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So what's the deal with early risers and deciduous trees?

cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)

8 years ago

I'm shifting around my older hosta and adding a crapload of new ones under large trees where they will receive some really nice dappled and shifting shade- once the trees leaf out. If the hosta unfurl before the trees get their leaves, how does that work?

I mean- shade requires leaves but before the trees fill out even the best site in the world has too much sun for many if not most varieties. Do the leaves acclimate to the sun as they open each year? Or does the plant retain some sort of memory as far as year to year regarding their sun tolerance, getting happier and happier each year? Or is every leafless spring a trial to them?

Is this just a looney year with hosta opening so early and trees keeping their regular schedule? Should I rig temporary shade? Or should the early risers be relocated? If I put them in good shade now by the time the trees leaf out they will receive no sun at all, ever.

What to do?

To clarify, I am not talking about new plants that need hardening off- I know all about that. I'm talking about established plants being moved while pips are showing, then opening in place before the trees have leafed out.

I can water as much as necessary- my plan is to do so and hope for the best. Just wondering what the party line is on all this- I can't be the only one whose plants see a bit too much sun before the trees get their act together.

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Comments (3)

bkay2000
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I don't know how it works, but it does. My shade is from pecan trees, which leaf out later than the other trees. My hosta seem fine in full sun until the trees are in full leaf. However, I have to get them in shade by about May 15. (I grow in pots, so I can move them around.)

It has something to do with the intensity of the sun, It must be the angle of the sun and how it moves with the seasons (or something like that).

bk
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
spring and fall sun is much less intense than summer shade .. akin to dusk and dawn being lesser ... i simply wouldnt consider it a variable ...

they should emerge acclimated to ambient sun .. no big deal there ...

i would think.. emergence time is genetic.. based on where it came from.. back in history ..

with no leaves on the trees .. a frost freeze event could be bigger ... if your pushing that envelope a bit ...and of course.. they need to be hardened off if they came from a warmer clime

ken
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Thanks for the response. Interesting you mentioned the salt damage as our hose/drip irrigation is connected to our water softener (previous owners did it and I haven't had time to correct). Normally, I bypass the water softener since I don't want to use the water softened water for the trees but I just turned it back on before this fig went south. I have turned if off again (bypassed). I figured the SRP irrigation water would wash out any salt added from the intermittent hose/drip watering. I think gypsum may be a good idea. Also interesting that you said it would get new leaves as it just started budding the last few days. I was happy to see. When you say alternate between dry and flood watering you mean letting dry out followed by deep watering? That is generally what I do with all the trees. If this fig comes back that would be great but still doesn't explain my other lost trees I've had over the last 3 years. Thank you for the reference, I will look into them.
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zkathy z7a NC
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Mine love spring sunshine. I do have some tall pines but it's pretty sunny until the trees leaf out. I think you'll see a lot of happy young hostas catching a little sun before the mean old oaks scarf it all up.

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