Shade

[Tilia]

When a plant requires "full sun" what exactly does that mean?

Does it mean all day sun, sun, sun...

Or can it be sunny for half the day, like midday or 2pm before the sun gets to it?

Or is that partial shade???

???

[Tilia]

[tim]

Where are you getting all this sun from??

I read it as totally unobstructed. We have plots in almost total shade!

[Tilia]

We have plots in almost total shade!

:o What do you grow?

My plot is the same, the sun doesn't touch it until Midday!

[wahaj]

to be honest i tend not to read the instructions too much....really does depend on where you buy the plant from. i've bought the same type of plants from different places that have different locations suggested on them. most supermarkets....wilkinsons and garden centres in diy stores are often wrong.

like my chocolate cosmos hates the sun even though it's meant to be from south american deserts.

[tim]

I rushed out to get this before the thunderstorm hit.

It only shows 1/3 of the problem, but may help?

[tim]

I posted photos last year, which some may remember, but I've binned them!

Nothing grows as well as it should, of course, & the closer into the shade, the smaller the plant. And when I said ' almost total', But - we have grown:

Sweetcorn
Chard
Lettuce
Courgettes
Celeriac
Carrots
Spring Onions
Leeks
Shallots

[Tilia]

Nothing grows as well as it should, of course, & the closer into the shade, the smaller the plant

Good point. I suppose the plant wants to grow regardless of the conditions, it just struggles more when they're worse.

to be honest i tend not to read the instructions too much

Also good point. I suppose if I try to stick with plants that don't mind shade but then if there's something I really want to try but it likes "full sun", plant it anyway and see how it gets on.

Excellent example of this...
I was talking to someone else yesterday who said "Oh you must grow beetroot it loves the shade!" but when I looked in my book it says "full sun"

Thank you for the picture tim. Hope you didn't get caught in that thunderstorm.  :)

[Garden Manager]

My plot has varying amounts of sun and shade. i dont have time to explain it in detail now. but basicaly about 3/4 of the plot gets sufficeing sun to grow good crops. The remainder gets some sun but is shaded for part of the day by a boundary hedge and nearby trees. Consequently I am restricted as to what to grow there (makes planning the rotation a challenge to say the least). I find things like potatoes and salads do the best. Onions do OK, but runner and french beans anre pretty hopelss, as they dont get enough sun there to flowere and crop properly.

Hope this helps

[caroline7758]

"Full sun" generally means at least 6 hours of sun during the day ( I asked the same question on another site a while back), which isn't as much as I would have assumed.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Six hours at what time of year? That would mean one thing in December, and something very different in June.

[Mrs Ava]

I find things like lettuce and spinach do well in part shade as they don't tend to bolt quite so quickly.  However, squashes don't do as well - mine are in dappled shade this year....rotation thing....and altho they have been good, they haven't been great.

[Merry Tiller]

Full sun means no shade whatsoever as far as I'm concerned.
Has anyone timed the sunshine on each part of  their plot ???

[tim]

I know that, in mid summer, my worst bit doesn't see the sun till 11am. And then loses it about 5pm.

[plot51A]

There are huge trees at one end of my plot, so the end doesn't get sun until midday or later. Some other plots are shadier than mine - but this year with the heat and lack of rain in July it has proved a positive blessing! As others have said, I've found that potatoes, leeks, onions, salad are fine, currently have a very healthy brassica bed. My next door plottie neighbour has inherited a permanent bean frame and seems to do fine each year. Tried growing courgettes on compost heap1 - almost total failure, lots of foliage nothing else, whereas squashes on compost heap 2 produced 6 good sized specimens - happy with that. All in shade at very bottom of plot.
Also of course it's different in the winter - leaves gone, sun lower in sky, but more light.

[Garden Manager]

Oh I am glad to hear brasicas do OK in partial shade. I am planning to try my brassicas in my shady bed next year as part of the rotation. I am not surprised since they are a 'leaf' crop which are good in shade.

[Tilia]

"Full sun" generally means at least 6 hours of sun during the day ( I asked the same question on another site a while back), which isn't as much as I would have assumed.

??? me either!!!

My best bit doesn't get any sun until at least midday in summer but then it's got sun right up to 9/10 o'clock. Does that count? It's dark by 8 now right enough but still light at 6 so I suppose that could then be classified as "full sun". And then it won't be long bfore the trees lose their leaves and it'll get light much earlier even though it'll get dark later...

I'm waffling now.

Thank you everyone for your help.

[wahaj]

another thing i've found growing sun loving plants in shade is that they will grow quicker and bigger but will be really weak. they'll grow quickly towards the sunlight to get energy but the quick growth is very weak.

[cambourne7]

I am having to add shade to my plot as there is nothing around it.

For example i have a cherry tree planted in my rhubarb bed.