I know\u2026you are thinking \u201chere goes Doug again getting on his soapbox talking about choosing the right plant for the right location\u201d.\u00a0 But, in my defense, with working at a retail garden center and working with customers for so many years, this question about light and proper choosing of plants is more of a challenge than you may realize.\u00a0 Proper sun exposure is integral to the survival of plants.\u00a0 Too little, and your plants become weak, thin, and generally sad looking.\u00a0 Too much and they spend most of the day drooping or being fried.<\/p>\n
Spring is finally here and many of you are ready to do some planting.\u00a0 In retail, you want to be helpful in making the right plant recommendations for customers.\u00a0 One of the first questions that I ask back to the customer is \u201cwhat is the sun exposure?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another part of the difficulty in picking plants suitable to your yard is that the light conditions change from season to season, and even from month to month.\u00a0 You could look out your window in March and assume that the corner of your house only gets a few hours of sun a day.\u00a0 Come summer, however, that spot will probably be subject to eight hours of blistering hot afternoon sun.\u00a0 Our latitude means that in winter, the sun hangs in the southern sky, while in the summer it tracks much further north.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t just the sun that changes, either.\u00a0 Nearby trees that are dormant early in the spring will create additional shade once they leaf out.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to try and picture what your yard will look like during all three growing seasons (spring, summer & fall) when deciding how much light your gardens actually receives.<\/p>\n
If you look at the information tag on plants it suggests sunlight requirement.\u00a0 So, how do you determine sun exposure for your garden?\u00a0 Terms used on these information tags make reference to full sun, sun to part shade, part shade, part to full shade, and full shade.\u00a0 Here are the general descriptions of these light requirement terms:
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