AusBonsai

Hi there,

I was thinking to provide some sun protection with shades cloth for my japanese maples as the leaves often get burn out. What is the recommended shade cloth blocking percentage (30%, 50% or higher) should I get?

Please advise

Brian

if they are 'surviving' with nothing then 50% should be plenty-------also I heard colour green is not so good

protection from hot wind is also good

Guy wrote:if they are 'surviving' with nothing then 50% should be plenty-------also I heard colour green is not so good

Green color not good Please explain. I have been always using the green color and so far no issues but i am sure there must be something behind this.

edit:

This is the information i extracted from another forum and yes i am kicking myself for buying all green shadecloths.

the basic principle is that you don't want to deprive your plant of the colour light it needs. As such green is probably the worst choice for most plants and I never understood why this is the default colour. But anyway.... plants are green, so this is the colour light that is reflected from the leaves, ie not used.
if cucumber farmers use blue then they are giving the plants less yellow, red and green, but more blue. Blue light is usually used for vegetative growth, which is why that phase can also be grown in MH or fluoro lights.
white shadecloth would provide more of everything.
black shadecloth would provide less of everything.
brown reflects a lot of reds, so good for flowering or fruiting plants usually [same reason why HPS lights are used for this phase].

Personally, I wouldn't use 50% shade cloth, that is far too high. I would look at 80/20 or 70/30, otherwise you are cutting back literally half of the sun that gets through. Maples thrive with sun. I wouldn't get 50% block for maples, or really, just about any bonsai. If they are in full sun all day, then 80/20 or 70/30 is fine.

Guy wrote:if they are 'surviving' with nothing then 50% should be plenty-------also I heard colour green is not so good

I have green shade cloth. Not sure what colour has to with it. Also, are your trees displayed in the middle of your garden, or are they against a fence or shed? Without confusing the issue, the direction they face will also play a part in the amount of sun they get. My advice, knock up something not too complex and try it for a couple of weeks. If you see improvement, then go for a more permanent structure.

thank you for all the advise. I will go for a white cloth.

subie23 wrote:thank you for all the advise. I will go for a white cloth.

Hi Subie,

It seems so much of what we do is trial and error, I would love to hear later how you get on with the white cloth.

Personally I have 70% green and for maples I don't find this too much.
Put out in the sun they get blasted.

Regards, AnneK.

yes ,I should have said I live in a desert with low humidity and weeks on end of 35c and no sea breeze--so afternoon protection is necessary--I am thinking of getting rid of my maples cos they can't hack it

So many factors to take into account - what is the climate, local microclimate, wind exposure, how well you water, etc, etc.
Personally, my maples stay in full sun for as long as they look ok. Last summer they stayed in full sun all year. This year only a few are still out in full sun because it has been hotter than normal. My climate is probably a little milder than many buy I also believe that PROPER and THOROUGH watering is the key and took many years to find out the intricacies of really efficient watering.
I only use shadecloth as a last resort and then use the lightest I can get which is about 30% shade in white colour. More light = better compact growth and smaller leaves. Trees will survive and grow under 50% and in some areas might even be desirable but in my experience I get long internodes and large leaves which both result in poorer quality bonsai so for my get the lighter shading.

Interesting topic always thought 40% shade was the norm.

Bump.
Subie, how did you fare with your maples?
How are they now?