The Need for Early Morning Sunlight

12 years ago

There is a 6' high board fence across the back of our property on the east side. The row of daylilies closest to the fence are not thriving like the rest of them. These include clumps we moved from the country which were vigorous growers and bloomers. However, they do receive at least 6 hours of full sun, if not more. They just do not get early morning sunlight. They haven't multiplied much or at all, and have puny little blooms.

Curious as to why this is happening, I did some on-line research. First, it seems that the early morning sun's rays are stronger in the longer red and orange wave lengths. Second, I found a study with different colors of LED lights and the effects on plants. It showed that the red/orange light waves had the most positive effect on root development.

This is getting into physics here, of which I know little or nothing.

It seems we have two choices: 1) remove the fence and install a cast iron fence, or 2) move the back row of daylilies forward, and plant tall varieties in their place.

I do have one tall spider daylily in that back row which has done very well, as it is tall enough to receive the early morning sun.

Have you all had any similar experiences? Any physicists out there in our daylily world?

Nancy

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Comments (8)

njmomma
12 years ago
The daylilies in my front yard get sun from 12-6pm and are doing very well. The ones in my back yard get sun from 10am onward. Very tall mature trees block the early morning light. I have about 40 in the front and 60 in the back and they are all doing very well forming nice clumps.
Nancy Barginear
Original Author
12 years ago
Yes, I have daylilies on the west side of our house and they are doing well without early morning sun rays.

It does seem odd, though, that the daylilies in the entire back row nearest the fence are languishing. Take for example Persian Market, Charles Johnston and Betty Warren Woods. They were doing great in the country but are pathetic here -- same soil, same fertilizer, etc. as the rest of them.
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For 8 summers, I grew beefsteak and cherry tomatoes right up against the east side of a brick house in NE Illinois. (On Google Maps, the house does face directly west, so that bed received only morning sun, no sun from the south during the day.) I was brought up to prune tomatoes to one stem, so these were narrow plants, and probably planted about 6-8" from the foundation. They had sun all morning until the sun was overhead and the house began to shade that bed. So obviously this was only 6-7 hours of sun, max -- and much less at the end of the season. I don't remember them being leggy; they did grow taller than I am, but I'm only 5'2", so that's not difficult! They didn't bear a whole lot of fruit, and the lower fruit tended to be stolen by thirsty raccoons. But other than that -- and a bit of Septoria leaf spot at least one year -- the plants seemed happy. Besides direct sun and shade, there's also bright shade. For instance, daylilies aren't supposed to bloom well unless they receive at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. Mine used to be shaded by the house in the morning and by maples in the afternoon. About noon they got an hour or so of direct sun. They bloomed quite happily. I used to say, "But it's bright shade" -- and later read that there is such a thing. So I would say it depends how your tomatoes have done in the area that receives 5 hours of direct sunlight. Perhaps you could experiment: grow some in the current area, put some others in the sunnier area, then compare them -- and of course report back to us!
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Nancy
12 years ago
I wonder if the previous owners did something to the soil in that area to cause it. I know someone who added lots of some tree leaves to their soil to help it, walnut or some tree which wasn't good for the soil apparently.
katlynn719
12 years ago
Nancy, I've had a similar experience and not just with daylilies, but many plants....the closer they are to the fence, the less they grow. I've wondered if it could be due to chemicals used for pressure treated wood? Just a thought...
Kathy
newyorkrita
12 years ago
I don't know about not doing well near a fence. Mine up against my neighbors solid wooden fence do just fine but the angle of the garden is so that the sun hits my side all the way to the ground from morning on.

But I have plenty of daylilies in the front yard. All the beds that run along the very front near the sidewalk get no morning sun but plenty of afternoon sun. They do great and I see no diffence in growth rates between them and the backyard daylilies that do get morning sun.
Nancy Barginear
Original Author
12 years ago
Well, the soil was all put in when we bought the property. We installed all the raised beds. I had too many good performers up in Coldspring that are now doing nothing but barely surviving.

Kathy - you may have a point there. All of our beds are surrounded by treated landscape timbers, and that hasn't affected the rest of them. Who knows what chemicals were used for the fence?

There is a gravel walkway between the fence and the bed so there is some gap.

Nancy
lindaskyview
12 years ago
If your fenceposts are set into concrete underground, this might leach into the soil nearby. Concrete causes very alkaline conditions, so some plants which are more acid-loving to neutral may not fare as well. Now, whether daylilies are happy in alkaline soil, I don't know. Being highly adaptable they may not be affected... but, just a thought.
Nancy Barginear
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks, I'll pull out my soil test kit and check it. I'm sure the posts would have been set in concrete. The fence was already installed when we bought our newly built home in this subdivision.

The Need for Early Morning Sunlight

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The Need for Early Morning Sunlight

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