Sun/Shade

Discuss repotting, soil, lighting, fertilizing, watering, etc. in this category.
Post Reply
fanaticactus
Posts: 3194
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:44 pm
Location: Grand Isle Co., Vermont

Sun/Shade

Post by fanaticactus »

My basic question is about lighting exposure for my collection. You will see from the accompanying photos that the areas I have for late spring to mid-autumn display have various lighting conditions. I do have a greenhouse, but keeping them in there all summer would reduce their exposure to fresh circulating air, which I know is very important to the overall health of cacti. I have an area that gets sun practically all day, another that has sun in the morning and part shade in the afternoon (probably the largest), and one area that is pretty much in shade/dappled sun all day, which is where I keep my Schlumbergera, Hatiora and Epis. I'm in the process of arranging all others I have according to lighting needs. For my purposes, I'm wondering if these terms can be considered basically equal: 'filtered sun', 'slight or light shade', 'partial sun', and 'half shade'? Is there any important difference?

These pictures were taken at about 4:15pm This view is approximately northeast; the right side of the pergola faces almost due south--my full sun exposure
IMG_0338.JPG
IMG_0338.JPG (159.79 KiB) Viewed 916 times
This is looking north; the furthest stand gets bright morning sun, then part shade, and finally direct sun again in the late afternoon on the upper level; the foreground has the bulk of my collection on a table with sun and bright shade under the pergola
IMG_0339.JPG
IMG_0339.JPG (198.93 KiB) Viewed 916 times
This view is south with my 'jungle'-type cacti behind the latticework, basically getting shade with a bright ambient light
IMG_0340.JPG
IMG_0340.JPG (163.93 KiB) Viewed 916 times
This is looking west, catching the afternoon sun outside the pergola and somewhat filtered sun for the collection on the table
IMG_0341.JPG
IMG_0341.JPG (137.63 KiB) Viewed 916 times
. Any suggestions for optimal use of the sun and semi-shade areas I have? Thanks!
Catch a falling star--but don't try it with a cactus!
User avatar
Steve Johnson
Posts: 4514
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Re: Sun/Shade

Post by Steve Johnson »

I've had my entire collection under 40% shade cloth ever since I got it going in 2011. Here's a pic of my setup in July 2015:

Image

The shade cloth goes all the way down to the bottom shelf on the south-facing and east-facing sides. The sun isn't as strong in the late afternoon, so the shade cloth pattern accounted for this since I figured that my cacti might enjoy some unfiltered sun in the late afternoon/early evening hours. I'm not sure if you need to go quite that far, but if you put shade cloth over the top and south-facing sides of your enclosure, I think this would work well for you. If you'd like to pursue it, the Shade Cloth Store should be a good online source:

http://www.shadeclothstore.com/

Re. the partial/half-shade issue, I think we're talking about different terms for basically the same thing. Obviously your cacti won't be under full shade all the time, so the lighting I see in your photos indicates that your setup should be great with some shade cloth on.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
fanaticactus
Posts: 3194
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:44 pm
Location: Grand Isle Co., Vermont

Re: Sun/Shade

Post by fanaticactus »

Hi, Steve...I'm not as active on here as I have been. Life is too busy this year and I never received many responses when I posted pictures of my flowering successes. So I post them for my friends on Facebook, who are amazed I can grow such specimens in Vermont and even have a permanent garden that survives a northern New England winter.

BTW, I remember we had often talked about creating an ideal mix for cacti. I discovered something called Green Planet Naturals Cactus Mix with Mycorrhizae. 16 quarts for $21.99 on Amazon. Everyone who used it gave it 5 stars. I've had amazing results with it. Cacti that had not grown for two years grew like crazy and started to bloom when I put them into this mixture. I stretch mine further with even more pumice, coir and grit, so the $21.99 seems like a bargain considering the fantastic results I'm getting. And it drains very quickly. (Contents: pumice, pumice fines or sand, spaghnum peat moss, coco coir, compost [softwood shavings and manure, may contain straw & hay], worm castings)

Thanks for your response with suggestions about using shadecloth. I have Aluminet (I think that's the name) inside my greenhouse. I ordered that from the Shade Store. It's ideal because it is light and cuts the intensity of the sun but not so much the light. It was a huge roll, and I have tons of it left over. I don't know what % it cuts out; I don't remember that it actually said, but it is adequate for my needs here. The only problem with the greenhouse is that it doesn't let enough fresh air circulate through to keep the cacti healthy. If only the sides were entirely open, it might be a different story. It only has two roof vents, one window vent on the south side and a screen door. Even those did not keep it cool enough (it could reach well over 100 degrees inside), so I had to install a heavy duty exhaust fan and an oscillating fan to provide a better environment. But it can still reach into the 90s. That's why, after reading up on summer cactus care, I've decided to keep them out on the patio under and just outside the pergola. If I understand your suggestion, I think it would be unworkable to drape my Alumninet across the top of the pergola and fasten it to the framework because of the strong winds we often have in the valley, plus the sudden squalls, heavy rain, thunderstorms and hail. I'm hoping the strength of even our summer sun here on the 45th parallel is not strong enough to warrant more protection than the slats of the pergola provide. I do take everything into the greenhouse if heavy storms are predicted; they are all in mesh trays to allow me to carry many at a time. Here are some photos of the interior of the greenhouse showing the Aluminet and some darker shade cloth I needed for the roof and south-facing upper panels.
DSC07240.JPG
DSC07240.JPG (123.03 KiB) Viewed 866 times
DSC07239.JPG
DSC07239.JPG (117.88 KiB) Viewed 866 times
DSC07241.JPG
DSC07241.JPG (121.61 KiB) Viewed 866 times
DSC07242.JPG
DSC07242.JPG (120.58 KiB) Viewed 866 times
DSC07243.JPG
DSC07243.JPG (130.28 KiB) Viewed 866 times
DSC07244.JPG
DSC07244.JPG (110.66 KiB) Viewed 866 times
DSC07246.JPG
DSC07246.JPG (130.54 KiB) Viewed 866 times
DSC07245.JPG
DSC07245.JPG (112.24 KiB) Viewed 866 times
Catch a falling star--but don't try it with a cactus!
User avatar
zozo
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 8:07 am

Re: Sun/Shade

Post by zozo »

Nice
Post Reply