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Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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Posted by
quilt_mommy 5/6 Northeast Ohio (
My Page) on
Sun, Mar 27, 11 at 9:11
| Have you had better luck placing your seed containers in full sun or morning sun only? Or would you say it's about the same?
In the past I have always had my containers on the south side of the house in full sun until they sprout, and then I'd move them to an area where they'd get a little shade in the afternoons so they wouldn't overheat. This year I'm 8 and a half months pregnant and it's just gotten to be a big old pain in the but to walk around the house and open all my little containers for watering. So instead I put them on the front steps (sorry for the eyesore to my neighbors!) so I could just walk out and open them up and water them a little easier. I've already got a few sprouts so they must be getting enough sun, but I'm wondering if they aren't going to germinate as fast as they would if I had put them in full sun.
Right now all I have out are California Poppies, Canterbury Bells (sprouting), Oriental Poppies, Sweet Peas (sprouting), Larkspur, Hollyhocks, Allium, and Balloon Flowers.
Just curious and would love to hear your experiences. Thanks! ;) |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| My containers are on my breezeway which runs east-west. It's 90% shade except for one small area that gets morning sun after the first day of spring. Up 'til then they're all in full shade. I get sprouts later than most everyone else but it's worth it to me not to have to worry about the seedlings frying in the sun while I'm at work. I get excellent germination because they get indirect sun and plenty of daylight without being at risk in full sun. I have neither the time nor the inclination to open and close nearly 300 jugs every day. Winter sowing is supposed to make growing from seed easier and less labor-intensive. I've found what seems to work for me; you'll need to figure out what works best for you in your own situation. |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| All of my perennials and tree/shrub seeds, and a few of the hardy annuals are on the east side of the house about 6 feet from the foundation under the shrubbery. It get morning sun until about lunchtime and is conveniently the back side of the house so the mess is out of sight! I don't have to worry about them overheating or drying out too quickly. Admittedly they might sprout earlier if they got full sun. However, this can be a problem if they sprout too early and then the temps dip down well below freezing. For the heat lovers, I sow them in cups and line them up in plastic boxes and place them up against the house foundation on the south side. I want them to get maximum heat and sun (until the leaves fill out on the trees, that is). This is the warmest microclimate in my yard and the foundation holds heat and radiates it throughout the night, so that even when there's a frost in the surrounding landscape, it's less likely to frost that close to the foundation. |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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Mine are in full sun for a couple of reasons
1 -I am very impatient, and 2 - that is the only place I have.
I only have a few - about 20 right now, then I'll do maybe another 20 annuals, so I don't mind removing their tops, putting them back, etc, to make sure they don't freeze or fry.
I can see tho the advantage of growing them in the shade depending on your situation. |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| I had to put mine facing West, as that is the only spot protected from the strong winds we get here in Spring. They are also under the overhang of the roof, so I have to watch that they stay moist enough, but so far I've only had to water them a little. The only "issue" (and it's a relatively small thing) I'm having is that now that I've opened up the tops on my sprouted containers, I have trouble getting them to stay down when I need to flip them down again, and so I have to retape! A pain in the butt when I have 99 of them! |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| My containers were kept at the edge of a patio facing west. They had some protection but also got some snow/rain. Then, for the last two weeks, they have been getting eastern exposure. I have sprouts in 8 of 9 containers. I was suspecting that opening and closing the jug tops might be a pain. I had cut them off completely and stuck each jug bottom into a gallon size ziploc bag with holes punched into the top. Its an easy matter to open or close the bag and position it to regulate air circulation and humidity. I think I will keep doing it this way since I don't do large numbers of containers. |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| Kvenkat - I have found that the zip lock bags are most convenient for me as well. My seeds are all on the west side of the house as well - this gives me hope that I should still get decent germination, just possibly a little slower. Thanks! |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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I use zip-lock bags too.
great minds think alike. :) |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| Zip lock bags sounds like a great idea, maybe I'll try that myself. I have my containers up against the foundation facing east so they are in the back of my house getting morning sun, however, no signs of germination yet, some of the ground in my yard is still frozen, temps here in north western Massachusetts, have been below average so it's still pretty cold and very windy these past several days. I sure hope we have a nice spring this year! |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| When you use the zip locks, do you cut off the bottom of the bag when you put it over the bottle-bottom? Or do they not get enough rain being covered by the bags that it needs to drain away? Or is that what you meant by punching holes in the top? Haha, I'm confused! |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| serenae - I used clear plastic cups, and cut drainage slits in the cups. Then I take a ziplock baggie and cut slits in the bottom and top of that for drainage and ventilation. Some rain water as well as melted snow gets inside, but by this time of year it still needs occasional watering. I wouldn't be able to just, spray at the baggies, to get enough water in lol*, so I open all the baggies and spray a little water in that way, then close back up. It isn't really THAT big of a hassle, to me at least, because they are all on my front stoop and I only water maybe once a week at best. Because of that baggies covering the cups a lot of moisture is retained in those containers and until the weather is really warm it doesn't evaporate that quickly. Once the weather is warm enough that it DOES start to dry out quicker, it's also usually warm enough to just open up the baggies altogether. I have also used the gallon sized baggies with containers that I got from plants bought at the garden center, milk jug bottoms and pop bottle bottoms. Here is a pic of a couple from 2009: 
Here are a few pictures from this year: 
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RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| Quilt_Mommy, I like the creative way you've WSed. Nice Idea. I'll try that next season. |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| How do the cups that you put on top stay on the bottom without blowing off? I can see if you have the entire set up inside the ziploc bag and it is locked tight..trying to figure this out from photos. Thanks for sharing this. You certainly use a lot less potting mix by planting in the cup than in a milk jug or liter soda bottle. It is interesting to see how many come up with various ways to do wintersowing. Guess there is no right or wrong way, as long as it works! My concern would be they don't have enough weight of soil to have them to hold up to strong winter winds. |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| Well, this is the third year I've done them this way, and so far I haven't had an issue when them falling off. The water in the cups freezes over winter adding some weight. They really aren't that light. I suppose if you do them in the pots and use gallon zip locks you won't have to worry so much about them blowing over. I would suppose it depends on where you place them too. To the far left of our stoop we have a rather large hedge that I'm sure protects these from some of the wind. Or you could place them directly against the foundation of your house...I have plants and "stuff" all against mine, or I would! This year I have kept them out front because I'm almost 9 months pregnant and just too darn lazy these days to walk all the way around the back of the house for watering. The ones that I put cups on are just staying on with one piece of duct tape. I did have to replace the duct tape on those once this spring, because opening and closing them for watering wore some of them out. I probably will just use the zip lock baggie method from here on out, because that seems to be the easiest for me. |
RE: Containers in full sun versus morning sun only?
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| Thanks quilt mommy! The plastic cups on top is a great idea, too. I may try the zip lock method next year when I have fewer containers (yeah right)! |
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