Gardening Tips

[PolicySpy]

Of course if trees are cut down for solar panels then the increased demand on the air-conditioning in summertime might use more energy than the solar panels make.

So consider a hardwood tree for the front yard. The hardwood tree will shade the house in summer but allow light through in winter. Also, a hardwood tree is fire resistant compared to evergreen trees. And most hardwood trees are drought tolerant but not for desert climates.

Now here's an interesting tip. The Encore Azaleas seem to be more drought tolerant and more winter tolerant than the regular Azaleas. They come in three different size categories. Use them for specimens or plant them in a diamond pattern to cover the ground but favor sunlight locations.

Shore Junipter is too thick of a ground cover but Blue Star Juniper can make small specimen plantings of ground cover.

Out in the yard and away from the house, a Blue Point Juniper can locate the corners of the lot or frame the driveway. A Blue Point Juniper is taller than a person but much shorter than a Leland Cypress. The new growth of a Blue Point Juniper starts out soft and flexible but turns into something that like short prickly pine needles. The Leland Cypress is so big that it is usually a mistake.

[PolicySpy]

[PolicySpy]

Editied above again.

[PolicySpy]

Also, I'm trying to ID a shrubbery. It grows oval, it needs very little pruning to maintain shape, it grows slowly, it has small green leaves, it has thick foliage, but it is easy to spread apart.

[Malcom "Mal" Reynolds]

but the solar panels will shade the roof thus potentially lowering the AC demand

[Frank]

I agree, except I don't want any trees next to my house that if they fall down will damage the house.

Solar panels will probably not last as long as a tree and in the long run be less efficient than the tree.

[m II]

High heat seasons, the sun shine almost vertical. Trees only block the cooling breeze.

Do you grow trees on your roof?

Of course if trees are cut down for solar panels then the increased demand on the air-conditioning in summertime might use more energy than the solar panels make.

So consider a hardwood tree for the front yard. The hardwood tree will shade the house in summer but allow light through in winter. Also, a hardwood tree is fire resistant compared to evergreen trees. And most hardwood trees are drought tolerant but not for desert climates.

Now here's an interesting tip. The Encore Azaleas seem to be more drought tolerant and more winter tolerant than the regular Azaleas. They come in three different size categories. Use them for specimens or plant them in a diamond pattern to cover the ground but favor sunlight locations.

Shore Junipter is too thick of a ground cover but Blue Star Juniper can make small specimen plantings of ground cover.

Out in the yard and away from the house, a Blue Point Juniper can locate the corners of the lot or frame the driveway. A Blue Point Juniper is taller than a person but much shorter than a Leland Cypress. The new growth of a Blue Point Juniper starts out soft and flexible but turns into something that like short prickly pine needles. The Leland Cypress is so big that it is usually a mistake.

[PolicySpy]

There are roof systems that go down on a batten system and have an air space but trees are cooler than the roof system. But the home owner can have the roof system and the trees. The home owner can't have solar panels and trees.

[PolicySpy]

PolicySpy writes:

The parts of the city that are a style similar to Olmstead parks have large tree limbs growing over the house and no one worries.

But a hardwood tree gets big enough that it can be 40 feet from the house and still shade the house and cool the yard. If fact my Shumard Oak tree tag says that the tree gets 50 feet wide. So the tree can be

25' from the house or maybe 30' from the house. But space two trees apart by the 50' feet spec.

[PolicySpy]

PolicySpy writes:

My sun rises directly in the East, swings high in the southern sky, and sets directly in the West.

The front of the house faces East.

The tall trees naturally in the back yard shade the house from 2PM to sunset.

The single canopy tree in the front yard shades the house from sunrise to 11 AM.

Then I would need a tree to the South to shade the house from 11 AM to

2PM. But that's up to the neighbors.

Well, it just doesn't take a genius to figure out where to put the tree.

Also, a tree has water evaporating out of the leaves and makes the yard and house cooler.

[PolicySpy]

But these responses are interesting and so let's combine a tree strategy with a solar panel strategy:

If the front of the house faces South then put solar panels on the front slope of the roof and put one or two hardwood trees in the backyard.

If the rear of the house faces South then trees are likely naturally in the backyard and the house is naturally cool. But if there are no tall trees in the back yard then put solar panels on the rear slope of the roof and put one or two hardwood trees in the front yard.

If the side of the house faces South and there is no roof slope facing South then I would put solar panels on a steel pole against the North side of the house (to get the best angle over distance trees to the South). Then put one hardwood tree in the front yard and one hardwood tree in the backyard.

[Brooklyn1]

Trees large enough to shade a house so close that were they to fall would fall onto the house are never a good idea. The best way to maintain temperature inside a house is with insulation, especially in the attic. Trees shading a roof will also cause damage by not permitting the roof to dry.

[David Hare-Scott]

This shows how very unobservant you are. In the course of a year the rising and setting directions of the sun will vary considerably.

Just as well you are no genius else we would never know. It must be very easy to solve these questions when you live where there are no seasons.

Evidence?

D

[PolicySpy]

Really, trees are not that controversial. They work in parks, along sidewalks, and in the neighborhood.

The Shumard Oak gets 50 feet wide and so plant it 30 feet from the house. A tree that is 60 feet high, 25 foot radius reach, and 30 feet from the house, will shade the house.

[PolicySpy]

PolicySpy writes:

My sun rises in the East, swings in the southern sky, and sets in the West.

It swings in the southern sky lower in the winter and higher in the summer.

Would anyone really believe that the path of the sun is so difficult to understand as it relates to the yard and house ?

Could anyone really believe that they had raised a significant debate point ?

[David Hare-Scott]

For only a few days of the year in temperate zones.

And in the summer it rises and sets further towards the pole and in winter more towards the equator.

Apparently you are having trouble with it so I think it was worth the mention.

Only if you want to take the seasonal position of the sun into account when doing your passive solar design for your house.

What is your latitude? What do you think is the difference there between the rising position of the sun between mid winter and mid summer?

David

[Billy]

And along those wonderful roads in France .

[David Hare-Scott]

It looks like there isn't going to be a continuation from Spy but some may be interested in some facts anyway.

These figures are the difference in degrees in the rising position of the sun between 20th June and 20th December. The difference in setting position would be similar.

Miami 52 London 79 Moscow 90

Obviously it varies with latitude and the same sort of differences arrise in the southern hemisphere as in the north. There is considerable difference in how the sun strikes your house between summer and winter unless you live in rather low latitudes, basically in the tropics. This is worth considering when designing the passive solar heating/cooling of your house.

David

[Janet]

I live at the same latitude as Moscow (and Alaska) and there are plenty of valley houses here which are sunny all summer, but receive no direct sun in winter because the sun never gets high enough in the sky. We've always avoided buying property in winter shadow locations because they are noticeably colder and darker for half the year.

Janet.

[David Hare-Scott]

I can see how is a major consideration at that latitude. At Moscow at mid winter the sun rises around 9am and sets around 4 pm having risen 11 degrees or so above the horizon. Just about any hill or building south of you and you get no sun. Too chilly for me!

Spy mentioned the difference from summer to winter in the height that the sun rises to, which is a major component of the situation you describe, and clearly that is important. I was trying to point out that not only does the height vary but the rising and setting positions too. Such issues are important for house design but also gardens.

D