sun is only an issue in the heat of the day .. avoid sun when its hot...

its never hot in the morning ...

after that.. its all to experimenting .. and moving anything that doesnt like the spot ....

ken

Hey, Esther, I'm sure if you talked to your neighbor, he would be pleased to get you some tiny Chinese umbrellas to shade your mini hosta. Just kidding, of course.

Is it due east that the sun comes across your bed? And that would be the sun on the vernal equinox and autumnal equinox. At the solstice, it will be at its most extreme, not equal. But as a science person, you know that. What I did here was to mark the shade on those four occasions, the equinox and the solstice, and know all the sun patterns for my house....which sits almost facing due west, but not completely, so in the long days of summer, the north side of my house has no shade at all....except that created by my taller shrubs and the jasmine covered privacy fence. No hosta on MY north side. Along the eastern side, I can allow hosta in pots to remain by the deck until late June, when it becomes much too hot for them, unless I employ umbrellas.

Is the building a dark brick with a dark foundation? Then more heat will radiate and you will need more water to cool the area. Maybe think of ice cubes for the hottest part of the year. They water orchids that way. Oh yes. And mulch them very well.

Or, think of a bushy shrub strategically placed to give the shade at the right time of year. Cannot recommend anything for your climate, but something which would not give your management a heart attack.

Mocc, the building is light pinkish-tan brick. The hostas are now about 30" to the east of the Obligatory Bushes (junipers). That area is shaded by the building by about 1 p.m. Right now, at 3 p.m., the shadow from the building is all the way up to the original hosta tree garden.

After some mad web shopping around this morning, I managed to find 3 mini-heuchies to put in front of the new hosta extension garden, to add some color and interest. If they work, I'll get more mini-heuchies to extend the line. I look forward to welcoming mini-heuchies Sugar Berry, Frost, and Peppermint to the front line, and hostas Ripple Effect, Grand Prize & Marilyn Monroe!

My tactic is... Don't worry about it. Plant hostas in my yard everywhere except in full sun. And sometimes even there, unless they're blues. Of course, raising hostas in northern Michigan is pretty worry free.

I saved this picture for just such a thread, but you'll have to look at the link.
Hey, Moc, I know you live way down south, but not far enough south that the north side of your house is the sunny side.
Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1095774}}

Oooooh, that's nice dappled sun/shade!

Don B.

ZCathy, I know it sounded sort of odd, but I'm serious. The sun gets very high by midsummer, and our house, as I said, is skewed a wee bit off of due west/east/north/south......so that around the end of June there is no shadow on the north side of my house, which is the way things are when you are this much closer to the equator. We are at Latitude 30.5 North, and it makes a big difference when you are up there in Latitude 40 North where the sun is just not as high in the sky. The more direct rays of the sun also make it harder--some say impossible--to keep hosta in all but morning direct sun.

And, that's why some folks come south to get a better sun tan. If you think you get one in Florida, you ought to see the tan when you are near the equator. So latitude is a game changer.

I didn't think that was possible. Oh well, live and learn! We're off today on the capitalist (nongovernmental) leg of our vacation, Disney with the grandkids. I'll remember sunscreen. And speaking of Plantaginea(different thread) I have to admit that this is the hosta that always makes me smile.