Avant Garden sp16
by Derek Fell
Although most humans and plants require sunlight for good health, shade can be a welcome relief during hot summer days, and it can also provide shelter from searing winds. Shade is cooling and soothing, tempering the heat and glare and ultra violet rays that a fierce sun can inflict. However, in discussing shade the term can be confusing, especially in its effect on plants. Less than six hours of direct sunlight can be considered too shady for good growth among many flowers and vegetables, but if those six hours occur at the beginning and end of the day and miss the peak daylight hours around noon, then even six hours of direct sunlight can produce disappointing results unless some reliable shade-loving plants are used.
Experiments with light have shown that less than one percent difference in light intensity can make a 100 percent difference in plant growth. That means out in the garden the removal of a single overhead tree limb can make the difference between flowers and no flowers. Similarly, painting a dark wall white or laying down white landscape chips as a mulch can reflect enough light onto plants to survive.
Of course, there are plants that can take more shade than others, and when you are dealing with a shaded location it’s useful to know not only what plants are considered suitable for shade, but also the degree of shade, since a wide range of flowering plants will thrive in a lightly shaded location, but quickly perish in deep shade. In addition to light shade, medium shade and deep shade, there is morning, noon and afternoon shade There is also moist shade and dry shade. In addition to light intensity, soil quality and air circulation are also important factors. Above all, do not disturb a tree’s feeder roots lying close to the soil surface, since disturbing those roots can kill the tree. Rather, cart in some topsoil to make an eight inch deep planting bed above the indigenous, compacted soil, holding the soil in place with stones or tree limbs.
Similarly, if the soil is too moist or puddles after rains, build up a raised bed to improve drainage.
To finish reading about shade in the garden, turn to page 80 in the Spring 2016 issue of Bucks County Magazine.