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.Shadecloth & Glasshouse

Hi everyone.

I've just set up my new glasshouse.

See pictures HERE.

Where I am uncertain is with the shadecloth.

Not considering the climatic conditions here in the southern part of Australia too much, what are most people using in terms of % shade and colour.

I was thinking to go 50% shade.

My preference in terms of aesthetics is green but it seems that white/off-white allows the best light through in terms of spectrum and reflectivity.

I'd like to here what others are using or any suggestions.

Thanks,

Aaron.
 
Nice greenhouse! It looks beautiful in that location! I may be wrong but I'm not sure you really need shade cloth since you have trees around it to provide natural shade. I'm going to build a greenhouse soon and so I've been reading up on them. From what I've read in the Savage Garden it recommends a 50 % shade cloth max for Cps. It says any thing denser will make the plants light deprived. Good luck with your greenhouse!
smile.gif



-buckeye
 
Thanks Buck.

Although there are trees on either side the glasshouse will revceive about 10 hours of full sun in the summer and about 8-9 winter, so will definately need cover through the hotter months at minimum.

Any other thoughts?

Aaron.
 
If the greenhouse will receive full sun most of the day and in particular through the middle of the day, then you probably should use some shade cloth. It will help keep the plants from burning but it will also slow down heat buildup inside the greenhouse which will aid in cooling.

That in mind it also depends what kinds of plants your growing. Sarracenia, Dioneae and such can take full sun - light shade (30%) Nepenthes would prefer some shade (50% range). One option is to put different shading on different sections of the greenhouse so you have a range of light levels inside where you can experiment growing different things.

The color won't affect the quality of light inside. The light that is blocked doesn't enter and the light that does is not altered by the cloth. Lighter colored shade cloths may help keep the greenhouse cooler as they will reflect the blocked light more than a dark color which will absorb the light and warm up.
Tony
 
Where did you get your greenhouse... that is really nice.
 
Thank you for your input Tony.

I should have been more specific though. The glasshouse is primarily for Nepenthes so I was planning to go 50%.

I had thought of having varying shades so your comment on this has me thinking again. With winter approaching I may only cover half of the house with 50% for now. When the weather heats up next summer I may go 50% on one half and say 70%+ on the other.

Dyflam,

I bought the glasshouse second hand (in Australia), but they are manufactured by a company called Eden in New Zealand.

I see in your profile you are from Florida. I don’t know that Eden import to the US.

Aaron.
 
hi, I went with a 60% shade on my greenhouse for the Nepenthes. I use NO shading on the rest of the 1/4th greenhouse area for the Sarracenia, Heliamphoras, Dionaea, Drosera, and some regular plants. 60% sounded like a good density because its between the minimum and max. amount of light (min. being around 45% for Nepenthes and max being around 70% or so.)
 
You may find during the course of the year that it helps to remove some or all of the shade cloth. During the Winter here I remove my main cloth and just have a small piece of 30% over the peak so that the midday sun is filtered but during the rest of the day it is full sun.

Tony
 
Thanks NG & Tony.  Your advise is appreciated.

Seems you may have a bigger range of shade cloth %'s.  I've only seen 50%, 70%, 90% here.  Though I saw it mentioned somewhere that your basic flyscreen material for doors and windows is about 30%.

I think I'll stick with a partial covering of 50% for now, see how it goes, and increase the cover when the warmer weather starts to come around again later this year.

Aaron.



Aaron.
 
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