Full sun vs Shade cloth

[ElieEstephane]

The smaller size is the opposite of etiolation. The plant stays squat to escape the sun but the internal clock is still winding towards maturity even if the plant is not of size.

[ElieEstephane]

This cardon was put in the full sun (sunrise to sunset) since it was a 4cm seedling. The result was a much denser spination compared to other nursery imports. Doesn't show clearly in the photo but the body is almost hidden.
I never used a shade cloth although i have a very large roll. This year i'm gonna deploy it. Most of my cacti are gonna be used as landscaple plants in the ground so there's no point of having them small. On the other hand, the cacti that i'm growing for their spines will stay in the full sun to grow their spines better

[majcka]

Almost whatever I grow outside went to eternal hunting grounds.....you probably have warm and dry winters and can aford to have them outside all year round. So I decided not to grow them outside anymore. Put some of them outside during summer, but most of them are in greenhouse and there are different conditions. The shelves right next to polycarbonate are shaded...others arent.

I believe it is OK to have a plant on one spot the whole time...then it can adjust to conditions. If you move one plant inside and outside then it has less time to adjust...it can get burns and such.

So there is no easy answer to one vs. another. It depends on case-by-case basis.

Let your plants be fine on full sun or under a shade cloth.

[brixtertabun]

Deleted

[stefan m.]

Not all are susceptible - Some are more resistant than others
- Stenocereus (griseus turns purple, then stops, others have no change)
-Pilosocereus
- Ferocactus with proper acclimation
-Opuntias are almost immune
-Pachycereus is not affected
Could be others, but im sure for those at least

[mdpillet]

Not all are susceptible - Some are more resistant than others
- Stenocereus (griseus turns purple, then stops, others have no change)
-Pilosocereus
- Ferocactus with proper acclimation
-Opuntias are almost immune
-Pachycereus is not affected
Could be others, but im sure for those at least

No such generalizations are valuable. You can fry anything, including the genera you list, under the right conditions.

[stefan m.]

Thats true- but im speaking out of experience where , though placed at the same time, grown in the same conditions in winter, the stenocereus just went purple, while the cereus and neoraimonidia were defaced in an instant- i think its got something do with initial glausense- the latter were not heavy on it. So ,remember that this is from the time i was a rookie grower and made foolish mistakes easily.
I sincerely believe some plants, whether or not it comes down to species, or growing conditions, are more resistant than others- who knows what the wholesalers were doing before i bought the plants. And this is from someone that managed to 'fry ' houseleeks.

[7george]

Thelocactus macdowellii under some shade grid (above) and under full sun (next photo) in Phoenix.

Thelocactus macdowellii 8.JPG (172.04 KiB) Viewed 1714 times

The difference is small, they all did flowers, just the spines are denser under full sun. I think small species that in nature grow under grass or other vegetation is better to keep under some shading if your sun is strong. Glass or plastic also adsorb and reflect some of the sun light. Also many species from low lands if kept at mountain environment would need some shading. And opposite: mountain cacti may feel good outdoors at full sun especially if your air is not so clear as in many big cities etc.

[ElieEstephane]

It's all a matter of opinion in the end. Some people love the the rough habitat like look. I personnally like plump unblemished plants. There's just something not attractive in a yellowed cactus.
I had some very densely spined M. Elongata and M. Pilcayensis that spent all day in the full sun at the coast and when i moved them to my mountain house for the summer (1600m), they literally fried from just a couple of hours of morning sun so i had to shade them under a grape vine.
Full sun is 6 hours and more but it all depends on how much more sun and on the location and elevation.

[kuni1234567]

I live near the ocean and like full sun for most of my cactus and succulents which include my wife's orchid plants. I would like to have stronger sunlight for my cactus because there are many months with morning cloud cover. I wish that could have put some cactus on my roof to increase sun exposure. I might use shade cloth if I lived in the desert where high temperatures and strong sunlight may damage the plants. I believe that most cactus and succulent growers would like to have more sunlight. I can drive to the desert and see many cactus growing in habitat with no shade, little water and no fertilizer.

[kuni1234567]

12.JPG (140.07 KiB) Viewed 1642 times

This a cactus grown in the desert without shade cloth.

[ElieEstephane]

I wish that could have put some cactus on my roof to increase sun exposure.

i already started moving some cavti to the roof with full sun exposure from sunset to sundown with good effects so far. I will probably add a shade cloth in summer not for protdction but for water conservation as i don't always have the time to water

[mmcavall]

Once in the past I’ve put all my cacti and succulents in the roof , in my parents’ house. They couldn’t take care of the plants in the roof so the plants stand on their own. Results were incredible good, made me think they “prefer” being neglected and let under full sun. However, a Kalanchoe daigremontiana (literally “mother of thousands”) spreads and took the entire roof.
My mother decided by the end of the roof’s era, and I took out the plants from there. Until today, more than 10 years passed, we still have to clean the roof due to the K. daigrementiana, which is very hard to eliminate.

Sorry I don't have pictures of plants of the same species under full sun x shade cloth. Most of my plants are under full sun. Maybe some Haworthia...I'll try to find something to post here.

[mmcavall]

Perhaps this is the most striking example of the effect of full sun over a plant of my collection.

Here is a picture of this Mammillaria just after purchasing. I suppose it has been cultivated under some shade:


Here is the plant after some months taking some sun:


Here is the same plant after about a year growing under full, harsh sun. It turn to be one of my preferred plants (not sure about the ID, though):

[ElieEstephane]

Other than gettimg more compact, look at how thick the spines are!