Sorry if this has been addressed previously.
After a major operation (prune + partial defoliation in my case) I am putting my tree in the shade (no shade cloth or structure as of now).
What would the ideal timing and phases of transition look like? e.g. shade cloth to dappled shade to afternoon sun only to full sun over 4 weeks?
Am I looking for signs from the tree that I can move it to the next phase of sun exposure?
Thanks 
…thank you for asking because I was going to ask as a beginner, the proper way, if required to acclimate my tropicals from indoor/winter to outdoors/summer (trees face West). I included a pic of a ficus that has been outdoors now for about 4 weeks. My crab apple, trident, shimpaku, nanking cherry, BRT all fine so I’m puzzled and seeking advice. Much thanks everyone.
Did the tropicals go straight from the inside to the west exposure. That is a huge increase in the amount of light. Our eyes are very good at adjusting to a huge range of light levels so we don’t notice how big a change it is. Most plants will do well with 3 - 10 w/m2 light intensity while direct sunlight can approach 1000 W/m2 depending upon where you are. I put my tropicals in the shade for a couple of weeks before they see any real sun. The other trees grew their leaves in the brighter light and were adapted to it from the start.
Correct. I THOUGHT it’d be okay since the sun doesn’t get to plants until 12-1230 pm. However, was in sun until ~ 7:00 pm, and we’ve had a good number of days in the mid to high 80’s. Thanks so much for a quick reply Marty!
in addition transition out into the morning sun and then shade from noon on. “Afternoon” sun can be quite aggressive.
