How much sun does bitter gourd need? Sunlight is very important to plants. The sun helps the plant to make their food. The leaves process the sunlight into a sugar called glucose which is what the plants consume. Bitter gourds need the sun to thrive well. The plants will grow better when they get sunlight every day.
Does Bitter Gourd Need Full Sun?
Yes, bitter gourds need full sun to grow and thrive well. It will also increase the lifespan of bitter gourd plants when they get enough sun every day. Bitter gourd thrives well in tropical and subtropical countries.
If you know how long does it take for a bitter gourd to grow, you will definitely have an idea of how long, and how many months they need sunlight. They need the sun for them to make food.
The light coming from the sun helps them thrive well. When the plants don’t get enough sun they will grow poor. The growth of them will be slower so it is better to grow them where the sun is available.
When you have limited space, you can grow a bitter gourd in a pot and make them crawl on the roof. There are some gardeners doing this kind of stuff and it works well. Once the vines of bitter gourd crawl on the rooftop they will have more access to the sunlight which makes them grow faster and bigger. But one challenge you will face in this method is it’s a little bit hard to get the fruits from the vine since they will grow on the roof. A ladder will be helpful to use if you want to harvest the bitter gourd.
How Much Sun Does Bitter Gourd Need?
The bitter gourd (ampalaya) plant needs at least 6 hours of sun. It must be direct sunlight so that they can create more food faster. The leaves of the bitter gourd process the light under the photosynthesis.
Inside the leaves, there is chlorophyll that works and converts light into food. When there is more chlorophyll, it will be easier and faster for the plant to make their food.
You need to take care of the bitter gourd (ampalaya) plant, especially its leaves. When the leaves stay healthy, the plant will grow faster and will produce more flowers and fruits. To prevent the leaves from yellowing, you need to make sure that the soil is rich in nitrogen.
Nitrogen helps the production of chlorophyll in the leaves and it helps them make food. You can improve the soil by adding fertilizers. The growth stages of the bitter gourd (ampalaya) will be better if that happens.
You can use chemical fertilizers that are being sold at the market or you can also make your homemade fertilizers. Both fertilizers will be helpful in the plant’s growth.
Does Bitter Gourd Need Sun Or Shade?
Bitter gourds need sun and not shade. Growing bitter gourds in shade is not a good idea. The plant will not grow excellently in the shade because it cannot get the sun.
Spacing for bitter gourds is also important when you want to grow them. You need to make sure to have some distance from the tall trees or concrete structures. Those things will block the light onto the plants.
Also when the plants are planted next to trees, the plant will grow slower. They will compete for the water and nutrients in the soil because they are planted close to each other. Spacing is important to maximize the plants’ growth and have better flowers when bitter gourds bloom.
Does Bitter Gourd Grow In Shade?
If you are just in the stage of germinating bitter gourd (ampalaya) seeds, then it is fine to place them in shade. The seeds will germinate even if they will not get much sunlight. But once the bitter gourd grows and has enough length you need to transplant the bitter gourd seedlings in a good spot.
Find a location where sunlight is available for at least 6 hours. In that way, once the plant matures it will get enough light every day. Having a consistent length of sunlight every day and enough amount of water given to bitter gourds, will make them healthy and thrive well.
Growing a bitter gourd in full shade will not be great. They should get sunlight daily for them to grow well. Full shade is not good for bitter gourds but growing bitter gourds in partial shade are possible.
There are areas that have partial shade. In this area, the sunlight is still available but not for the whole day. If you have a partial shade location where the sun is available for at least 6 hours then you can grow bitter gourds in that area.
It is great to know how much sun does bitter gourd plants need. It will give the new gardener some idea of how much sun the plant needs. It is great to grow them in an open space so that there will be more sunlight. There will be more bitter gourd fruits when harvesting comes.