How much sunshine in autumn?

HELP!! I am now second guessing myself and driving myself mad. How much sun do roses need in autumn? I have been working hard digging and enriching quite a large bed down the back. In summer it was bathed in sunshine for much of the day,nice and sheltered, but now with the lower angle of the sun, next door's trees are casting their shadow across the bed for the majority of the day. Now I'm worried. The only positive is that rose Susan Hampshire is growing in that area and growing really well, healthy and lots of flowers. I don't know if she is particularly shade tolerant though. Clear sky overhead, but is this enough? Please don't tell me all that work has been in vain?

exactly how much sun is that bed getting?

Probably 2-3 hrs per day Neptune.

that is now at present and will get worse as weeks go buy thru to at least October or November.....would my assumption be far off silky?

No, that's about right I think Neptune. Maybe a bit more than 3 hours at present, but the amount of sunlight it receives has decreased markedly. I started work on this bed in the spring and hours of sunlight seemed a lot more at the time I began work. I remember monitoring amount of sunlight then and thinking, yep, good spot. Now, disaster!!!! Maybe I'll just plant them and hope for the best.

I have read that the minimum should be about 5 hours if it must, but 6-8hrs+ is the general consensus as to how much there should be....now having said that....there maybe members on here who grow in the shade for long periods.....

Yes, up 6-8 hrs sunlight is the ideal I know. So this is why I'm now freaking out, can't believe I have miscalculated so badly. I wonder if there is anyone else out there, maybe in a suburban situation in which shadows from adjoining properties is common, who has had this problem and if they have to grow their roses in less than ideal conditions. How do your roses cope?

my roses are on the north side of the property, so they get sun , summer and winter

Neptune are you in suburbia or on a larger property? Even my roses on the northern side are partly shaded by trees overhanging from next door. Sigh

on the sea front in suburbia

Silky, don't despair! Half my roses live in shadow from April to September, and they get 2 hrs a day in the cooler and cold months. They don't give a hoot - they are back and lively come the Spring when the Sun begins its arc upwards, and the roses waken from their snooze.

All of my roses were bred in Germany or France or the Uk or the USA - they are creatures of the loooong, dark northern winters. Lack of sun for several months means nothing to them. Sort of like putting on eye masks during a long-haul flight ;-)

Betsy , that brings up a good question , i too have Silkys problem , suburbia , and have often wondered how do roses survive in England's climate , they must get a lot less sun , probably why DA's go crazy here and throw out their octopus arms . Silky i think if you don't plant them too close , give them a 1200-1400 spacing , so that they don't overshadow each other they should be fine . I've planted some of mine too close and a couple are fighting for the sunlight , will have to pull out two and replace with one rose . Chartreusse is one rose that being small is bullied by the bigger roses for sunlight i think..

I agree with Betsy One of the main things is that the roses aren't actually UNDER something else - ie. they have CLEAR SKY above them.

And don't forget that the Aussie sun is pretty strong compared to some parts of Europe where all our "instructions" often come from....

Just choose varieties that are a little more shade tolerant (and there are quite a few).

Oh thank you, thank you for putting my mind at rest, a bit at least.

I hadn't thought about northern hemisphere conditions before but it makes sense. The amount and intensity of sun would be far less over there where most of our roses have been bred. Probably explains why the solitary rose in that area that had been neglected, is growing so strongly and happily. Well with the soil now enriched and friable, with thousands of worms, it's a matter of sunlight that will determine the success of the roses that will go in there. Time will tell. Thanks Maree for the spacing tip, which I will do. Autumn, yes clear sky above I think is an important factor.
Neptune I know you are right about maximum sunlight for best results but when the reality is less than ideal conditions, the only alternative is to forgo the pleasure of our roses, or just having one or two lonely specimens. It would break my heart. I'll just keep my and make some updates from time to time.

Silky i did the same thing when i planted a row of Japonica Camellias along the back fence , watched and watched the sun , yep its okay ,looks good not to much sun , but didn't watch in the summer and now the camellias are too hot with the summer sun , ggrrhh , stupid me , had to put shade cloth on them this summer .....

This garden caper can be so stressful sometimes Maree. Ironic really when we try hard to create these blissful havens of peace and beauty, and wear ourselves out in the making. Talking of japonica camellias, I have one facing north Its healthy enough but not as many flowers as my others placed better. Lack of water in summer affects flower production so it gets regular watering and mulch. They are really tough plants. I'm about to plant 4 more out the front, pale yellow flowers.

Tell me about it, silky. I planted one eremophila nivea, four punnets of dorky white primula and several punnets of even dorkier spreading pansies today. The planting took 10 minutes, calculating sun and shade and phosphorus content took seven hours. On balance, I think roses are onedamnsight easier.

Emotionally drained. Immediately I have to reach for the sherry bottle and a straw.

You crack me up Betsy. Sure need a sense of humour otherwise we'd go mad. Make sure the straw is a long one, bloody tricky when you get to the bottom of the bottle!!

Lol ha ha Betsy , you poor thing ,sherry and a straw , now thats bad , is the straw cause you'r too tired to drink ? Silky the sun burnt heaps of little buds on my camellias , so i raced over to Bunnings and bought some shade cloth , which has saved the day , except that its a bloody nuisance putting it up and down , i did suggest to husband maybe we should pull em out and put in natives , he muttered some expletives and shook his head and walked off , not a good idea i think lol !!!!

Oh now i get it , Silky you'r just too clever , a straw to get to the bottom of the bottle !!!!

When I got to the bottom of the bottle, silky, I smashed the bottle and licked the pieces.

When winter comes, we must pull up a cyber chair and set a spell . Would love to know what you've done to cheer up the garden in the dark time.)

All are invited! I'll bring the sherry, the straws and the hammer.

BTW: Don't worry about those camellias. Mine were planted by sonebody about 10 years ago. In full sun.

They are now 2 1/2 storeys high .In fact, they block the sun. I will take pix of them soon. Beautiful trees now, but the flowers are like used Kleenex.

Winter is FOOTY time Betsy , i'll bring my footy hat, scarf , jumper , jacket , bag , wallet and of course hot chocolate in thermos lo !!!

Oh god, footy tragics..
Okay, I have a scarf somewhere.

go swannies

Swannies BAH HA !!! GO CATS lol !!! Betsy love your enthusiasm ...