Shade classification

Hello All,

I have a long fence almost pointing due south (170 degrees). So the front is getting full sunlight and I want to try and grow espalier fruit trees against it. The back side has no direct sun but otherwise no obstructions and lots of indirect light (picture taken on a full overcast day jan 01)


Does anyone know what the shade classification of the back side of the fence is ?

I believe that is called "open shade."

I think it depends on a few things...

- How tall are the fruit trees when you plant them (can they get sun if they can see over the fence)?
- How far from the fence would you plant them?  Right on the N side of the fence will be in the shade most of the time but 2 feet away should be more sunny.
- How is the morning and evening sun?  In the middle of the summer (Northern Hemisphere) the sun rises in the NE and sets in the NW so you may get some direct sun early and late.

My guess is that if you plant 4' high trees 1' away from the fence, they will get partial sun.  Once they get a foot or two taller they'd have nearly full sun unless you have other trees/buildings providing shade.  If you espalier them tight to the fence and keep them shorter than the fence, they'd be in full to part shade all the time.

Tyler Ludens wrote:I believe that is called "open shade."

Thanks! after googling that term it is an exact match.

Mike Jay wrote:I think it depends on a few things...

- How tall are the fruit trees when you plant them (can they get sun if they can see over the fence)?
- How far from the fence would you plant them?  Right on the N side of the fence will be in the shade most of the time but 2 feet away should be more sunny.
- How is the morning and evening sun?  In the middle of the summer (Northern Hemisphere) the sun rises in the NE and sets in the NW so you may get some direct sun early and late.

My guess is that if you plant 4' high trees 1' away from the fence, they will get partial sun.  Once they get a foot or two taller they'd have nearly full sun unless you have other trees/buildings providing shade.  If you espalier them tight to the fence and keep them shorter than the fence, they'd be in full to part shade all the time.

The trees will be on the south side in the sun, I was wondering what to put on the north side to support them hence the shade classification question. The trees will be kept at the same height as the fence to not increase the shade.

Where are you located?

What do you mean when you say "to support them"?

North of the fence might actually be a good location for pawpaws from what I've read - they supposedly need protection from direct sun while young, but can handle full sun once they get older (and thus maybe taller than the fence in your situation).

Steven Kovacs

Thanks for replying!

Where are you located?
51.61N, 5.29E

What do you mean when you say "to support them"?
Support them by growing beneficial plants near them

North of the fence might actually be a good location for pawpaws from what I've read - they supposedly need protection from direct sun while young, but can handle full sun once they get older (and thus maybe taller than the fence in your situation).
I would like to prevent any extra shade coming in as there is only 2m70cm of space behind the fence for a big part (see picture). Once the door on the side gets removed it will create a nice warm micro climate, will see what I can do with that (tomatoes?)