Making Shade While the Sun Shines.

[Gerard]

40 degrees celsius on New Years Eve.
That morning before work I was running around trying to position all my vulnerable trees in a shady position. The problem is that when we reach 40, they are all vulnerable.

Shade 001.jpg

Fortunately nothing worse than a few burnt leaves on one tree.

Shade 003.jpg

.
Two days hard yakka, I have built a cover with shade cloth which is easily drawn. No longer need to move the trees, Full sun most of the time and shade for the really hot days.

Shade 004.jpg

Shade 005.jpg

Shade 006.jpg

[bonzaidog]

Nice work Gerard...What materials have you used,and what % cloth have you gone for...and does the shadecloth have any special tie down type of arrangement? We get plenty of heat over here ,as well as some killer easterlies at times,I'm looking to extend my growing area ,with the flexibility of drawing back the shadecloth,so as to get plenty of hardness in my stock,without them evaporating whilst I'm at work cheers mate ....Dog.

[MattA]

Hey Gerard,

No wonder you are out of room in the shade... wow what a collection you have there!

I really like the removable shade you have put up, this would work wonders for my back patio, full sun in summer & very shaded in winter.

How do you move the shadecloth up & down? and how do you fix it when its fully pulled out so it doesnt flap or blow away?

Matt

[Aussie_Bonsai]

great work mate, i recently had to go through a similar process, except mine doesn't look as stable as yours

Ben

[Sean M]

Wow very nice, a tad better than the stick and a fence method I used

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[Gerard]

Nice work Gerard...What materials have you used,and what % cloth have you gone for...and does the shadecloth have any special tie down type of arrangement? We get plenty of heat over here ,as well as some killer easterlies at times,I'm looking to extend my growing area ,with the flexibility of drawing back the shadecloth,so as to get plenty of hardness in my stock,without them evaporating whilst I'm at work cheers mate ....Dog.

Thanks Dog,
I have used treated pine (painted), 50% shadecloth 3 pieces each 3 x 1.83 metres.
One end nailed to timber, both sides suspended on steel cables, with the fourth side just hooked at the corners.
I will take a couple more pics when I get home.

Hey Gerard,

No wonder you are out of room in the shade... wow what a collection you have there!

Matt

Hi Matt,
My name is Gerard,....... I am a bonsaiaholic, .......I have managed to remain purcase free for the last 28 days........

[bodhidharma]

Hi Gerard, i know your story well. You cant have enough shade up. The weather has become unpredictable and its easy to get caught out.. They do better with watering this way to. If i could all mine would be under cover. By the way, hows the Hawthorn coming along

[MattA]

Nice work Gerard...What materials have you used,and what % cloth have you gone for...and does the shadecloth have any special tie down type of arrangement? We get plenty of heat over here ,as well as some killer easterlies at times,I'm looking to extend my growing area ,with the flexibility of drawing back the shadecloth,so as to get plenty of hardness in my stock,without them evaporating whilst I'm at work cheers mate ....Dog.

Thanks Dog,
I have used treated pine (painted), 50% shadecloth 3 pieces each 3 x 1.83 metres.
One end nailed to timber, both sides suspended on steel cables, with the fourth side just hooked at the corners.
I will take a couple more pics when I get home.

Hey Gerard,

No wonder you are out of room in the shade... wow what a collection you have there!

Matt

Hi Matt,
My name is Gerard,....... I am a bonsaiaholic, .......I have managed to remain purcase free for the last 28 days........

does that mean you have passed step one? Only another 337 days to go

[Gerard]

Hi Bodhi,
The hawthorn underwent surgery last winter, growing a complete new set of roots using the toothpick method and reducing height. Currently growing strongly but will wait till late winter to check on the new roots.

As I promised a few more pics of the shade structure.

Shade 001.jpg

shade 002.jpg

Shade 003.jpg

The opposite end of the ring bolt (which supports the steel cable) makes a good hook for securing the loose corners.

[bonzaidog]

Thanks for the feedback Gerard... all done with council approval of course? ....Dog.

[Pup]

Thanks for the feedback Gerard... all done with council approval of course? ....Dog.

What is council approval for? it is not a permanent fixture. I was going to use the same method, but could not find the components for draw wiring.
So opted for cut to size shade cloth by myself, and put up and take down, every year as Dog has said 40 is the norm here.

This year we had avery hot November so some trees got scorched, as I usually put it up a week prior to Christmas.

I do like your set up Gerard, I will have to try and find the components, as this year was bloody hard work putting up.

caronas Dog

Cheers pup

[Matthew]

I have a simular setup but have put eye rings through my shade cloth. Im interested in what you used to attach the cloth to the steel cable. its much better than the eye rings that took me ages to fix.

[Gerard]

I have a simular setup but have put eye rings through my shade cloth. Im interested in what you used to attach the cloth to the steel cable. its much better than the eye rings that took me ages to fix.

Butterfly clips, black plastic as seen in last pic. Dirt cheap and very easy, they clamp around the wire and onto the edge of the cloth in 30 seconds

[Sean M]

It looks like this setup is designed so it can be retracted, have you got a pulley system to do this? Or is it just for permanent shade?

[bonzaidog]

Peeps....I was only joking about "council approval".......then.. I checked out my councils website and found "Pergola-an open sided structure with a permeable roof cover,eg shadecloth,lattice....must comply to the building code of Aust. It then rambles on about setback measurements,but the bit that caught my eye,was that approval application must show connection details to the existing main roof,and anchorage to footings ,including footing dimensions"...it all sounds a bit full on,but may be worth checking out,as it may have house insurance ramifications as well.......Anyway I like Pups answer( ) and will probably extend my existing pergola asap ....Dog.