I'm curious about how the full sun, partial shade, and similar recommendations really factor in when you consider typical cloud cover and climate variations. For example, I know that a plant requiring full sun usually needs around 6-8 hours of direct sunlight each day. But when we look at different climates, how does this recommendation hold up? Imagine two gardens both with a 200-day growing season. Garden 1 gets 6 hours of sun daily, but it's overcast 80% of the time, totaling about 240 sunshine hours per season. Meanwhile, Garden 2 gets 3 hours of sun, but it's only overcast 20% of the time, racking up 480 sunshine hours. So, would a plant needing full sun thrive better in garden 2? And does garden 1 still fit the 'full sun' criteria? Thanks!
2 Answers
I agree that rather than sticking strictly to full sun or partial shade, it's actually wise to look at the specific number of sunlight hours each day and also consider the plant's native habitat. I live in Southern California, and I found that many of my 'full-sun' plants actually burned out. But when I moved some to partial shade, they flourished! I even grew tomatoes in partial shade, and they did just fine.
If you're in Ontario, your growing conditions are a bit different. Check your garden at various times of the day to see how many hours of sunlight you're really getting, then adjust accordingly. You might even want to count cloudy hours as about half for your sun-loving plants!
That's a good point! When we talk about full sun, it doesn't necessarily mean blazing south Texas sun. It's more about the total hours of sunlight your plants get, even on cloudy days. In a cloudy climate, plants might benefit from those longer, cooler days, especially leafy greens, which thrive in that kind of environment without the risk of overheating. But for heat-loving crops like tomatoes or peppers, they usually prefer shorter, sunnier hours.
So yes, those plants might really do better in the situation you described in garden 2!
Exactly! It's interesting to see how different climates affect plant growth. Some plants can surprisingly thrive in less than ideal sunlight, as long as other conditions are met.
Definitely! It all comes down to experimenting and observing your own garden conditions. That's the best way to find out what truly works for your plants.