Greenhouse shading

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Jura
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Greenhouse shading

Post by Jura »

Hey all!

Hope you are well and safe!!

So my partner built me a greenhouse back in November and I brought majority of my cacti there in March. I've started noticing that a lot of my gymnocalycium got sun stressed, all mihanovichii tanned themselves in brick red and some other gymnos are quite reddish too. So I put them on a shelf where they get somewhat of a shade.

My greenhouse gets minimum of morning sun, and then its full blast in the afternoon and evening. I leave door open to get some air in, but even then its about 30 degrees inside. So i was thinking if I should shade the greenhouse somehow or bring fans to avoid possible burns?

Any advise appreciated!
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Chris in Leeds
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Re: Greenhouse shading

Post by Chris in Leeds »

I have bubble wrap up normally but went with garden fleece this year so am seeing what happens
Maybe if you could put photos to show it might help people
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fero
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Re: Greenhouse shading

Post by fero »

I've used garden fleece before, and have found it disintegrates quite quickly in the uv. I know someone who uses net curtains with good results.
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juster
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Re: Greenhouse shading

Post by juster »

My main greenhouse is in full sun all day, and needs shading in the summer, usually mid April to mid October. I now use green shade netting over the roof and some of the sides, fairly easy to fix on a wooden greenhouse. I leave the door and windows open in the summer, with a grill over the door. A fan is also a good idea.
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Paul in Essex
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Re: Greenhouse shading

Post by Paul in Essex »

I have a large ash tree to the side of mine that helps shade it when it leafs out. But also pigeons sit in it and cr@p all over the roof, which makes a kind of natural sunscreen :lol: In winter, once rain has softened it up a bit, I just hose it off. Interesting to see how their diet changes through the seasons - elderberry time is very colourful :lol:
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Re: Greenhouse shading

Post by rcapra »

I have had the same problem for some time (same orientation of the greenhouse) and in particular I agree with the excessive exposure of the gymnocalycium. I live in northern Italy and I am forced to use a shading net to avoid excessive temperatures during the summer, despite the ventilation (behind the windows the heat is always excessive). In the past I have used a green anti-hail net without having problems in plant development. Now I have turned to using a white shading net with a 50% reduction in light and for now I do not notice any modification of the blooms or reduction of the growth of the thorns.
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Re: Greenhouse shading

Post by ralphrmartin »

Don't worry about G. mihanovicii being red. Mine are all like that!
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Jura
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Re: Greenhouse shading

Post by Jura »

I realised that I don't have any new photos of my greenhouse, just the ones from gloomy dark November and February snow 😳😅

I'm not too worried about mihanovichii, although I do miss the green tint. I'm a little worried about other ones who are coloured in brick color. I realised that again I didn't take any good photos, but I did take a partial photo where you can see the tint on them. Other gymnos that were left on a shelf in not that big of an exposure are fine. I suppose my best bet is just to place white sun shade to reduce it a little.
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