Dave Rut wrote:

When a plant requires full sun, what does that mean? I thought I heard that
meant 6 hours.

A second question, is there some kind of measuring device you can put in
your yard to check for full sun, partial shade, etc.

Full sun means at least six hours of direct sunlight. However,
as with everything else, your mileage may vary. In the Pacific
Northeast, I found that the only place I could grow roses
successfully was in a spot that got sun from can to can't.
However, here in western NY, the only place the roses have done
well is in a little side-garden that gets about four hours of
direct mid-day sun, and filtered sun the remainder of the time.
So, do consider the guidelines when planting stuff -- something
that likes full sun is never going to be happy in a spot that
never gets direct sunlight, or vice-versa -- however, keep an eye
on how the plant does, and consider moving it if it is showing
signs of getting too much sun, or not enough. Also, remember
that, in general, morning sun is gentler than afternoon.

The best way to figure out light levels in your yard is to look.
Make a plat diagram of the yard. [You can do one in almost any
painting / drawing program on your computer.] Then, at least one
day a week, about once an hour, go out and look at where the
shade is, and what type it is, and mark it on the diagram. Over
the course of a year, you'll get a good feel for the various, and
varying, light levels in the yard. You'll need to update this
occasionally as things grow / change. For example, the olive
bushes I planted are now about six feet tall. They provide a lot
more spring and early summer shade than they did a couple of
years ago. Conversely, in the ice-storm our neighbor's dying
locust split in half [and took out one end of the house -- that
was fun!], so we now have a very large patch of sun in an area
that used to be dense shade all day long. That entailed some
emergency plant relocations this spring.

Chris Owens


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