about shade cloth

[ericst11]

I'm wanting to build a portable shade room for my deck and was woundering if some one could tell me if 50% shade cloth was alright or do i have to use a higher percentage.

[Bolero]

50% is fine for certain types of plants. What were you planning on growing?

I would say it would be ok for Cymbidiums, Vanda's, Cattleya alliance, Oncidiums, Coelogyne and others. So what are you growing?

[ericst11]

I grow indoors and want to give my plants a boost this year so i want to put them out . I grow Bulbos ,catts and some stanhopeas and gongoras.

[Bolero]

Ok Bulbos need more shade than Catt's. YOu need to learn more about each plants individual culture. Bulbo's need much more shade and heat than Catt's and most stanhopea's. I would say 70% shade at least for Stan's and Bulbo's........50% for catt's.

[Weebl]

I would say 70%, and you'll find the brighter spots of your shade enclosure where you can put your Cattleyas. If you decide to build this please post pictures!

[Donald]

I use 70% for all my plants and they are quite happy
under this cloth.

[catwalker808]

Eric. In asking about appropriate shade %ages, you first need to pin down: your location, what you are growing and the season you will be using the shade. If NE means Nebraska, you're probably only intending to use your shade structure in the summer when you can grow outdoors. The posted shade recommendations range from 50% for cats and bright light plants to 70% for lower light things.
It's probably safe to say that say that with 70%, Donald in Mass ONLY uses the shade for summer.
There are some of us who need shade all year round and supplemental shading part of the year.
The size of the shade structure also matters because this affects some shadehouse dynamics.

50% shade is fairly light in weight, stretches tight and doesn't trap too much heat. Black shade cloth absorbs much more heat than white. However, white is not available in many %ages and doesn't have as much uv inhibitors as the black.

When you get to the 70% range, the cloth is much heavier, sags, channels water and traps a layer of heat beneath it. If you need heavier shade, or 50% and 70% shade, it's better to use a primary layer of 50% and a separated secondary layer of 50%. This will give you 75% where the layers overlap.

Note. a double layer of 50% shade is not 100% shade. A lay of 50% shade lets thru 50% light. Then the second layer shades out 50% of the 50% AVAILABLE LIGHT, or 25% of outside light. Thus, the 2 layers of shade provide 75% shade and allow 25% light.

This may sound obvious, but I have had people tell me they have 110% shade ... 1layer of 50% cloth and 1 layer of 60% cloth.

The advantages of 2 thinner layers vs 1 heavy layer ... 50% allows rain to mist through. 70% shade bags and rivers when there is wind and rain. When it is hot, 70% traps most of the hot air. 50% releases much of the hot air.

My experience is that, while cats can definitely survive outdoors with 50%, they definitely would do better with more shade during the very hot summer months. Survive or Thrive?

To account for the differences in available light in different climates, we should also think in terms of light intensity instead of just %age of shade. When many people speak of 50% shade they often mean 3500-4500 foot candles of available light. 70% shade means 2000-2500 foot candles available light ... roughly speaking.

[Donald]

Interesting. My 70% shade cloth, and it is 70%, does not sag, does not channel water, nor does it trap heat.
I have it over a pergola on a deck here in Massachusetts
and it works just fine for me, and has been for the past 4 years. By the way. NE could be New England also.

[cloudswinger]

Originally Posted by Donald

By the way. NE could be New England also.

I was thinking NE was North East, but either way, it wouldn't really change the fact that it's a summer only shelter.

Anyway, most monsoonal tropical orchids have a shadier summer than winter due to the cloud cover during rainy season(assuming of course the monsoon is during summer, since there are monsoonal areas that are reversed). Plus the leaf cover is also higher in summer than winter.