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Photo Credit: Courtesy of Plumstone
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Knowing the amount of sun your planting space gets is the first step toward growing a beautiful, thriving garden.
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Starting a new flower bed? Planting a vegetable garden? Finally replacing those dying shrubs? The beginning of a new gardening season is exciting, but as tempting as it is to jump right in and get growing, there are a few things to consider before putting trowel to soil. First, and most important, is to measure the amount of sunlight your planting space gets.
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Photo Credit: Courtesy of Shutterstock.com
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Daisies are a delight – but these beauties require at least 4 hours of sun a day to bloom. Does your garden have enough to keep them happy?
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All plants have specific light requirements – from full sun to full shade. Failing to meet their specific needs can cause various problems, including scorched leaves, leggy growth, bloom failure or even plant death. Not giving your blooming beauties the appropriate amount of light they require is a sure way to kill your dreams of having a healthy, thriving garden – not to mention a great way to throw your money away. All the water, fertilizer and care you lavish on a plant won’t matter if you don’t start off with its most essential need: proper sunlight.
Thanks to light meters, measuring the amount of sun your planting space gets isn’t difficult. While there are different types available for you to try, one of the easiest and more affordable is the SunStick®.
Developed by a pair of home gardeners to measure outdoor light conditions, the SunStick is a simple light meter that resembles a red daisy. And like a real flower, the SunStick reacts to sunlight:
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Photo Credit: Courtesy of Plumstone
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SunSticks are an easy, accurate and affordable way to measure sun levels in your garden.
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Simply place it in the ground where you’d like to plant, and the “flower” will change color, depending on how much sunlight that area of your yard, garden or patio receives – classifying it as “full sun” (which means the area receives 6-8 hours of sun), “part sun” (4-6 hours), “part shade” (2-4 hours) or “full shade” (up to 2 hours of sun). These classifications are found on all plant labels, whether it’s an annual, perennial, shrub, grass, vegetable, herb or tree, so once you know the kind of sun you’ve got, you can match it with the appropriate plants sold at your garden center. At the end of the day, just compare your SunStick results with the included color chart, and you’ll know how many hours of sunlight your yard receives to help determine what kind of plant should flourish in that particular part of your garden.
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Photo Credit: Courtesy of Shutterstock.com
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Choosing plants can be a pleasure or a chore, depending on what you know about your own garden. After measuring your sunlight, check plant tags to be sure the sunlight the plants require is the type of sunlight you have in your garden.
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Without knowing how much sunlight your garden receives, you can spend several years waiting for plants to bloom only to learn that a particular variety is never going to thrive where you’ve planted it. Misplaced plants either can’t produce enough food energy to power a blooming cycle (too little light) or they may get scorched and stressed (too much light).
But when you know exactly how much sun your outdoor space receives, you can plan your new garden appropriately and pick the right plants that will grow best under those particular sun (or shade) conditions. What’s more, you’ll be one step closer to shedding light on the secrets to great gardening success!
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| Warnings |
- Shade-loving plants aren’t the only things in your garden that need sun protection. Gardeners are at a particularly high risk for skin cancer simply because they spend so much time doing what they love. (Plumstone, the makers of SunStick®, donate a portion of their proceeds to skin cancer education and research.) When you and the kids (or grandkids) are out enjoying the garden, protect your skin, wear a hat and lightweight clothing, drink lots of fluids and take frequent breaks in the shade!
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| Facts |
- A shade-preferring plant will suffer if it’s given too much sunlight. The foliage can become yellow if the plant has to protect itself from rapid water loss, and brown splotches on the tips appear. This is called “sun scorching,” and it’s a clear indication a plant is not thriving. By making sure your shade lovers have enough shade to thrive, you’re not only saving your plants, you’re using less water, too!
- SunStick® continuously registers sunlight – whether you have dappled shade, some sun in the morning, some sun in the afternoon or a combination of all three.
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| Tips |
- Vegetables and herbs are a wonderful (and economical) addition to any garden, given the right amount of sunlight. Whether in the ground or in containers, food gardens should be grown in an area that gets bathed in full sunlight for at least 6 hours a day (preferably more).
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| Resources |
- SunStick® has been approved by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute and retails for $9.99 for three sticks.
Visit the SunStick Website for more information, or call (800) 605-3769.
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