My shadecloth saga

[fanaticactus]

Realizing by the yellow and brown areas appearing on a few of my cacti that I needed some shadecloth, I went to the largest, best known and most well-stocked (supposedly) garden center in the area. I was after 30%, but their choice was nonexistent. One package contained two sheets of 50%, 4' by 6', I think. Another package had absolutely no info on the outside except a stock number, but it was thicker and cost just a few dollars more. It looked like the same density mesh, so I assumed it was another 50%. I asked them to look up the stock # on the computer; they could not find it to give me any more info. I took a chance and, well, you can see what it was. It seemed to be designed to go over a pyramid-shaped GH, with velcro and ties. I improvised the best I could and I guess it's better than nothing. At least there's a lot of shade inside but there are also some sunny areas for those cacti that don't burn. It looks weird, but I don't care.
South side exposure

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North side exposure

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Interior during mid-afternoon

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[JeffWhiteDevil]

Quit wasting your time with those people and next time go to this company http://www.shadeclothstore.com/depts/kn ... cloth.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They ship super crazy fast and they sell quality knitted shade cloth, I am very happy with them and their shade cloth.

[fanaticactus]

Thanks for the tip, Jeff. When the time comes to upgrade, I'll certainly keep them in mind.

[CoronaCactus]

I'll second theshadeclothstore.com as a great source.
It looks like 60%.
Some is better than none!

[tudedude]

is 60% plus around 10-20 from the polycarb too much shade for cacti? Wondering how much shade til you stop growth or see etiolation. Not necessarily in this condition since it's partial shade, but in general.

[tumamoc]

I used to have this setup. My cacti had no complaints. I'm not sure what percentage this was, but probably about 60.

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[sundanz]

It looks all great! Mine are in the shade in the morning and in full sun for a few hours in the afternoon. It's 90 right now and humid.I live in east Texas. Is that too hot and too much sun for my cacti? I'm thinking of buying one of those large umbrellas in a stand for the times when it gets too hot. My collection as of yesterday is nearing 40 so an umbrella is doable right now.

Karin

[Tiggy]

Mine are also out in full sun from the morning to mid-afternoon. The thermometer measured +44°c. max. the other day. The more sensitive ones are in a different position where they get mainly morning sun. I check them all the time for signs that they don't like it but at the moment they seem quite happy. That's what they told me anyway
Susi

[iann]

90F isn't too hot if they're in the open. Good ventilation goes a long way. Your cacti may still suffer if they aren't adapted to strong sun, although humidity tends to reduce the UV a little. Watch out especially on days with no breeze, and with plants that have not had time to adapt after being grown in the dark or after repotting. Also there are some cacti that simply don't like full direct sun all day. The air in my greenhouse regularly exceeds 90F, and so does the air in most cactus habitats. As for what a thermometer in the sun reads? Well try it, its fairly meaningless but it will be a lot higher than 90F!

The downside of the humidity is that your nights will be very warm and most desert cacti don't grow well in those conditions. If they don't seem to be growing or flowering strongly, or they don't seem to take up water as rapidly as you might expect, it is a sign that they can't grow in those conditions so don't push them. On the other hand, some cacti will thrive in it, typically Caribbean and lowland South American species, and of course the jungle cacti.

[Tiggy]

Thanks Iann for the advice. The temps. here do drop a fair bit at night, around 15°c. and they are not in full sun all day, after lunch they get the shade of an oak tree and then just catch a little bit more sun as it sets. I appreciate your comments and I will as ever keep a very close eye on them. This is a trial at the moment, and if it is successful I want to try and landscape more next year. Don't want to jump the gun as the weather here can be unpredictable at times being on a mountain. I'm not an expert by any means so any advice is always welcome. Thanks again.
Susi

[amanzed]

I'm curious. Does anyone know why so many of our plants do better under shade cloth? What is the mechanism? Why do they grow faster, look cleaner…? Do they spend less of their energy protecting and repairing cellular stress from UV (even though shade cloth cuts ALL wavelengths, not just UV).

I live in Los Angeles 10a (perhaps verging to 10b in the coming years), and it seems that in this area, shade cloth provides a bigger boost to us advanced beginners than a greenhouse. (I have about 1,000 plants but no greenhouse. I do have a lot of makeshift shadecloth over much of my growing area.)

[Saxicola]

Amanzed,

I think that a lot of the plants we grow actually do get some shade in their natural habitat. For example, if you go out to our local (to LA) deserts (Mojave and Sonoran) you'll see lots of Creosote Bush, Sagebrush, etc. that shade the ground around it. Many times people forget that deserts around the world aren't just filled with succulent plants, they also have lots of xeric, non-succulent, shrubs that we don't add to our home collections.

Another source of shade can be something as simple as growing on a north facing slope. The hill itself may shade you some of the day. For the really little guys like Lithops and Ariocarpus they are so close to the ground that dirt and sand will partially cover them up. Sort of a natural sunscreen!

Also keep in mind that a lot of plants in habitat look pretty rough, especially when fully exposed to the harshest elements. We usually don't want that look when we grow plants in our collections.