the shaded areas would have have at least 6-8 hours of sun. It gets a tad less shaded when the deciduous trees drop.
So - if a plant needs full sun, I presume it's mainly talking about the main growing season?
Also - with shade. There is evidently a big difference to that cold shade of being under a tree canopy and shade being a west facing wall, or behind a larg me shrub. Should gardeners view these as different types of shade? Is there a good definitive guide on all of this, as I'm struggling to make sense of what should be a simple concept? 🙂
I know there is a lot of information out there, but I am really struggling to get clarity on what is meant my full sun, part shade etc. For instance, in my garden at this time of year an awful lot of it is shaded by trees (one evergreen, and a few deciduous) for a good chunk of the day. Back to the spring and until a few weeks ago, the shaded areas would have have at least 6-8 hours of sun. It gets a tad less shaded when the deciduous trees drop.
So - if a plant needs full sun, I presume it's mainly talking about the main growing season?
Also - with shade. There is evidently a big difference to that cold shade of being under a tree canopy and shade being a west facing wall, or behind a larg me shrub. Should gardeners view these as different types of shade? Is there a good definitive guide on all of this, as I'm struggling to make sense of what should be a simple concept? 🙂
0
Posts
I agree it's confusing and the terms are not very helpful. "Partial shade" is even worse.
Full sun is considered to be 6 or 7 hours. That would generally be a south facing sort of site, but that isn't the whole story, because of other factors - buildings,fences and other planting.
Full shade would generally be a site where there is minimal sun. A north west round to a north east aspect would often be that kind of site. Again - any other factors can change that. A large plot, facing north, with nothing around it, will get a fair bit of sun at the farthest end, for example.
Semi shade is simply somewhere in between. The shade can be dappled - a deciduous tree, or hedge, would tend to provide that. It can also mean plants that get a few hours of direct sun only. East and west facing sites are the most common aspects for that.
As with the other sites/aspects though, other factors can affect it.
The other big factor in all of those is - climate. The amount of sun or shade a plant can cope with is always affected by that, as @Ceres describes with the sunny parts of their garden. A damper climate means soil won't dry out so readily. A hotter, drier one is the opposite. Just because a plant likes full sun doesn't mean it'll be happy in every garden.
Wind is another factor.
Many plants are quite adaptable, so it's always about choosing the best site, and then experimenting, or moving them if it doesn't work well
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...