Let Full Sun Shine On Plants That Need It

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Today's the first day of spring, the Vernal Equinox, which means that about half of our 24 hours are daylight. It's a good time to look at places in your yard where you want to plant things this year to see how much sunlight you actually get there.

When you see it says on a plant label that something needs 'full sun,' what does that mean?

Depending upon whom you ask, 'full sun' is generally considered to be 6 to 8 hours of serious sunlight a day - these are the plants that not only can take a lot of sun, they require plenty of it to grow well.

If you insist on placing a 'full sun' plant where it only gets 3 or 4 hours of sun, it might not die, but you'll often end up with a punier plant that fails to thrive - slower growing, with far fewer flowers, fruit, and much less produce to pick.

So, look at the label and look at the light in the place where you want to put that plant. By giving 'full sun' plants the light they need, you won't end up in August wondering why you only have two tomatoes when your friend planted the exact same variety and harvested a bushel.