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Balcony Gardening

How Much Direct Sun Needed?

19 years ago

This is my first year trying a container garden on my 2nd floor porch deck and I've got a lot of seedlings up but now I'm wondering just how much sun they'll need to survive on my deck. The sun usually hits the deck around 9 am and hits the front of the deck pretty much all day, or at least until 3-4 p.m., is 6 - 7 hours of sun enough for the following?

Morning Glorys

Moonflowers

Four O'clocks

Cosmos

Bachelor's Button

Tomatoes

Petunias

Scarlet Cardinal Climber

My Impatiens will go further back on the deck where the shade is. Today I'm timing just how much sun hits that deck during the day.

Many thanks in advance for any help!

Linda

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Comments (10)

AlllieNYC
19 years ago
I think that is enough for the plants you list. I would try to put the tomatoes and cosmos in the sunniest part of the deck, since those plants need the most sun. In my experience, morning glory and moonflower can grow in part shade (people grow them all along my block)... mine always seemed to get a little wilty in the hottest/sunniest part of the day.
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LindaMA
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks Allie, you've made my day, I was very nervous that I'd have to put everything right up front along the deck rail, either in hanging baskets or window boxes on the rail. Now I think I may be able to put the moonflowers and morning glories next to the wall on a trellis so they can climb and that wall doesn't get as much sun, sounds like they may be okay though, thanks again!
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KraZbuderfly
19 years ago
Allie, you just made my day too! Great to know Moonflowers & Morning Glories like some shade!

~KraZbuderfly
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lighter
19 years ago
Perfect!! All of those you mentioned are annuals up whjere you are. You get plenty of sun. Just sit back and enjoy!
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jenny_in_se_pa
19 years ago
Agree with lighter. I get mostly morning sun and only in spring/summer/fall since I face NE - from ~5 - 6 hours along most of the rail except the far western corner that gets an additional couple hours of afternoon sun as it sets. All the plants you list should do fine. I've grown MGs, MFs, tomatores, & petunias just fine. My sun lovers like lilacs also bloom with about that much sun. Have seedlings of cardinal climbers, scarlet runner beans, and many other hummer plants inside growing right now to be planted out somewhere (as soon as I can find some space!). :-o

:-P
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LindaMA
Original Author
19 years ago
Jenny, your balcony sounds like it gets the same sun that mine back porch does. I get the most in the morning and right up on the rail with the exception of the southeast corner which gets a couple more hours of late afternoon sun. If I didn't have the roof over my porch, I'd get more but I'm glad I don't because then it would be far too hot. I'm so looking forward to seeing my flowers bloom this summer.
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LindaMA
Original Author
19 years ago
Jenny, your balcony sounds like it gets the same sun that mine back porch does. I get the most in the morning and right up on the rail with the exception of the southeast corner which gets a couple more hours of late afternoon sun. If I didn't have the roof over my porch, I'd get more but I'm glad I don't because then it would be far too hot. I'm so looking forward to seeing my flowers bloom this summer.
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jenny_in_se_pa
19 years ago
Yeah, you should do well! The drawback not having overhead sun tends to happen with my shrubs on the side away from the rail, although I have them thinned enough to get light through to the back. But I do get pretty decent blooms on my clematis near that sunny corner, despite it being back against my balcony wall. It flowers mostly on top where it can get the sun over the lilacs and blueberries (and also because it is one of the group 3s that bloom on new growth and thus tends to flower on the ends of the vines), but still!

{{gwi:719}}
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sport3
17 years ago
How much sun do I need to grow tomatoes, I am getting about 6 hours now but only have a few tomatoes, not seeing many buds, I planted 35 tomato plants. Need some advice??? Thanks
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jenny_in_se_pa
17 years ago
Tomatoes should do okay in about 6 hours but they also like to have some heat (but not too much) to grow well. Give it some time and you will probably be inundated!!!
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